Basic concepts of Sociology

Demonstrate an understanding of the subject matter of the field of sociology, including the major concepts and vocabulary.

1. Society

2. Society Man is a social animal. He lives in social groups, in communities and in society. Human life and society almost go together. Man cannot live as man, without society. Society has become an essential condition for human life to arise and to continue. It is more than our environment. It is within us as well as around us.

3. Man depends on society The individual is living, breathing, working, playing, resting, praying, enjoying, suffering, etc., in society. It is in the society than an individual is surrounded and encompassed by culture, a societal force . He has to conform to the norms, occupy statuses and become members of groups. Emotional development, intellectual maturity, social behaviour, etc., are unthinkable without society. No human being is known to have normally developed in isolation.

4. Origin of the society The social contract theory throws light on the origin of the society. According to this theory, all men are a born free and equal. Individual precedes society. Society came into existence because of an agreement entered into by the individuals. The classical representatives of this school thought are Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and J.J. Rousseau.

5. Social contract theory – Thomas Hobbes Thomas Hobbes opinion that society came into being as a means for the protection of men against the consequences of their own nature. Man in the state of nature was in perpetual conflict with his neighbours on account of his essentially selfish nature. Every man as an enemy to every other man. According to him, man found “nothing but grief in the company of his follows” – all being almost equally “selfish, self-seeking, cunning, egoistic, brutal and aggressive”. Since the conditions in the state of nature were intolerable and men longed for peace.

6. Social contract theory – Thomas Hobbes The people entered into a kind of social contract to ensure for themselves security and certainty of life and property. By mutual agreement they decided to surrender their natural rights into the hands of a few or one with authority to command. The covenant or agreement was of each with all and of all with each. The covenant was, of course, a social contract and a governmental contract. The contract became binding on the whole community as a perpetual social bond. Thus, in order to protect himself against the evil consequences of his own nature, man organised himself in society in order to live in peace with all.

7. Social contract theory – John Locke John Locke believed that, man in the state of nature was enjoying an ideal liberty, free from all sorts of rules and regulations . The state of nature was a state of “peace, goodwill, mutual assistance, and preservation”. But, there was no recognised system of law and justice. Hence his peaceful life was often upset by the ‘corruption and viciousness of degenerate men”. Man was forced to face such an “ill condition”.

8. Social contract theory – John Locke In order to escape from this and to gain certainty and security men made a contract to enter into civil society or the state . This contract Locke called ‘social contract’. This contract put an end to the state of nature and substituted it by civil society. The social contract later on contributed to the governmental control. The governmental contract was made by the society when it established a government and selected a ruler to remove the inconveniences of “ill-condition”.

9. Social contract theory – J.J. Rousseau Jean Jacques Rousseau in his book, “The Social Contract” (1762) wrote that man in the state of nature was a ‘noble savage’ who led a life of “primitive simplicity and idyllic happiness”. He was independent, contented, self-sufficient, healthy, fearless and good . It was only primitive instinct and sympathy which united him with others. Man enjoyed a pure, unsophisticated, innocent life of perfect freedom and equality in the state of nature. Men were free from the influence of civilisation , and sought their own happiness uncontrolled by social laws and social institution.

10. Social contract theory – J.J. Rousseau But these conditions did not last long. Population increased and reason was dawned. Simplicity and idyllic happiness disappeared. Families were established, institution of property emerged and human equality was ended. Man began to think in terms of ‘mine’ and ‘thine’. Difference between stronger and weaker, rich and poor, arose.

11. Social contract theory – J.J. Rousseau When equality and happiness of the early state was lost, war, murder, conflicts, etc., became the order of the day. The escape from this was found in the formation of a civil society. Natural freedom gave place to civil freedom by a social contract. As a result of this contract a multitude of individuals become a collective unity. The individual surrendered himself completely and unconditionally to the will of the body of which became a member. The body so created was a moral and collective body and Rousseau called it the ‘general will’.

12. The organismic theory of society This view, at least as ancient as the contract idea, conceives society as a biological system, a greater organism, alike in its structure and its functions. This theory can even be dated back to Plato, Aristotle and H. Spencer. Plato compared society and state to a magnified human being. He divided society into three classes of rulers, the warriors and artisans upon three faculties of human soul , that is wisdom, courage and desire. Aristotle drew a comparison between the symmetry of the state and symmetry of the body and firmly held that the individual is an intrinsic part of the society.

