Lectures sociology
Lecture 2:
different questions:
1. Descriptive question: what is going on?
2. Trend or comparative question: what is going on compared to?
3. Explanatory question: why is this going on?
4. Test question: is it going on because of?
5. Application question: does this policy lead to?
Inductive vs. deductive
- Deductive: start with theory confirm hypothesis tend to do quantitative research.
- Inductive: start with data infer conclusion from data tend to do qualitative research.
Theory and paradigmata:
- Paradigm: a perspective on society that informs scientific thinking and research
1. Conflict paradigm: Karl Marx
2. Structural functionalism: Emile Durkheim
3. Interactionistic paradigm: Weber
a. Symbolic interactionistic paradigm
b. Rational choice paradigm
- There is always a partial and selective view on how society works: partial perspective
Agency and structure:
- Agency (actor): producing producing reality around you
- Structure (structuur): reproducing
- In social science, agency is defined as the capacity of individuals to act independently and to
make their own free choices. By contrast, structure are those factors of influence (such as social
class, religion, gender, ethnicity, ability, customs, etc.) that determine or limit agents and their
decisions.
Lecture 3:
- Rise of science discovery of America by Columbus social problems arose
(order/conflict/inequality)
Founding fathers:
- Order/conflict:
o Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)
o John Locke (1632-1704)
o Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832)
- Inequality/subordination:
o Adam Ferguson (1723-1816)
o John Millar (1735-1801)
- Wealth:
o Adam Smith (1723-1790)
Order/conflict:
- Hobbes:
o Why does the community not fall apart in a war of all against all?
o How is it possible that people live together peacefully?
o L: law
o C: condition
o H: hypothesis
o L1: people want to achieve certain goals; they succeed the more means they have
o C1: goals food, status, knowledge, prosperity, long life, etc.
o C2: means property, knowledge, violence (force), etc.
o H1: more property, knowledge, violence, the more prosperity, longer life, food…
o C3: means are scarce
o H2: people will choose the means that help them achieve their goals the most
, o H3: the more goals can be achieved by the use of violence, the more violence will be
used
o C4: more scarcity increases return of violence
o C5: more equality in strength increases returns on violence
o H4: this state of nature lead to a war of all against all
- John Locke: improves theory of Hobbes and raises other sub questions of order problem
o H1: in a state where the prosecutor also verdicts, there is more violence of the state
against its citizens (suppression)
o H2: the more suppression, the higher the chance of revolts of citizens against the state
o T1 (Hobbes): one ruler has all power (leviathan) = dictatorship
o T2 (Locke): division of power (trias politica) = democracy
o P: is there more violence in a dictatorship than in a democracy?
o O: Yes, dictatorship more suppression and more resistance than democracy, but less
violence between citizens and less petty crimes. And transition to democracy leads to
temporary increase in violence between citizens.
- Jeremy Bentham: violence between citizens, improves Hobbes’ theory
o Utility = benefits – costs
o L: people want pleasure and avoid pain
o L*: people act in ways in which the benefits exceed the costs
o L: people choose alternative that has the greatest returns
o C: 2 alternatives: to steal/not to steal
o C: benefits of stealing (Ben): the loot, status, happiness
o C: costs of stealing (Cst): punishment, opportunity costs
o H L: stealing when (Ben – Cst) stealing > (Ben – Cst) not stealing
o C (Bentham): jurisdiction increases Cst (more punishment)
o H: the more punishment, the less stealing
o High punishment increases the benefits of violence
- Violence:
o Hobbes:
Violence state vs. state
Violence of all vs. all
o Locke:
Violence of state vs. citizens
Violence of citizens vs. state
o Bentham:
Violence one vs. one
Inequality/subordination:
- Adam Ferguson: distribution of resources
o Which scarce resource? Capital (land, cattle), well-being (food, clothes, prestige)
o Whom? Undetermined – some more than others
o Why inequality?
General H: means of existence society
Specific H: society farming more unequal than Hunters and Gatherers
- John Millar: distribution of rights
o Extended Ferguson’s problem of inequality
o Which scares resource? Distribution of rights
o Whom?
