Sociology Unit I.pptx

Introduction to sociology, Definitions, nature, Importance and Significance of sociology in Nursing

1. Mrs.Nagamani.T , MSC (N) Introduction to Sociology

2. Learning Objective: Upon completion of the topic, the student will be able to appreciate the importance of sociology. Contents of the Unit: Introduction Definitions Nature of sociology Branches of sociology Factors of origin of sociology Importance of sociology Significance of sociology in Nursing

3. Introduction Sociology  is the study of groups and group interactions, societies and social interactions, from small and personal groups to very large groups. A group of people who live in a defined geographic area, who interact with one another, and who share a common culture is what sociologists call a  society . Sociologists study all aspects and levels of society. Sociologists working from the  micro-level  study small groups and individual interactions, while those using  macro-level  analysis look at trends among and between large groups and societies. 

4. It is a social science that help us to understand the world we live in. The key idea of Sociology is that the lives of individuals cannot be understood apart from social context in which they live. It focuses on: Understanding the world and our place in that world. Understanding ourselves and use that self-understanding to free ourselves.

5. SOCIOLOGY Combination of Latin and Greek words Socius + Logos Society S t ud y Henceforth, Sociology is a Study of Society

6. FATHER OF SOCIOLOGY: AUGUSTE COMTE S o c i o l o g y e m e r g e d i n E u r op e i n t h e e a r l y 18 00 s . French Philosopher Term Sociology was coined by August Comte. His Contributions: Gave Sociology its name. Divided Sociology in to two parts : Social Statics and Social Dynamics. Emphasized on the scientific instead of religious, philosophical and moral analysis of society. Discovered Laws to understand Society, known as Law of Three Stages 1798 - 1857

7. Definition sociology , is a  social science  that studies human societies, their interactions, and the processes that preserve and change them. It does this by examining the  dynamics  of  constituent  parts of societies such as institutions,  communities , populations, and gender, racial, or age groups. Sociology also studies  social status  or stratification,  social movements , and  social change , as well as societal disorder in the form of crime,  deviance , and  revolution .

8. “Sociology” comes from the Latin word Socius (companion) and the ending – ology from the Greek logos (word). Sociology is the study of human interactions and interrelations, their conditions and consequences. - H Ginsberg Sociology is the science which attempts the interpretive understanding of social action. – Max Weber Sociology in its broadest sense may be said to be the study of interactions arising from the association of living beings. - Gillin and Gillin

9. “The science of social phenomena subjected to natural laws, the discovery of which is the objective of investigations” - August Comte “The study of relationship between man and his environment ” -H.P . Fair Child

10. ASSUMPTIONS UNDERLYING THESE DEFINITIONS… Human beings have a capacity to organise their behaviour in groups in order to satisfy their needs and wants to fulfill necessary social function. Human beings have the capacity to know how to organise their behaviour in groups in order to satisfy their needs and wants to fulfill necessary social function. The behaviours , thoughts and attitudes of human beings are determined to a large extent by the quality of learned ways of interacting in groups.

11. The social interactions in which one person influence the attitudes, thoughts, opinions and behaviour of one another. Interaction pattern occurs within the large social systems in societies, groups, crowds, social classes, social institutions, neighbourhood and community.

12. HENCEFORTH, FROM THE STATED DEFINITIONS WE CAN LIST OUT THE FOLLOWING: Sociology the science of society, studies: Social Relationships Institutions Social Process Social Groups Social Systems

13. Nature of Sociology Sociology, as a branch of knowledge, has its own unique characteristics. It is different from other science in certain respects. An analysis of its internal logical characteristics helps one to understand what kind of science it is. The following are the main characteristics of sociology as enlisted by Robert Bierstedt in his book, " The social order".

14. Sociology is an Independent Science. Sociology is a Social Science and not a physical Science. Sociology is a categorical and not a Normative Discipline. Sociology is relatively and Abstract Science and not a concrete Science. Sociology is pure science and not an Applied Science. Sociology is a General Science not a special Science. Sociology is a Generalizing and not a particularizing or Individualizing science. Sociology is Both a Rational and Empirical Science.

15. Sociology is an independent science: Sociology has now emerged into an independent science. It is not treated and studied as a branch of any other science like philosophy or political philosophy or history. As an independent science it has its own field of study, boundary and method.

16. Sociology is a social science and not a physical science. Sociology belongs to the family of social sciences and not to the family of physical sciences. As a social science, it concentrates its attention on man, his social behaviour , social activities and social life. As a member of the family of social science it is intimately related to other social sciences like history, political sciences, economics, psychology, anthropology etc.

17. Sociology is a categorical and not a normative discipline: Sociology 'confines itself to statements about what is, not what should be or ought to be'. As a science, sociology is necessarily silent about questions of value. It does not make any kind of value- judgements . Its approach is neither moral nor immoral but amoral. It is ethically neutral. It cannot decide the directions in which sociology ought to go.