13. The organismic theory of society – Herbert Spencer Spencer gives striking structural analogies between society and organism. The sustaining system : in an organism consists of mouth, gullet, stomach and intestines . It is by means of this system that food is digested and the whole organic machine is sustained. Society has its own sustaining system which refers to the productive system comprising the manufacturing districts and agricultural areas. The workers, i.e., the men who form the soil, work the mines and factories and workshops are the alimentary organs of a society.

14. The organismic theory of society – Herbert Spencer The distributary system : in an organism consists of the blood vessels, heart, arteries and veins and they carry blood to all parts of the body. Means of communication and transport and along with them the wholesalers, retailers, bankers, railway and others may correspond to the distributary or vascular system of society. Finally, the regulating system : is the nerve-motor mechanism which regulates the whole body . Government in society, regulates and controls the activities of the individuals . The professional men – doctors, lawyers, engineers, rules, priests, the thinkers, in short, preform the functions of the brain and nervous system.

15. Definition of Society Wright – Society is not a group of people, it is the system of relationship that exists between the individual of the group. G.D.M. Cole – Society is a complex of organized association and communication with a community. Giddings – Society is a union itself the organization the sum of formal relations in which associating individuals are bound together. MacIver – Society is web of social relationship

16. Characteristics of Society Society consists of people Mutual interaction and mutual awareness Society depends on likeness Society rests on differences too Co-operation and division of labour Society implies interdependence also Society is dynamic

17. Characteristics of Society Society consists of people Society is composed of people. Without the students and the teachers there can be no college and no university. Similarly, without people there can be no society, no social relationships, and so social life at all. Mutual interaction and mutual awareness Society is a group of people in continuous interaction with each other. It refers to the reciprocal contact between two or more persons.

18. Characteristics of Society Society depends on likeness Is an essential pre-requisite of society. The sense of likeness was focused in early society on kinships that is real or supposed blood relationships. In modern societies the conditions of social likeness have broadened out in the principle of nationality or one world.

19. Characteristics of Society Society rests on differences too But the sense of likeness does not eliminate diversity or variation. Society also implies difference and it depends on the latter as much as on likeness of all people were exactly alike, their social relationships would become very much limited. They would contribute very little to one another.

20. Characteristics of Society Co-operation and division of labour Without co-operation no society can exist. Unless people cooperate with each other, they cannot live a happy life. Family rests on co-operation. The members of the family cooperate with one another to live happy and joyfully.

21. Characteristics of Society Society implies interdependence also Social relationships are characterised by interdependence. Family, the most basic social group, for example, is based upon the interdependence of man and women. Society is dynamic Society is not static; it is dynamic. Change is ever present in society. Changeability is an inherent quality of human society. No society can ever remain constant for any length of time.

22. Community An area of social living. Whenever the members of any group, small, live together in such a way that they share their interest. The social relationships may be found within it. Communities are inclusive and independent on others. The character of the community and the role of the individual in it depend much on its territorial size, size of the population, nature of the local government and the economic pursuits of the people .

23. Definition of Community Bogardus – Community is a social group with some degree of “we-feeling” and living in given area. Ogburn and Nimkoff – Community is the total organization of social life with an limited area . Lundberg – Community is a human population living within a limited geographic area and carrying on a common inter-dependence life. Kingsley Davis – the community “is the smallest territorial group that can embrace all aspects of social life”.

24. Benefits of Community Life Provides the individual needed protection and security. Face dangers and overcome problems with the due assistance of the other members. Provides for co-operation of the members. Social, economic, cultural and other fields. Provides the individual opportunities for the manifestation of his talents and abilities. Feelings of service-mindedness, selflessness, self-sacrifice, kindness, patience, sublimity towards others and so on.

25. Element of Community Group of people Locality Community Sentiment Permanency Naturality Likeness Particular name

26. Elements of Community Group of people: Whenever the individuals live together in such a way that they share the basic conditions of a common life, we call them forming a community. Locality: The group of people forms a community when it begins to reside in a definite locality. Community always occupies a territorial area.

27. Elements of Community Community sentiment: Means a feeling of belonging together. It is “we-feeling” among the members. Permanency: Its not transitory like a crowd. It essentially includes a permanent life in a definite place. Naturality : Its not made or created by an act of will but are natural.

28. Elements of Community Likeness: There is a likeness in language, customs, mores etc. A particular name: Every community has some particular name. Ex; Panjab are called Panjabis

29. Types of Communities Communities are commonly divided into three general types – tribal, rural and urban. Tribal, rural or urban by references to its population, physical limits, legal status, occupations, social and economic institutions, relationships, folkways, etc. P.A. Sorokin and C.C. Zimmerman , in “Principles of Rural-Urban Sociology”, have stated that the factors distinguishing rural from urban communities include occupation, size, and density of population, as well as mobility, differentiation and stratification .

