Contemporary Sociological Theories
Hoorcollege 1
What is theory?
What is ‘sociology’?
The systematic analysis of social phenomena (>< individual effects).
Inequality problem: distribution of SES in society vs. your SES
Cohesion problem: suicide rates after financial crisis vs. suicide of a friend
Rationalisation problem: rise of capitalism in Western countries vs. foundation of Philips in 1891
Theories?
‘An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory’ R.W. Emerson (if do something, there’s always theory behind; do right thing).
‘Theory is an instrument to make sense about the world around you’ (way of thinking, get grip on social reality).
Example: P: Young people working hard in library Q: why not spending their time on other activities? Assumption: non-library
activity more normal T: these are students. All students want to pass. To pass, students need to work hard in the library.
Social theory comes from:
Empirical observation (induction); arrives from observations around us.
Any part of social life (not necessarily from a scientific activity), including everyday life, art etc.
‘common sense’ can be seen as a social theory about the world (a very general, widespread & often quite blunt theory).
Every social theory is in some wat related to the socio-historical context in which it occurs.
It is not ABOVE ongoing social and political developments/struggles.
Theory vs reality (cycle of empirical research)
(Differences) theory, opinion & fact
Opinion: a view or a judgement formed about something, not necessarily based on fact of knowledge (Oxford, 2001).
Fact: a thing that is indisputable the case (Sears & Cairns, 2015).
Theory:
A supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain something, especially one based on general principles independent of
the things to be explained (Oxford, 2001).
A (tentative) answer to an explanatory question (answer to a ‘why’ question).
A more or less coherent system of definitions and assumptions aimed at explaining some aspects of reality.
Theories are tested by deriving hypotheses (implications) from the assumptions.
A set of interrelated idea that allows for the systematization of knowledge of the social world, the explanation of that
world, and predictions about the future of the social world (Ritzer & Stepnisky, 2013).
The logic of empirical tests of theories (empirical cycle)
1. Propose a theory
2. Derive empirically testable implications
(rethink)
3. Compare these implications with data
4.1 Corroboration of theory 4.2 Refutation of theory
Good or bad theories
Good theories:
Logically coherent.
Explain a lot by assuming a little (parsimonious). Theories are supposed to make the world simpler for us to understand.
Empirically testable and supported by empirical tests
, The simpler the better.
Pioneers or forerunners
Order/conflict: Hobbes, Locke, Bentham.
Inequality/subordination: Ferguson, Millar.
Wealth: Smith.
Kant: all our knowledge begins with the senses, proceeds then to understanding, ends with reason (nothing > reason).
Hegel: an idea is always a generalization, and generalization is a property of thinking. To generalize means to think.
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)
The nature of knowledge (epistemology) and reality (ontology).
Position between realism and idealism.
Each object in the world has 2 sides:
Noumenal side: beyond the perception of human beings; not understandable.
Phenomenal side: through our own mind.
We can only know the world through our mind, the noumenal side is meaningless without our interpretation.
All human minds are alike, so we all perceive the same world (everybody has the same way of looking to the world).
George Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831)
Dialects: processes of movement and change.
Social structures and the actions of individuals are dialectically intertwined (verweven).
Alienation (self-estrangement): through their activity, people created a culture which
then confronted them as an alien force (so not as their creature).
Element structure/conflict new element
Sociological family tree
Paradigmata or traditions
Paradigmata
Kuhn: Relatie sociologie en natuurwetenschap.
Normal Science: allerlei vragen binnen wetensch gebied kun je met bestaande tools die je hebt beantwoorden.
Model drift: met bestaande theorie kan je niet meer tot antwoorden komen, dus model komt op drift.
Model crisis: ‘te veel’ crisis, er zijn geen antwoorden meer.
Model revolution: op een andere manier naar de werkelijkheid kijken.
Paradigma change: paradigma shift vd ene paradigma naar de andere paradigma.
Id Sociologische wetenschappen: meerdere paradigmata naast elkaar. Er zijn verschillende theorieën hoe je naar de
samenleving kan kijken; welke past het beste bij je onderzoek?
Dezelfde werkelijkheid kan er totaal anders uitzien (plaatje oude vrouw – jonge vrouw!).
Bij paradigmata blijft men vaak in hetzelfde beeld zitten/hangen (als je de ene vrouw ziet, soms heel lastig om andere te zien!).