18. Sociology is a Pure Science and not an Applied Science: A distinction is often made between Pure Sciences and applied sciences. The main aim of pure sciences is the acquisition of knowledge and it is not bothered whether the acquired knowledge is useful or can be put to use. On the other hand, the aim of applied science is to apply the acquired knowledge into life and to put to use. Each pure science may have its own applied field. Sociology is a pure science, because the immediate aim of sociology is the acquisition of knowledge about human society, not the utilization of knowledge.

19. Sociology is relatively an abstract science and not a concrete science: This does not mean sociology is an art and not a science. It is more concerned with the form of human events and their patterns. Sociology does confine itself to the study of this society or that particular society or social organization, or marriage, or religion, or group and so on. It is in this simple sense that sociology is an abstract not a concrete science.

20. Sociology is a Generalizing and not a particularizing or Individualizing science: Sociology tried to find out the general laws or principles about human interaction and association, about the nature, form, content and structure of human groups and societies. It tries to make generalizations on the basis of the study of some selected events.

21. Sociology is a General Science and not a special social science: The area of inquiry of sociology is general and not specialized. It is concerned with human interaction and human life in general. Other social sciences like political science, history, economics, etc., also study man and human interaction, but not all about human interaction. Sociology does not investigate economic, religious, political, legal, moral or any other special kind of phenomenon in relation to human life and activities as such. It only studies human activities in a general way.

22. Finally, Sociology is both a Rational and an Empirical Science. There are two broad ways of approach to scientific knowledge. One, known as empiricism, is, the approach that emphasizes experience and the facts that result from observation and experimentation. The other, known as rationalism, stresses reason and the theories that result from logical inference. The empiricist collects facts; the rationalist co-ordinates and arranges them. Theories and facts are required in the construction of knowledge. In sociological inquiry both are significant. A theory unsubstantiated by hard, solid facts is nothing more than an opinion.

23. Nature of Sociology …… Since the subject matter of Sociology are human beings who are subjects to themselves. Social realities are constantly undergoing change. Therefore, the ontological position of Sociology is different from other natural sciences. Sociology is a Science Sociology is not a Science Scientific Methods Concepts Theories Variables Research Lack of Experimentation Lack of validity Lack of Reliability Unable to Study Casual Behaviour Lack of prediction and objectivity y

24. Scope of Sociology Scope means the subject matter or the areas of study. Every science has its own field of inquiry. It becomes difficult to study a science systematically unless its boundary or scope is determined precisely. Sociology as a social science has its own scope or boundaries. But there is no one opinion about the scope of Sociology.

25. there are two main schools of thought regarding the scope of Sociology: (1) The Specialist or Formalistic school and (2) the Synthetic school. There is a good deal of controversy about the scope of Sociology between the two schools. The supporter of first school believe that Sociology is a specific science and the scope should be limited whereas others believe that it is a general science and its scope is very vast

26. (1)   Specialistic school: The supporters of this school of thought are George Simmel , Vierkandt , Max Weber, Vonwise , and F. Tonnies .  The main views of the school regarding the scope of Sociology are – ( i ) Sociology is a specific, pure and independent social science. (ii) Sociology studies the various forms of social relationships. (iii) Scope of Sociology is very narrow and limited. (iv) Sociology deals with specific form of human relationship. (v) Sociology need not study all the events connected with social science. (vi) Simmel believes that it is a specific social science and it should deal with social relationships from different angles.

27. (2) Synthetic school: The supporters of synthetic school are the sociologists like Ginsberg, Durkheim, Comte, Sorokin, Spencer, F. Ward, and L.T. Hobhouse . According to this school- ( i ) Sociology is a general and systematic social science. (ii) Scope of Sociology is very vast. (iii) Sociology needs help from other social sciences. (iv) It is a synthesis of social science. (v) Sociology is closely related with other social sciences.

28. Branches of Sociology The main branches of sociology are as follows: Theoretical Sociology. It includes micro theory or small/middle/large theory. The theories of Karl Marx, August Cimte , Max Wever , Emmile Durkhaim , Sorokin, etc are studied under the theories of sociology. Eg . The theories of “Economic determinism” and the theory of “Class Struggle” of Karl Marx. Eg . “Theory of Suicide” by Emmile Durkhaim . Historical Sociology  It is the study of social facts and social groups. It studies the background of any social event. How and when different social groups or organizations originated? Eg . The history of Hindu, Roman, Greek, etc. and other major civilizations were studied by P.A. Sorkin . Sociology of Knowledge  The newly emerged branch of sociology indicates that our knowledge is the product of social phenomena. This means our knowledge is always influenced by society. The economic religious political and other interests save human belief and ideas. Criminology  This branch of sociology studies the criminal behavior of individuals or groups. Origin of crime its types of nature, causes as well as law, punishment, police, etc. come under this study, The efforts for the improvement is also studied. Different organizations establish to control the crime as well as their role also come under its study.