30. Tribal Community

31. Tribal Community Tribes are relatively isolated from larger cultural influences , have a rela­tive cultural homogeneity and a simple technology. They believe in spirits, magic and witchcraft. They have their own taboos which prohibit certain actions that are punishable by the community, by the supernatu­ral, or by magical consequences. Large number of the tribes believe in animism, according to which all objects—both animate and inanimate— are permanently or temporarily inhabited by spirits or souls. Many tribes believe in ancestor worship too.

32. Characteristics of Tribal Community Common name Common territory Common language Common culture Endogamy Political organisation – councils of elders which control members. Economically active Agricultural occupation

33. Rural community

34. Rural community Few families who carried on mutually interdependent activities in gathering food and defending themselves against their enemies . These primitive bands were migratory. Gradually, man acquired skill and knowledge in agriculture . Then began the settled life of man. With the development of agriculture and the consequent stabilisation of the source of food, human communities became more permanent . These communities came to be known as Village Communities. The rural is the oldest permanent community of man .

35. Characteristics of Rural Community The social homogeneity. Dominance of primary relations. Informal social control. Occupations – agriculture. Importance of family. Role of neighbourhood. Faith in religion. Conservatism and dogmatism.

36. Rural Community Problems Economic problems Lack of educational facilities Traditionalism Lack of adequate civic amenities Defective rural administration Social problems – due to ignorance, illiteracy, poverty, etc.

37. Urban Community

38. Urban Community The ‘urban community’ means the city community. The history of every civilisation, not of its countryside, but of its cities and towns. Civilisation means the city, and city means civilisation. Man originally built the city, and the city, in turn, civilised man. J.A. Quinn in his “ urban sociology ”, viewed the city as a “ phenomenon of specialisation” , as a population aggregate whose occupations are non-agricultural. Lowis Wirth in his essay “ urbanism as a way of life ” writes: “city may be defied as a relatively large, dense, and permanent settlement of socially heterogeneous individuals….”

39. Characteristics of Urban Community Social heterogeneity Secondary relations The anonymity of the city life Secondary control Large-scale division of labour and specialisation Large-scale social mobility Individuation Spatial segregation Unstable family

40. Urban problems The problem of facilities – lack of water facility, fresh air, traffic, etc. The problem of slums – overcrowding, congestion, housing, etc. The problem of privacy – life becomes mechanical, competitive, etc. The problem of vices – economic insecurity, mental illness, gambling, prostitution, crimes, pollution and such other vices. The problem of individuation – own ambitions, aims, career-consciousness, alienated from his own community, etc.

41. Difference between Rural and Urban Community Rural Homogeneous Primary relations Simplicity and hospitality Informal means of social control Stable family Not career-conscious Not class-conscious Simple unigroup society Small number Urban Heterogeneous Secondary relations Artificiality Formal means of social control Unstable family Very much career-conscious More class-conscious Complex multigroup society Big number

42. Difference between Society and Community Society Society is a web of social relationship. A definite geographic area is not an essential aspects of society. Society is a abstract. Community Community consisting of a group of a individual living in a particular area with some degree of we feeling. Community always denotes a definite locality or geographic area. Community is a concrete.

43. Society Community sentiments or a sense of we-feeling may be present or may not be present in society. Society is a wider. There can be more than one community in a society. The objectives and interest of society are more extensive and varied. Society involved both likeness and difference. Community Community sentiment is an essential element of community. Community is smaller than society. The objectives and interest of a community are comparatively less extensive and varied. Likeness is more important than difference in community.

44. Association

45. Introduction We use the words association and institution very commonly in our daily talks. Sometimes these words are used interchangeably to mean one and the same. But these words are used in a specific way in sociology. Hence it is necessary for us to know the meaning and nature of and differences between these two terms . When a group or collection of individuals organises in self expressly for the purpose of pursuing certain of its interests together on a co-operative pursuit, an association is said to be born.

46. Meaning Men have diverse needs, desires and interests. They have three ways of fulfilling their ends . Firstly , they may act independently , each in his own way without bothering about others. Secondly , men may seek their ends through conflicts with one another. Finally , men may try to fulfil their ends through co-operation and mutual assistance. This co-operative pursuit has a reference to association .