Paradigm or tradition
,A way of looking to society, which steers scientific thinking and research: theoretical and methodological.
Example: picture old woman/young woman; same picture, but looking in totally different way.
Two ways of looking at social reality
Enlightenment thought/positivism Romantic thought/interpretivism
France Germany
Natural science Literature and art
Search for laws and facts Search for meaning in individual’s mind and in group (‘culture’)
Constant human nature everywhere Variable cultural dispositions, no single human nature
Criticism of tradition; positive view of modernity Nostalgia for tradition; ambivalent or negative view of modernity
Positivism and interpretivism in the same time, next to each other.
4 main Paradigmata in sociology
(Structural) functionalist paradigm: Durkheim
Conflict paradigm: Marx (historisch materialisme).
Symbolic interactionistic paradigm: Weber
Rational choice paradigm: partly based on Weber (Smith, Hobbes; costs-benefit).
4 sociological theoretical traditions
Functionalism: social phenomena must be explained by their function for society.
Conflict theory: social phenomena must be explained as the results of conflicts between groups in society.
Rational choice theory: social phenomena = (unintended) consequences of rational decisions by individuals.
Symbolic interactionism: social phenomena = results of interaction between individuals through symbols and meaning.
Paradigms in sociological theory
Problems with Paradigmata
Sociology is part of society, and so is the sociologist (how do you look at the world). This determines your view on society.
There is no complete or overarching picture of theory on how society works. It is always restricted and selective: ‘Partial
perspectives’ (every paradigm is always a partial sign on how society works).
‘Traditions’ versus theories
Paradigm is theoretical tradition, but not theory.
Theoretical tradition = family of theories with common assumptions.
Theoretical tradition theory: does not focus on a specific explanatory problem.
Division into traditions is more or less arbitrary: many specific theories combine elements from several traditions (cf. Musical
genres). There are more than 4. This course focusses on the most important and what happened after these 4 traditions.
Three ways of thinking about theory
Theory as paradigm: that which underpins research design.
Perspective on society; way on how you look at the world.
Theory as a ‘lens’: that which may inform our understanding of the phenomenon under investigation.
Literature/theory which gives you first initial answer on research question
Theory as new knowledge: that which may emerge from our study.
Mostly when qualitative, not directly information. Emerging theory from your analysis.
Theory as paradigm
Ontology: philosophical assumptions about what constitutes social reality.
Epistemology: what we accept as valid evidence of that reality.
, Methodology: the means by which we investigate that context.
Methods: the means by which we gather evidence.
4 key ‘paradigm’ questions
What do we believe exists? (Ontology)
Fundamental beliefs that someone holds about the nature of social world and its relationship to individual social actors.
Social reality exists independent of the observer.
Social reality is constructed by people in particular social, cultural and historical contexts.
What constitutes reliable & valid knowledge? (Epistemology)
Causal relationships between observable phenomena.
Interpretations of meaning.
These 2 questions are central for CST course (they are essential for paradigms)!
How we produce reliable and valid knowledge? (Methodology)
What ‘strategies of inquiry’ are appropriate to our ontological/epistemological position.
(descriptive/confirmatory <-> explanatory/exploratory).
How can we collect data to test our theories or describe social phenomena? (Methods)
What data collection approaches/tools are appropriate to the methodology.
Role of social theory and sociologists
Theory as neutral: truth can be found by systematic investigation (neutral observer; theory to investigate).
Theory, for a change (Marx: fight for right):
The powerful own the truth.
Liberation via knowledge.
Theory as deconstruction (deconstruction (afbouw) of how the world works):
There is no truth or objectivity.
No liberation, but deconstruction to critique claims of truth.
Evaluating social theories
Major levels of social reality (Ritzer, 1983)
Ordering the theoretical traditions
1. Subject matter: the central topic.
2. Assumptions: view of human nature.
3. Methodology: types of argumentation and research.
4. Objectives: types of questions the theory should answer.
1. Subject matter: the central topic
Micro-sociology Macro-sociology
Person-to-person Large-scale characteristics of social structures and roles.
Human interaction
- Rational choice theory - Functionalism
- Symbolic interactionism - Conflict theory
2. Core assumptions: view of human nature
Humans are predictable Humans are creative (not predictable)
Hoorcollege 1
What is theory?