29. Sociology of Religion  This branch studies the structure of the religion in the social system as no society is free from the influence of it. It analyses the social behavior of human beings. It also studies the religious constitutions and their role in the society. Augste Comte, Emmile Durkheim, Herbet Spencer did the study of elementary forms of religious life. Sociology of Economy  This branch of sociology studies production, distribution, consumption and exchange of goods and services. This branch also studies the economic activities of the society in which the focus is given about the socio-cultural factors. The access in production, the mode of distribution, the real consumers, the role of culture in such activities are studied under it. Eg . “Why Hindus don’t eat Cow?” Rural Sociology  This branch of sociology studies the way of life of rural people as the rural population is higher than the urban. The patterns of life such as behavior, belief, culture, tradition norms, values, etc. are totally different than of urban people. So, it studies the rural society in scientific way. It also studies rural life, social institutions, social structure, social processes, etc. of the rural society.

30. Urban Sociology  This branch of sociology studies the way of life of urban people. It gives information about the social organizations and instution of urban society as well as social structure and social interaction. It also studies the social pathology of urban society such as discrimination) crime, corruption, robbery, beggary, loot, theft, unemployment, prostitution, environmental pollution, etc. Political Sociology  This branch of sociology studies different political moments of society. It includes the study of different political ideology (view), their origin, development and functions. In this study, different political parties are considered as social institutions. Various activities and behavior of political parties are studied in this branch. As they are the part of the social system. Sociology of Demography  Demography of scientific mathematical and statically study of population. It studies about the size, situation, composition, density, distribution, and measurement etc. of the population. In this branch of sociology, we study the distribution of human population with the analysis of population change in sociological perspectives. It also finds out the determining factors of population change and its trend.

31. Sociology of Law  Sociology of law and legal system are considered as the part of society, as social institution. Law is one of the very important means of social control. Law is related with other different social sub systems. Such as economy, nature of distribution, authority, structure of family kinship relationships, etc. So, this branch of sociology is related to moral order for the society as formulation and implementation of rules and regulations, law and order come under this. Industrial Sociology  This branch of sociology is concerned with the industrial relationship of the human beings. It studies the different industrial organizations and institutions. As well as their interrelationship and links with other various institutions of society. It also studies the inter-relationships of industrial institutions with various aspects of human life such as culture, beliefs, customs, religion or the way of life.

32. Other branches include; Sociology of Family Sociology of Race Sociology of Occupation Sociology of Art Sociology of literature Sociology of Peace Sociology of Development Sociology of Military Sociology of Culture Sociology of Planning Sociology of Moment Sociology of Psychology Sociology of Differentiation Sociology of Stratification, etc.

33. The factors of origin of Sociology The term  sociology  was coined by French philosopher Auguste Comte in 1838, who for this reason is known as the “Father of  Sociology .” Comte felt that science could be used to study the social world. Other events of that time period also  influenced  the development of  sociology . sociology is the scientific study of human social life, groups and societies . There was no sociology as a distinct discipline before the advent of 19th century. As a distinct discipline it emerged about the middle of the 19th century when European social observers began to use scientific methods to test their ideas.

34. It looks that three factors led to the origins of sociology . The first was the Industrial revolution . The second factor that stimulated the d The third impetus for the development of sociology was the success of the natural science development of sociology was imperialism .

35. Importance of Sociology. 'Sociology tells us how to become what we want to be.' Sociology studies society in a scientific way Sociology throws more light on the social nature of man Sociology increases the power of social action Sociology studies role of the institutions in the development of the individuals Study of sociology is indispensable for understanding and planning of society Sociology is of great importance in the solution of social problems

36. Sociology has drawn our attention to the intrinsic worth and dignity of man Sociology has changed our outlook with regard to the problems of crime Sociology has made great contribution to enrich human culture Sociology is of great importance in the solution of international problems The value of sociology lies in the fact that it keeps us update on modern situations Study of society has helped governments to promote the welfare of the tribal and marginalized communities Sociology is useful as a teaching subject

37. Significance of Sociology in nursing Sociology is a field in science that concerns itself with social behavior. The origins and the development of a particular society takes its cue from the study of sociology. Sociology of nursing concentrates on the sociological factors that evolve in the practice of nursing. Sociology plays an important role in the area of health sciences medicine and nursing with the common goal of preventing illness and restoration of health.

38. The study of sociology is important for nurses due to the following reasons; Sociology is needed in general to all the medical professions and especially nursing because social conditions are sometimes responsible for health problems. Sociology helps to understand the relationship between disease and social condition. Helps to understand those forces and pressures which affect patient adversely.

39. It helps the nurses to understand the behaviour, conflicts, Inter Personal Relationship (IPR), hierarchy, groups and adaptation of different people working in hospitals. Through sociology, the nurse gets information about the socio cultural life of the patient. To study the structure of family, community and society. To understand the characteristics of social relationship, its complexities, and its impact on health care. Helps in the understanding and eradication of social problems.

40. Thus Sociology enables nurses to understand their social responsibility as agents of change. When the nurse has the capacity to heal or make patients feel better, they are not only treating their illnesses; they are also improving the quality of their lives.

41. References Elias, Norbert. 1978.  What Is Sociology?  New York: Columbia University Press . CN Shankar Rao . Sociology. S . Chand Publishing, 2012 ISBN. 8121910366 , 9788121910361   https://openstax.org/books/introduction-sociology-2e/pages/1-introduction-to-sociology

42. Thank You