47. Definition R.M. MacIver defined, an association is “an organisation deliberately formed for the collective pursuit of some interest , or a set of interests, which its members share”. Morries Ginsberg said, an association is “a group of social beings related to one another by the fact that they possess or have instituted in common an organisation with a view to securing a specific end or specific ends”. An association is a group of people organised for the achievement of a particular interest or interests. An association is “ a group organised for the pursuit of an interest or group of interests in common”.

48. Types of Association Political association: The BJP, Congress, Communist party, etc., Religious association: The VHP, Ramakrishnan mission, Arya Samai , etc., Student’s association: The ABVP, SFI, etc., Labourer’s association: The AITUC, INTUC, etc., Professional association: The Indian Bar Council, Indian Medical Association, etc., Economic associational or business organisations: Hotel owners’ association, Chamber of Commerce, The Consumer’s Co-operative Society, etc., International association: The Rotary Club, The Lions’ Club, YMCA, YWCA, etc.,

49. Types of Association The association may be found in different fields . No single association can satisfy all the interests of the individual or individuals. Since man has bundle of interests, he organises various association for the purpose of fulfilling his varied interests . It follows then that a man may belong to more than one association . He may be member of a political association, religious association, a professional association, a cultural association, an entertainment club, a sports club, a rotary club and so on.

50. Characteristics of Association Association – a human group Common interest or interests Co-operative spirit Organisation Regulation of relations Durability of association

51. Characteristics of Association Association – a human group An association is formed or created by people. Without people there can be no association. Un-organised group like crowd or mob cannot be an association . Common interest or interests It consists of those individual who have more or less the same interest. Ex. Those who have political interests may join political association , and those who have religious interests may join religious association and so on.

52. Characteristics of Association Co-operative spirit People work together to achieve some definite purpose. Ex. A political party has to work together as a united group on the basis of co-operation in order to fulfil its objective of coming to power. Organisation Association denotes some kind of organisation. An association is known essentially as an organised group. Organisation gives stability and proper shape to an association. Organisation refers to the way in which the statuses and roles are distributed among members.

53. Characteristics of Association Regulation of relations Every association has its own ways and means of regulating the relations of its members. Organisation depends on this element of regulation. They may be assume written or unwritten forms. Durability of association An association may be permanent or temporary . There are some long-standing association like the state, family, religious association etc. Some association may be purely temporary in nature.

54. Difference between Association and Community Association Membership is voluntary . Individuals are at liberty to join them. Some specific interest or interests. Does not necessarily imply the spatial aspects. Community By birth itself individuals become members of a community. In this way membership is rather compulsory . Some general interests . Marked by a locality.

55. Difference between Association and Community Association May be stable and longlisting or it may not be so. May have their legal status . Regulated the relations of their members by written and unwritten rules . It is partial. Part of community. Community Relatively more stable and permanent. Has no legal status . Regulate the behaviour of its members by means of customs, traditions, etc. It is integral. It may have within its boundary, several associations.

56. Institution

57. Introduction The concept of institution is one of the most important in the entire filed of sociology. The importance of understanding the concept of institution in order to understand society. Durkheim define, sociology ‘as the science of social institutions ’. Summer and Keller have said, ‘folkways are to society what cells are to the biological organism; institutions are its bones and tissues’. Schools, churches, business organisation, prisons , and the like as the institutions of community.

58. Definition MacIver and Page. Institution may be defined as the ‘ established forms or conditions of procedure characteristics of group activity’. Kingsley Davis. Institution can be defined as ‘a set of interwoven folkways, mores and laws built around one or more functions’. Ginsberg. institution ‘may be described as recognised and established usages governing the relations between individual and group’. C.A. Ellwood. Institutions may be defined as ‘the habitual ways of living together which have been sanctioned, systematised and established by the authority of communities’.

59. Types of Institutions Primary institutions: The most basic institutions which are found even in primitive societies like religion, family, marriage, properly, some kind of political system, are primary in character. Secondary institutions: The larger number of institutions are evolved to cater to the secondary needs of people. They may be called secondary institution. Ex. Education, law, legislation, business, etc.,

60. Characteristics of Institutions Social nature Universality Institutions are standardised norms Institutions as means of satisfying needs Institutions are the controlling mechanisms Relatively permanent Abstract in nature Oral and written traditions Synthesising symbols Institutions are interrelated

61. Characteristics of Institutions Social nature Institutions come into being due to the collective activities of the people. They are essentially social in nature. Universality They exist in all the societies and existed at the all the stages of social development. The basic institutions like family, religion, property and some kind of political institutions are observed even in the tribal or primitive societies. Institutions are standardised norms They prescribe the way of doing things. They also prescribe rules and regulations that are to be followed.