What is ‘sociology’?
The systematic analysis of social phenomena (>< individual effects).
Inequality problem: distribution of SES in society vs. your SES
Cohesion problem: suicide rates after financial crisis vs. suicide of a friend
Rationalisation problem: rise of capitalism in Western countries vs. foundation of Philips in 1891
Theories?
‘An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory’ R.W. Emerson (if do something, there’s always theory behind; do right thing).
‘Theory is an instrument to make sense about the world around you’ (way of thinking, get grip on social reality).
Example: P: Young people working hard in library Q: why not spending their time on other activities? Assumption: non-library
activity more normal T: these are students. All students want to pass. To pass, students need to work hard in the library.
Social theory comes from:
Empirical observation (induction); arrives from observations around us.
Any part of social life (not necessarily from a scientific activity), including everyday life, art etc.
‘common sense’ can be seen as a social theory about the world (a very general, widespread & often quite blunt theory).
Every social theory is in some wat related to the socio-historical context in which it occurs.
It is not ABOVE ongoing social and political developments/struggles.
Theory vs reality (cycle of empirical research)
(Differences) theory, opinion & fact
Opinion: a view or a judgement formed about something, not necessarily based on fact of knowledge (Oxford, 2001).
Fact: a thing that is indisputable the case (Sears & Cairns, 2015).
Theory:
A supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain something, especially one based on general principles independent of
the things to be explained (Oxford, 2001).
A (tentative) answer to an explanatory question (answer to a ‘why’ question).
A more or less coherent system of definitions and assumptions aimed at explaining some aspects of reality.
Theories are tested by deriving hypotheses (implications) from the assumptions.
A set of interrelated idea that allows for the systematization of knowledge of the social world, the explanation of that
world, and predictions about the future of the social world (Ritzer & Stepnisky, 2013).
The logic of empirical tests of theories (empirical cycle)
1. Propose a theory
2. Derive empirically testable implications
(rethink)
3. Compare these implications with data
4.1 Corroboration of theory 4.2 Refutation of theory
Good or bad theories
Good theories:
Logically coherent.
Explain a lot by assuming a little (parsimonious). Theories are supposed to make the world simpler for us to understand.
Empirically testable and supported by empirical tests
, The simpler the better.
Pioneers or forerunners
Order/conflict: Hobbes, Locke, Bentham.
Inequality/subordination: Ferguson, Millar.
Wealth: Smith.
Kant: all our knowledge begins with the senses, proceeds then to understanding, ends with reason (nothing > reason).
Hegel: an idea is always a generalization, and generalization is a property of thinking. To generalize means to think.
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)
The nature of knowledge (epistemology) and reality (ontology).
Position between realism and idealism.
Each object in the world has 2 sides:
Noumenal side: beyond the perception of human beings; not understandable.
Phenomenal side: through our own mind.
We can only know the world through our mind, the noumenal side is meaningless without our interpretation.
All human minds are alike, so we all perceive the same world (everybody has the same way of looking to the world).
George Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831)
Dialects: processes of movement and change.
Social structures and the actions of individuals are dialectically intertwined (verweven).
Alienation (self-estrangement): through their activity, people created a culture which
then confronted them as an alien force (so not as their creature).
Element structure/conflict new element
Sociological family tree
Paradigmata or traditions
Paradigmata
Kuhn: Relatie sociologie en natuurwetenschap.
Normal Science: allerlei vragen binnen wetensch gebied kun je met bestaande tools die je hebt beantwoorden.
Model drift: met bestaande theorie kan je niet meer tot antwoorden komen, dus model komt op drift.
Model crisis: ‘te veel’ crisis, er zijn geen antwoorden meer.
Model revolution: op een andere manier naar de werkelijkheid kijken.
Paradigma change: paradigma shift vd ene paradigma naar de andere paradigma.
Id Sociologische wetenschappen: meerdere paradigmata naast elkaar. Er zijn verschillende theorieën hoe je naar de
samenleving kan kijken; welke past het beste bij je onderzoek?
Dezelfde werkelijkheid kan er totaal anders uitzien (plaatje oude vrouw – jonge vrouw!).
Bij paradigmata blijft men vaak in hetzelfde beeld zitten/hangen (als je de ene vrouw ziet, soms heel lastig om andere te zien!).