Women – men
Children – father
Citizens – ruler
Personnel – masters
o Why?
H: the more modern means of existence, the more equal the division of rights
, Wealth:
- Adam smith:
o Why is one society wealthier than the other?
o T1: possession of natural resources
o T2: protectionism
o T3 (Smith): size of market
In large markets more specialization and exchange
Modification theory Smith: division of labor is determined by: natural factors
(size of market) and social factors (freedom of market)
o Absolute deprivation: No food, or means of existence
o Relative deprivation: the experience of being deprived of something to which one
believes to be entitled. It refers to the discontent people feel when they compare their
positions to others and realize that they have less of what they believe themselves to be
entitled with than those around them.
Utilitarian individualism:
- Pioneers had distinct problems (P)
- But equal theoretical core (L)
o Achieving goals with resources that can do so best (Hobbes)
o Benefits > costs (Bentham, Smith)
- U.I.
o Utilitarian = utility
o Individualism = hypotheses on individuals
How did it develop?
- Order:
o Durkheim
o Expansion to cohesion
o Explanation: social integration
- Inequality:
o Marx (and Engels)
o Expansion inequality between whom
o Explanation: (adverse) effects capitalism
- Wealth:
o Weber
o Expansion to rationalization in other domains
o Explanation: religion/world view
Lecture 4:
Genesis of sociology:
- Changes in structures of societies: (classification based on technology)
1. Hunters and collectors
2. Nomadic societies
3. Agrarian societies
4. Industrial societies
5. Post-industrial societies
- Societal changes:
1. Economic changes: growth of capitalism and the industrial revolution (1750)
2. Political changes: French revolution (1789): freedom, equality and solidarity
3. Developments in religion (churches)
4. Growth of cities and the genesis of social problems
- The enlightenment
o Basic values (basis of society = social contract Hobbes and Rousseau_
o Targets of rationalist criticism
Traditional religious system of belief
Lecture 2:
different questions:
1. Descriptive question: what is going on?
2. Trend or comparative question: what is going on compared to?
3. Explanatory question: why is this going on?
4. Test question: is it going on because of?
5. Application question: does this policy lead to?
Inductive vs. deductive
- Deductive: start with theory confirm hypothesis tend to do quantitative research.
- Inductive: start with data infer conclusion from data tend to do qualitative research.
Theory and paradigmata:
- Paradigm: a perspective on society that informs scientific thinking and research
1. Conflict paradigm: Karl Marx
2. Structural functionalism: Emile Durkheim
3. Interactionistic paradigm: Weber
a. Symbolic interactionistic paradigm
b. Rational choice paradigm
- There is always a partial and selective view on how society works: partial perspective
Agency and structure:
- Agency (actor): producing producing reality around you
- Structure (structuur): reproducing
- In social science, agency is defined as the capacity of individuals to act independently and to
make their own free choices. By contrast, structure are those factors of influence (such as social
class, religion, gender, ethnicity, ability, customs, etc.) that determine or limit agents and their
decisions.
Lecture 3:
- Rise of science discovery of America by Columbus social problems arose
(order/conflict/inequality)
Founding fathers:
- Order/conflict:
o Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)
o John Locke (1632-1704)
o Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832)
- Inequality/subordination:
o Adam Ferguson (1723-1816)
o John Millar (1735-1801)
- Wealth:
o Adam Smith (1723-1790)
Order/conflict:
- Hobbes:
o Why does the community not fall apart in a war of all against all?
o How is it possible that people live together peacefully?
o L: law
o C: condition
o H: hypothesis
o L1: people want to achieve certain goals; they succeed the more means they have
o C1: goals food, status, knowledge, prosperity, long life, etc.
o C2: means property, knowledge, violence (force), etc.