62. Characteristics of Institutions Institutions as means of satisfying needs It satisfying some basic and vital needs of man. The basic needs are The need for self-preservation The need for self-perpetuation The need for self-expression Institutions are the controlling mechanisms Institutions like religion, morality, state, government, law, legislation, etc., control the behaviour of men. These mechanisms preserve the social order and give stability to it. Relatively permanent Institutions normally do not undergo sudden or rapid changes. Changes take place slowly and gradually in them.

63. Characteristics of Institutions Abstract in nature Institutions are not external, visible or tangible things. Ex. Thus marriage cannot be kept in a museum. Oral and written traditions For the primitive societies they may be largely oral. But in modern complex societies they may be observed in written as well as unwritten forms. Synthesising symbols Institutions may have their own symbols, material or non-material. Ex. The state has flag emblem, national anthem. Religion may have its own symbols like crucifix, star, swastika. School may have own flag, prayer, e tc., Institutions are interrelated Understating of one institution requires the understanding of the other related intuitions.

64. Difference between Association and Institution Association Organised for the purpose of fulfilling need or needs. Denotes membership. Consists of individual. Concrete. Institution Organised way of doing things . Denotes only a mode or means of service. Consists of laws, rules and regulations. Abstract.

65. Difference between Association and Institution Association Has a location. Mostly created and established. May have its own distinctive name. Temporary and permanent. Institution Does not have locations. Primarily evolved. Does not posses specific names, but has a structure and may have symbol. More durable.

66. Social structure and social system

67. Social structure A number of sciences deal with the phenomenon of ‘structure’ in their own way mainly to discover the characteristics of ‘structure’ of their interest. ex., Atomic physics deals with the structure of atoms Chemistry with the structure of molecules Crystallography with the structure of crystals In sociological studies also the term ‘social structure’ is relevant because, the main task here is to discover the general characteristics of those ‘social structures’ the component parts of which are human beings.

68. Social structure The word ‘structure’ in its English meaning refers to “building construction” or “ arrangement of parts ” or “ manner of organisation ”. The term became relatively popular in sociological studies with the works of Herbert Spencer , that is, after 1850. Spencer who was very much fascinated by his biological analogies (organic structure and evolution) applied the term ‘structure’ to his analysis and spoke of ‘social structure’. Even Durkheim, Morgan, Marx and other gave their own interpretations to it. At modern times, George Murdock, A.R. Radcliffe-Brown and Levi-Strauss used profusely this concept and popularised it.

69. Definition Redcliffe -Brown defines social structure as “ an arrangement of persons in institutionally controlled or defined relationships (such as the relationship of King and subject, or that of husband and wife)”. Ginsberg regards social structure as “the complex of principal groups and intuitions which constitute societies”.

70. Meaning of structure and social structure The term ‘structure’ refers to “ some sort of ordered arrangements of parts or components ”. A musical composition has a structure, a sentence has a structure, a building has a structure, and so on. In all these we find an ordered arrangement of different parts. Ex., a building which has structure consists of various parts such as stones, sand, bricks, iron, cement, wood, glass, etc., A structure that can be called a building can be obtained only when these parts or components are properly ordered and arranged one in relationship with the other.

71. Meaning of structure and social structure In the same way, society too has its own structure called ‘social structure’. The components or units of social structure are “persons”. A person is a human being and is considered not just as an organism but as occupying position in a social structure. Even though the persons are subject to change the structure as such maintains its continuity. The continuity of the structure, just as a human body maintains its structure.

72. University as having a structure Ex. University as an educational group or system has a structure of its own. Every year senior students depart and a new batch of freshmen enters. Some faculty members are replaces, new professors are appointed and new classes may be added to the curriculum. The ways in which individual faculty members and students perform their roles vary, but the general patterns are much the same and fit together into an overall structure that we call a university. Although the structure itself remains invisible, it silently shapes our actions. Social structure gives sociology its distinctive power in understanding human affairs.

73. Elements of social structure A sub-group of various types. Social structure consist of roles of various types. Regulative norms governing sub-groups and roles. Cultural values.

74. Social system The term ‘social system’ is popularly used in sociology today. According to Oxford dictionary, the term ‘system’ represents “a group of things or parts working together in a regular relation”. “A system is any collection of interrelated parts, objects, things or organisms”. The term ‘system’ denotes the following points or factors: A system indicates an orderly arrangements of parts. A system may have its own boundaries. One system can be an element or subsystem in another. It is applicable to the study of organic as well as inorganic realities.

75. Thank you