Paradigm or tradition
,A way of looking to society, which steers scientific thinking and research: theoretical and methodological.
Example: picture old woman/young woman; same picture, but looking in totally different way.
Two ways of looking at social reality
Enlightenment thought/positivism Romantic thought/interpretivism
France Germany
Natural science Literature and art
Search for laws and facts Search for meaning in individual’s mind and in group (‘culture’)
Constant human nature everywhere Variable cultural dispositions, no single human nature
Criticism of tradition; positive view of modernity Nostalgia for tradition; ambivalent or negative view of modernity
Positivism and interpretivism in the same time, next to each other.
4 main Paradigmata in sociology
(Structural) functionalist paradigm: Durkheim
Conflict paradigm: Marx (historisch materialisme).
Symbolic interactionistic paradigm: Weber
Rational choice paradigm: partly based on Weber (Smith, Hobbes; costs-benefit).
4 sociological theoretical traditions
Functionalism: social phenomena must be explained by their function for society.
Conflict theory: social phenomena must be explained as the results of conflicts between groups in society.
Rational choice theory: social phenomena = (unintended) consequences of rational decisions by individuals.
Symbolic interactionism: social phenomena = results of interaction between individuals through symbols and meaning.
Paradigms in sociological theory
Problems with Paradigmata
Sociology is part of society, and so is the sociologist (how do you look at the world). This determines your view on society.
There is no complete or overarching picture of theory on how society works. It is always restricted and selective: ‘Partial
perspectives’ (every paradigm is always a partial sign on how society works).
‘Traditions’ versus theories
Paradigm is theoretical tradition, but not theory.
Theoretical tradition = family of theories with common assumptions.
Theoretical tradition theory: does not focus on a specific explanatory problem.
Division into traditions is more or less arbitrary: many specific theories combine elements from several traditions (cf. Musical
genres). There are more than 4. This course focusses on the most important and what happened after these 4 traditions.
Three ways of thinking about theory
Theory as paradigm: that which underpins research design.
Perspective on society; way on how you look at the world.
Theory as a ‘lens’: that which may inform our understanding of the phenomenon under investigation.
Literature/theory which gives you first initial answer on research question
Theory as new knowledge: that which may emerge from our study.
Mostly when qualitative, not directly information. Emerging theory from your analysis.
Theory as paradigm
Ontology: philosophical assumptions about what constitutes social reality.
Epistemology: what we accept as valid evidence of that reality.
, Methodology: the means by which we investigate that context.
Methods: the means by which we gather evidence.
4 key ‘paradigm’ questions
What do we believe exists? (Ontology)
Fundamental beliefs that someone holds about the nature of social world and its relationship to individual social actors.
Social reality exists independent of the observer.
Social reality is constructed by people in particular social, cultural and historical contexts.
What constitutes reliable & valid knowledge? (Epistemology)
Causal relationships between observable phenomena.
Interpretations of meaning.
These 2 questions are central for CST course (they are essential for paradigms)!
How we produce reliable and valid knowledge? (Methodology)
What ‘strategies of inquiry’ are appropriate to our ontological/epistemological position.
(descriptive/confirmatory <-> explanatory/exploratory).
How can we collect data to test our theories or describe social phenomena? (Methods)
What data collection approaches/tools are appropriate to the methodology.
Role of social theory and sociologists
Theory as neutral: truth can be found by systematic investigation (neutral observer; theory to investigate).
Theory, for a change (Marx: fight for right):
The powerful own the truth.
Liberation via knowledge.
Theory as deconstruction (deconstruction (afbouw) of how the world works):
There is no truth or objectivity.
No liberation, but deconstruction to critique claims of truth.
Evaluating social theories
Major levels of social reality (Ritzer, 1983)
Ordering the theoretical traditions
1. Subject matter: the central topic.
2. Assumptions: view of human nature.
3. Methodology: types of argumentation and research.
4. Objectives: types of questions the theory should answer.
1. Subject matter: the central topic
Micro-sociology Macro-sociology
Person-to-person Large-scale characteristics of social structures and roles.
Human interaction
- Rational choice theory - Functionalism
- Symbolic interactionism - Conflict theory
2. Core assumptions: view of human nature
Humans are predictable Humans are creative (not predictable)
