The Development Of Classical Sociological Theory On The Enlightenment And The Emerging Conditions Of Industrial Civilization

After reviewing the article titles given for this first assignment, I believe they indicate that Sociology, generally speaking, is not only a study of diversity or commonality in traits among people; it is also a science about factors in a person’s life and how these factors culminate responses. Interestingly enough, its topics of concern seem to be directly determined by current and common events of the world. Through the invention and expansion of new ideas, popular trends and fashions through time, Sociology adapts to responsibly to service the very subjects of interest it studies; for, even the slightest change of a person’s daily experience can have an insurmountable impact on attitude, personal growth, family

Throughout this essay, I will explain the distinction between sociological and common sense understanding, highlight the differences between sociology and other social sciences, and evaluate two sociological perspectives – Marxism and feminism.

In an effort to understand progress and its goal in humanity, philosophers Immanuel Kant and Karl Marx each present their theories with Kant believing progress is made through the reform brought on by antagonism and social instability in humanity which will ultimately lead to perpetual peace, while Marx argues progress comes in the form of a worker’s revolution and the adoption of true communism that will lead to utopia. These German thinkers seek to define the guiding the force beneath humanity’s constant state of evolution to understand where it is headed and advise towards a goal they find ideal for humanity.

In this assignment I will be explaining some of the different sociological perspectives in today’s society. The sociological perspectives which I will be explaining will be Functionalism, Marxism, Feminism, and interactionism, Collectivism, Postmodernism and The New Right.

In Western society today, it is easily possible to communicate with people, travel, make purchases, and use those purchases. People can easily buy things that they need at a store, drive a car to work and to visit friends, or pick up a phone or computer to speak to friends. However, none of this would be possible without a means of communication, factories to manufacture the products, places to work, and ways to travel and transport goods. It can easily be seen that the Industrial Revolution is one of the most significant events in the formation of Western Society. During the period from 1780 to 1850 (Sherman and Salisbury 517), there were many technological advances made, and this period is known as the Industrial Revolution. The

Allan, Kenneth. Explorations in Classical Sociological Theory: Seeing the Social World. Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge, 2005. Print.

The field of sociology is an old but ever changing study that originated around the time of the Industrial Revolution (Furze et al. 2015, p. 2); this revolution evoked a series of new and serious social troubles that attracted the attention of many social thinkers. Such social thinkers included the American sociologist C. Wright Mills. In his famous work, The Sociological Imagination, Mills (1978) discusses the relationship between ‘private troubles’ and ‘public issues’ by highlighting the connection between the aspects of private troubles and social structures. From the works of sociologists such as Mills; sociology was shaped into the diverse field as we presently know it. Essentially in descriptive terms, sociology is the “systematic study

There are many classical sociologists in the world with many different theories and key elements within the sociological imagination. James Fulcher and John Scott (p.21, 2011) explain why theories of sociologists in past time and todays modern so-ciety are so important and why they can still be relevant today, “theory is or should be an attempt to describe and explain the real world, it is impossible to know any-thing about the real world without drawing on some kind of theoretical ideas.” Per-ceptions of Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim and Max Weber (who can also be known as the ‘holy trinity’ of the three founding fathers) theories have been interpreted for hundreds of years, leading to them having a remarkable impact in history and to-day’s

In order to measure the benefits of a revolution or of any new idea, one must consider both the impact on society and the impact on the people involved. I strongly believe that the rights and freedoms of citizens should under no circumstances be hindered by economic or scientific progress. The American people should be prioritized over anything else. Therefore, when this ideal is not upheld, society is negatively impacted. For example: during the industrial revolution, the quality of life for the working class suffered drastically due to changes in the nature of labor. As factories and mass production were popularized, the American economy boomed and industry grew in leaps and bounds. As a country, we flourished. But this progress came

Choose any one concept or argument developed within classical sociology. Critically evaluate the use made of this concept or argument by contemporary sociology in trying to understand a current social issue

Modernity, it is a macro process of transition from traditional to modern society. “Formation of a modern political map of the world began in early 1800 in Western Europe and maybe characterized as the product of the twin revolutions.” European colonization of the New World, the economic and political development of new territories led to significant changes in the political map. Modernity it is a complex of multi-faceted process that took a place in Europe during the 18th century and had covered all aspects of society. The modernity of the production meant the industrialization - is constantly growing use of machines. In the social sphere modernization is closely linked with urbanization, an unprecedented growth of cities, which led to prevailing in the economic life of society. In the political sphere modernity meant the democracy of political structures, laying the preconditions for the formation of a civil society and rule of law. In the spiritual realm associated with secularization -: the release of all spheres of public and private life from the separation of religion and the church, their worldliness and intensive development of literacy, education, scientific knowledge. All of these are inextricably linked to each other processes of change emotional attitudes of man,

The sociological imagination raises three core questions. Firstly, what is the structure of the society being studied? Secondly, what relevance does its context in history have? And thirdly, how does it influence and shape those within it? (Mills, 1959: 6-7). The consideration of these questions enables the greatest understanding of the relationship between society and an individual’s position and circumstance, and is what makes the concept sociological.

Having written The Sociological Imagination in 1959, C. Wright Mills was brought up in a society far more different and archaic than the idea of contemporary society today. The ideals that were imparted to him during his lifetime provided a framework to the ideals that are imparted to people today; however, like all incarnations, processes and ideas adapted to situate themselves into the transitioning threads of society. Through his elaboration on the sociological imagination, C. Wright Mills portrays the plight of the average citizen during his time period in a jaded light thereby providing a limited, but nonetheless relevant scope of the sociological plight of the average citizen in contemporary society.

Karl Marx is the first in a series of 19th and 20th century theorists who started the call for an empirical approach to social science. Theorizing about the rise of modernity accompanied by the decline in traditional societies and advocating for a change in the means of production in order to enable social justice. Marx’s theories on modernity reveals his beliefs of modern society as being influenced by the advancement of productive forces of modern industry and the relationships of production between the capitalist and the wage laborers. The concept of modernity refers to a post-feudal historical period that is characterized by the move away from feudalism and toward capitalism. Modernity focuses on the affects that the rise of capitalism has had on social relations, and notes Karl Marx and Max Weber as influential theorists commenting on this. The quick advancement of major innovations after the Enlightenment period known as modernity stood in stark contrast to the incremental development of even the most complex pre-modern societies, which saw productive forces developing at a much slower pace, over hundreds or thousands of years as compared to modern times, with swift growth and change. This alarming contrast fascinated Marx who traced the spawning of modern capitalism in the Communist Manifesto, citing this record speed as the heat which generated the creation of the global division of labor and a greater variety of productive forces than anytime before. Ultimately,

There are many different perspectives on the growth of modernity. Society is constantly changing as more time passes by. People like Emile Durkheim and Max Weber both offer their own individual perspective on how the growth of modernity came about and how we have come to understand today’s society. In the 1890s period Emile Durkheim a sociologist, in France watched the transformation of society go from a ‘primitive’ stance into something more complex also known as ‘organic solidarity’. Max Weber a German sociologist on the other hand, his view was in regards to how the growth of government was a driving force in modernity to maintain order, organisation and administration of specialised functions. Both theses sociologists’ theories are