o H1: more property, knowledge, violence, the more prosperity, longer life, food…
o C3: means are scarce
o H2: people will choose the means that help them achieve their goals the most
, o H3: the more goals can be achieved by the use of violence, the more violence will be
used
o C4: more scarcity increases return of violence
o C5: more equality in strength increases returns on violence
o H4: this state of nature lead to a war of all against all
- John Locke: improves theory of Hobbes and raises other sub questions of order problem
o H1: in a state where the prosecutor also verdicts, there is more violence of the state
against its citizens (suppression)
o H2: the more suppression, the higher the chance of revolts of citizens against the state
o T1 (Hobbes): one ruler has all power (leviathan) = dictatorship
o T2 (Locke): division of power (trias politica) = democracy
o P: is there more violence in a dictatorship than in a democracy?
o O: Yes, dictatorship more suppression and more resistance than democracy, but less
violence between citizens and less petty crimes. And transition to democracy leads to
temporary increase in violence between citizens.
- Jeremy Bentham: violence between citizens, improves Hobbes’ theory
o Utility = benefits – costs
o L: people want pleasure and avoid pain
o L*: people act in ways in which the benefits exceed the costs
o L: people choose alternative that has the greatest returns
o C: 2 alternatives: to steal/not to steal
o C: benefits of stealing (Ben): the loot, status, happiness
o C: costs of stealing (Cst): punishment, opportunity costs
o H L: stealing when (Ben – Cst) stealing > (Ben – Cst) not stealing
o C (Bentham): jurisdiction increases Cst (more punishment)
o H: the more punishment, the less stealing
o High punishment increases the benefits of violence
- Violence:
o Hobbes:
Violence state vs. state
Violence of all vs. all
o Locke:
Violence of state vs. citizens
Violence of citizens vs. state
o Bentham:
Violence one vs. one
Inequality/subordination:
- Adam Ferguson: distribution of resources
o Which scarce resource? Capital (land, cattle), well-being (food, clothes, prestige)
o Whom? Undetermined – some more than others
o Why inequality?
General H: means of existence society
Specific H: society farming more unequal than Hunters and Gatherers
- John Millar: distribution of rights
o Extended Ferguson’s problem of inequality
o Which scares resource? Distribution of rights
o Whom?
Women – men
Children – father
Citizens – ruler
Personnel – masters
o Why?
H: the more modern means of existence, the more equal the division of rights
, Wealth:
- Adam smith:
o Why is one society wealthier than the other?
o T1: possession of natural resources
o T2: protectionism
o T3 (Smith): size of market
In large markets more specialization and exchange
Modification theory Smith: division of labor is determined by: natural factors
(size of market) and social factors (freedom of market)
o Absolute deprivation: No food, or means of existence
o Relative deprivation: the experience of being deprived of something to which one
believes to be entitled. It refers to the discontent people feel when they compare their
positions to others and realize that they have less of what they believe themselves to be
entitled with than those around them.
Utilitarian individualism:
- Pioneers had distinct problems (P)
- But equal theoretical core (L)
o Achieving goals with resources that can do so best (Hobbes)
o Benefits > costs (Bentham, Smith)
- U.I.
o Utilitarian = utility
o Individualism = hypotheses on individuals
How did it develop?
- Order:
o Durkheim
o Expansion to cohesion
o Explanation: social integration
- Inequality:
o Marx (and Engels)
o Expansion inequality between whom
o Explanation: (adverse) effects capitalism
- Wealth:
o Weber
o Expansion to rationalization in other domains
o Explanation: religion/world view
Lecture 4:
Genesis of sociology:
- Changes in structures of societies: (classification based on technology)
1. Hunters and collectors
2. Nomadic societies
3. Agrarian societies
4. Industrial societies
5. Post-industrial societies
- Societal changes:
1. Economic changes: growth of capitalism and the industrial revolution (1750)
2. Political changes: French revolution (1789): freedom, equality and solidarity
3. Developments in religion (churches)
4. Growth of cities and the genesis of social problems
- The enlightenment
o Basic values (basis of society = social contract Hobbes and Rousseau_
o Targets of rationalist criticism
Traditional religious system of belief
