THE BASIC CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES OF

THE MAJOR SOCIAL SCIENCE THEORIES

OBJECTIVE:

In this lesson, you will immerse yourself to the

major approaches and ideas used scientific of
society. These approaches offer various ways of
looking at the society and present various ways of
explaining the things that are happening in it. The
dominant approaches that will be discussed in
this chapter will be classified into three, namely
positivist social science, interpretive social
science, and critical social science. Marxism will
be highlighted.
 DOMINANT
APPROACHES IN THE
SOCIAL SCIENCE

I. POSITIVIST SOCIAL II. INTERPRETIVE III. CRITICAL SOCIAL

SCIENCE SOCIAL SCIENCE SCIENCE

STRUCTURAL- SYMBOLIC
MARXISM
FUNCTIONALISM INTERACTIONISM
I. POSITIVIST SOCIAL SCIENCE
Positivism refers to the philosophy of science that asserts
that the only source of trustworthy knowledge is the
information obtained from rational conducts and reports of
sensory experience. The French sociologist August Comte is
considered the “ Father of Positivism” when he assorted in
the early century that society, like the physical world,
operates according to absolute laws, and that it is the duty
of sociologist to discover these laws in order to understand
the nature of society. Positivism is related to structural-
functionalism.
STRUCTURAL-FUNTIONALISM

Structural-functionalism is one of the

approaches categorized under positivist social
science. Figure 3.1 captures the concept of the
said approach.it states that parts of the
societyall contribute to the “functional”
operation of the system in general. In structural
functionalism, social balance and equilibrium
are created when all parts of society are
operating well.
KEY CONCEPTS IN STRUCTURAL-FUNCTIONALISM

One important concept in structural-functionalism is that of

social structure. In the early 20th century, the British
sociologist A.R Radcliffe-Brown subscribed to the sociological
tradition that society is systemically structured, and may be
likened to a biological organism. People were merely
important in relation to their positions in the overall structure
of social roles in society.

Among important concepts in structural-functionalism are

social structure, social dysfunction, manifest function, and
latent function.
 CHURCH (RELIGION)

GOVERNMENT
SOCIAL STRUCTURES
(PATTERNED SOCIAL SCHOOL (EDUCATION)

MEDIA

STRUCTURAL-
FUNCTIONALISM

MANIFEST FUNCTIONS
SOCIAL (INTENDED FUNCTIONS)
FUNCTIONS/DYSFUNCTION
(EFFECTS FOR THE
OPERATIONS OF SOCIETY)

LATENT FUNCTIONS
(UNINTENDED FUNCTIONS)
SOCIAL FUNCTIONS. They refer to result or effects for the
operation of the society in general. For Instance, education
has a number of significant purposes in a society, such as
socialization and learning. The family can be treated as having
essential function for society such as providing sexual
reproductive, economic, and educational needs for its
members. Media provides the social function of mirroring the
concerns of the audience. Reliegion contributes to the well-
being of society by teaching moralitythusproviding social
stability and order. Social function maybe intended or
unintended consiqueces, thus can be classified into manifest
and latent function.
Manifest and Latent Functions. According to American
sociologist Robert Merton, manifest functions are those that
are intentional or known;referring to functions which people
suppose and anticipate to be fulfilled by the institutions.
Meanwhile, latent functions are the unexpected effects of
institutions. For example, the manifest function of religion is to
provide meaning and purpose for a society by offering the
comforting sense that we come from and will go back to a
higher being. It also promotes social unity by binding people
people through codes morals and customs. It is also useful in
propagating social control. The Latent function of religion
would be contributing entertaining facilities and courtship
prospect to its youth members.
SOCIAL DYSFUNCTIONS

Meanwhile, this functions may also be manifest or

latent, and have a negative effect on society.
Manifest dysfunctions are expected disruption of
social life. For instance, a manifest dysfunction of
heavy migration from rural to urban areas might
include overpopulation and unemployment. Latent
dysfunction might include rise in crime rate due to
massive unemployment generated by the said
migration that.
II. INTERPRETIVE SOCIAL
SCIENCE
Is an approach claims that people create and
associate their own subjective meaning as they
interact with the world around them. Hence it is the
duty of interpretive researchers to search for the
meaning people assign to certain phenomena in
order to understand them. Interpretive paradigm
also claim that our knowledge of reality is only
socially constructed, thus there is no objective
reality.
SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM

Is one of the theoretical approaches under

interpretive social science. It claims that symbols
help us understand how we view society and
communicate with each other. It traces its origin to
Max Webe’s assertion that individuals act according
to interpretation of the meaning of their world.
However, it was the American philosopher George
Herbert Mead who introduced symbolic interaction
to American sociology in the 1920’s.
CONCEPTS IN SYMBOLIC INTERACTION

One of the concepts important in this approach is that

of symbols, which refer to the means by which people
extensively and creatively communicate. Symbols are
culturally derived social objects having shared
meaning that are created and maintained in social
interaction. It is true symbols that the history, culture,
and forms of communications of people are expressed
and it is also the means by which people associate
meanings with interpretation, action, and interaction.
SOCIETY

Is also another important concept in symbolic

interactionism. It distinguishes between the infrahuman
(lower animal) and human life. The difference between
them could be determined and the types of
communication used. Infra-human communication
based on gestures, which takes place right away
withouth any disruption of the act for interpretation,
while human must interpret gesturesand assigned them
meaning, and it can only be possible when there is
general agreement in meaning.
The self is another important concept in symbolic interaction. It refers
to the conscious, contemplative personality of the individuals. It is
being or nature of a person one imagines when he thinks about who
he or she is. The development of self is made possible through
roletaking; in order to see yourself, you have to be able to take the
role of another, which in turn allows you to contemplate upon your
own self. Mead classifies three steps in the development of the self;
the preparatory stage (meaningless imitation by the infant); the play
stage (actual playing roles); and the game stage (culminating stage of
self-development where the child finds who he or she really is). The
self consists of two parts: the I and the Me. The I refers to the
spontaneous and unorganized inclination of the individual, while the
Me is the intergrated other within the individual, or the generalize
other which provides structured set of outlooks and explanations,
insights, and prospects.
Another important concept in symbolic
interactionism is the mind, or the mental aspect
of individuals which materializes from human
communication. The mind becomes evident
when significant symbols are being used in
communication. It becomes apparent whenever
the individual is interacting with himself or
herself using significant symbols. It also serves
as the aspects of the individual which disrupts
stimuli responses.
III. CRITICAL SOCIAL SCIENCE

Is an analytical method of investigation that attempts to

expose surface illusions to uncover the real structures in the
material world in order to help people understand their
situation and then transformed the world for the better
(Newman 1997). In other words it aims to uncover surface
reality in order to expose underlying structures so that people
may improve the society to which they belong. Therfore, the
goal of the critical social science is not only to discover laws
that explain human behavior and social phenomena but also
to help people understand why social inequalities exist so that
they can do something to address these inequalities.
MARXISM

One of the theoretical approaches under

critical social science, refers to the political
and economics of Karl Marx and Friedrich
Engels in which the concept of class
struggle plays an important role in
abolishing class oppression. It view
powerful (bourgeoisie) to the disadvantage
group (proletariat).
KEY CONCEPTS IN MARXISM
Marx emphasized that material conditions shape
consciousness and history. In his work The German
Ideology (1845), Marx discussed the four stages of society,
namely; primitive communism or hunting and gathering of
society where there was no concept of ownership and
everything was communal but conflict was determined the
material scarcity; slavery, which characterized ancient
societies where the source of conflict was between
landowners and serf; and capitalist where the source of
conflict was between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.