Lecture 2

The Origin
/Development of
Sociology

OUTLINE:

Sociology as a Discipline
How did Sociology begin?
The Discovery Of Social Facts

How did sociology

CORE CONCEPT 1 begin?
Sociology emerged in part as a reaction
to the Industrial revolution, an
ongoing and evolving social force that
transformed society, human behavior,
and interaction in calculable ways.

Sociology emerged in the

middle of the eighteenth
century in Europe

How did sociology

begin?
1. Three major social changes
during the 1th
to 18th centuries are important to the
development of sociology.

The rise of a factory-based industrial economy.

(17th-18th c.)

The emergence of great cities in Europe.

Political changes, including a rising concern
with individual liberty and rights.
The French Revolution symbolized this dramatic
break with political and social tradition. (1789)

2.Travel / Cultural exposures

3.Success of Natural Sciences

1. Industrial Revolution
Europe was changing from
agriculture to factory production
Masses of people moved to the
cities in search of work
In cities people met anonymity,
crowding, filth, and poverty
Industrial Revolution challenged
the traditional order an opened
the door for democratic changes
Rapid social changes
undermined the traditional
explanations of human existence

2. Travel
The Europeans had
been successful in
obtaining colonies
(Africa, Asia, L America)
Their colonial empires
exposed them to
radically different
cultures
Startled by these
contrasting ways of life,
they began to ask
questions why cultures
differed

3. Success in natural
sciences
Newtons laws explained the
movement of everything visible in
the universe

It seemed logical to discover the

laws underlying social phenomena

The Discovery Of Social

Facts

CORE CONCEPT 5

Early sociologists were witnesses to the

transforming effects of the IR. They offered
lasting conceptual frameworks for analyzing
the ongoing social upheavals.

In 1825, the French Ministry of Justice began to

collect criminal justice statistics.

Soon, they began collecting data on activities such

as suicide, illegitimate births and military desertion.

Became known as moral statistics because of the

moral implications of the activities.

Andr Michel Guerry

(1802 1866) a French lawyer and amateur
statistician

Became fascinated with the statistics

and devoted himself to interpreting
them.
In 1833, he published the Moral
Statistics of France and launched
sociology.

Guerrys Research: Stability

and Variation
Rates were stable from year to year:
In any French city or department, almost
exactly the same number of people committed
suicide, stole, or gave birth out of wedlock.

Rates varied from one place to another:

The number of suicides varied greatly from
city to city

Why Findings Important?

If crime and suicide are purely
individualistic (private, personal)
then why the macro-level patterns?
Perhaps factors outside the
individual?
Guerry and disciples began to think
of social forces population density,
economic issues, religious variation