The Sociological Perspective

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Introduction

The sociological perspective is defined by three philosophical traditions (or "paradigms"): the functionalist perspective (i.e., "consensus"), Marxism ("conflict"), and symbolic interactionism. Functionalist perspective focuses on how society is organized and how social institutions meet the needs of people living within a collectivity.
The Marxian paradigm guides inquiries into the use and misuse of power within and across social systems. Symbolic interactionism focuses on how individuals influence and are influenced by society.

Functionalism:
The functionalist perspective based on the view that societies are made of specialized structures (the family. religion, economy, politics, education etc.) and that each of these structures performs a vital function in maintaining the whole. These specialized structures are interdependent. Under normal conditions, they work together to promote harmony and stability. Functionlists emphasize the importance of consensus among members of a society and the potentially harmful effects of sudden change on groups or society. Functionalism has criticized for supporting the status quo.

Functionalists hold that in order to understand why a behavior pattern exists in a society, one must examine the consequences of that pattern; this may be done by analyzing the latent (unintended) functions as well as the manifest (intended) functions.

Conflict theory:
Conflict theory is based on the view that the structure of society is the result of competition for scarce resources. Marx held that capitalism divides society into two opposing classes; those who control capital/own the means of production and those who must sell their labor. Contemporary conflict theorists have broadened this scenario to account for the cross-cutting interests of diverse groups in society today and for the emergence of a world capitalist system.

Conflict theorists maintain that in order to understand why a behavior pattern exists in society, one must determine who benefits from that pattern and how such persons maintain their positions of power.

Symbolic interactionism:
Symbolic interactionism focuses on the cumulative effects of individual actions and interpersonal relationships in everyday behavior. This theoretical perspective is premised on the principle that everyday interaction is determined by the way people interpret events and relationships. The emphasis is on the symbolic meanings that people attach to encounters.



Subject-matter of sociology

Sociology has been striving to analyze the dynamics of society in terms of organized patterns of social relations. It may be said that sociology seeks to find explanations for three basic questions: (a) How and why societies emerge? (b) How and why societies persist? How and why societies change?

A general outline of the fields of sociology could be gives as follows:

01. Sociological analysis: The major concern of sociology is sociological analysis that means the sociologist seeks to provide an analysis of human society and culture with a sociological perspective.
02. The study of primary units of sociology: Sociology is concerned with social acts and social relationships, individual personality, groups of all varieties, communities (urban, rural and tribal), associations, organizations and populations.
03. Development, structure and function of basic social institutions: Sociology is concerned with the development, structure and function of a wide variety of social institutions like family and kinship, religion and property, economic, political, legal, educational and scientific, recreational and welfare, aesthetic and expressive institutions.
04. Fundamental social process: The social processes such as co-operation and competition, accommodation and assimilation, social conflict including war and revolution; communication including opinion formation, expression and change; social deviance including crime, suicide, social integration and social change assume prominence in sociological study.
05. The method of research: Contemporary sociology has tended to become more and more rational and empirical rather than philosophical and idealistic. Sociologists have sought the application of scientific method in social researches.
06. Formulating concepts, propositions and theories: Sociological theories are mostly rooted in factual than philosophical. The sociological perspective becomes more meaningful and fruitful when one tries to derive insight from concepts, propositions and theories.
Concepts are abstracted from concrete experience to represent a class of phenomena.
A proposition “seeks to reflect a relationship between different categories of data or concepts”.
Theories represent systematically related propositions that explain social phenomena.
07. Specialization: The field of sociological inquiry is so vast that is requires specialization like sociology of knowledge, sociology of history, sociology of literature, sociology of culture, sociology of religion, sociology of family etc.