Sociology-Anthropology

LECTURE NOTES 1

INTRODUCTION Natural Science vs. Social Science The human nature of Sociological data is different from those of the natural sciences. Like the natural scientists, sociologists assume that their discipline deals with a definite range of empirical data and yet the empirical data they deal with cannot be treated the way that the subject matter of natural sciences are treated. The data of social sciences belong to the human world or to a world constructed by the humans and some of these data are social structures, norms values, ideas, customs and other patterns of behavior. Concerning these types of data, we must make the important point thay they are socially constructed realities and not natural given realities.
(Maxi Fernando; ASI 2000)

Natural science object natural objects Social science object artificial objects (ex. society) social facts such as laws Facts both empirical Non-scientific facts are not empirical arguments are based on concepts/abstractions (ex. Philosophy) The Hierarchy Hypothesis
American Journal of Sociology Volume 89 Number 1 July 1983

200 years ago Auguste Comte set out what he called the hierarchy of sciences maintaining that the sciences progress through ordained stages of development at quite different rates. Thus, for Comte astronomy the most general of all the sciences, develops first and is followed successively by physics, chemistry, biology, and finally sociology. The hierarchy of sciences described not only the complexity of the phenomena studied by the different sciences but also their stage of intellectual development.

Methods of generating knowledge Core of knowledge consist of small set of theories and analytic techniques which represent the given at any particular point in time. The core is characterized by having a relatively small number of theories and substantial consensus on the importance of these theories. Research frontiers consists of all the work currently done by all active researchers in a given discipline. This is where all new knowledge is produced. However most new knowledge turns out to be of little or no lasting significance (Cole and Cole 1972). Approaches in Social Science
(Ritzer, 1998)

Positivism Reason for Research To discover natural laws so people can predict and control events Stable pre-existing patterns or order that can be discovered Self-interested and rational individuals who are shaped by external forces Clearly distinct from and less valid than science A logical deductive system of interconnected definitions, axioms, and laws Is Logically connected laws and based on facts Is based on precise observations that others can repeat Science is value-free, and values have no place except when choosing a topic.

Interpretative Social To understand and describe meaningful social action Fluid definition of a situation created by human interaction Social forces who create meaning and who constantly make sense of their worlds Powerful everyday theories used by ordinary people A descriptions of how groups meaning system is generated and sustained Resonates or feels right to those who are being studied Is embedded in the context of fluid social interactions Values are an integral part of social life; no groups values are wrong only different

Critical Social Science To smash myths and empower people to change society radically Conflict-filled and governed by hidden underlying structures Creative, adaptive people with unrealized potential, trapped by illusion and exploitation False beliefs that hide power and objective conditions A critique that reveals true conditions and helps people see the way to a better world

Nature of Social Reality Nature of Human Beings

Role of Common Sense

Theory Looks Like

An Explanation that is True Good Evidence

Supplies people with tools needed to change the world Is informed by a theory that unveils illusions All science must begin with a value position; some positions are right some are wrong

Place of Values

Definition of Sociology The systematic study of human society (Macionis, 1999:2)(scientific study of social events, group behavior (patterned and deviant) ordinary behavior (trivial/ ethnomethodology), social structures, social conflicts, social change, patterns and processes of social relations.

Major Theoretical Frameworks in Sociology

1. Structural Functionalism

Major Concepts: system, equilibrium, dysfunction, division of labor Key Assumptions: Society is a system of interdependent parts that is in equilibrium or balance. Over time, society has evolved from a simple to a complex type, which has highly specialized parts. The parts of society fulfill different needs or functions of the social system. A basic consensus on values or a value system holds society together. 2. Exchange Theory Major Concepts: opportunities, rewards, approval, balance, credit Key Assumptions: Human interactions are similar to economic transactions. People give and receive resources (symbolic, social approval, or material) and try to maximize their rewards while avoiding pain, expense, and embarrassment. Exchange relationships tend to be balanced. If they are unbalanced, persons with credit can dominate others. 3. Symbolic Interactionism Major Concepts: self, reference group, role-playing, perception Key Assumptions: People transmit and receive symbolic communication when they socially interact. People create perceptions of each other and social settings. People largely act on their perceptions. How people think about themselves and others is based on their interactions. 4. Conflict Theory Major Concepts: power, exploitation, struggle, inequality, alienation, Key Assumptions: Society is made up of groups that have opposing interests. Coercion and attempts to gain power are ever-present aspects of human relations. Those in power attempt to hold onto their power by spreading myths or by using violence if necessary. 5. Postmodernism

Postmodernist orientation does not necessarily mean the promotion of a nonrepressive civilization which would involve libidinal and non-alienated labor, play, free and open sexuality and production of a society and a culture which would further freedom and happiness or the abolition of surplus repressions as argued by Marcuse (Keller, 2001:47). Hebert Marcuse continued that the individuals must free themselves from aggressive and repressive needs and aspirations and attitudes of class society they must transform their present needs, sensibility, consciousness, values, and behaviour while developing a new radical subjectivity, so as to create the necessary conditions for social transformation. Instead, it is more favorable sharing the same sentiment with a Filipino sociologist, Randy David (1998:81) stressing that postmodern sensibility connotes: Plurality, difference, openness, unpredictability, tolerance, play, autonomy, and inventiveness. It is against metanarratives or grand theories about society and history. It favors pragmatic construction of operational norms to high-minded promulgation of first principles. It pushes the frontiers of knowledge by constantly questioning existing paradigms and inventing new ones. It tolerates the incommensurable, and promotes the heterogeneity of language games. Postmodernism legitimizes the use of several approaches and techniques employed in research. According to Sean Homer, postmodernism is inherently paradoxical and playful (Homer,2002:8). Frederic Jameson appearing on the reflections of Homer suggests that: The more one tries to define what is characteristically postmodern the less characteristic it turns out to be. Postmodernism, by definition resist definition. Theoretically, postmodernism can only theorise its own conditions of impossibility; with neither a fixed subject nor object there can be no theory of postmodernism as such (ibid:1). 6. Feminism Man for the field and woman for the hearth Man for the sword and for the needle she Man with head and woman with the heart; Man to command and woman to obey; All else confusion. --Alfred Lord Tennyson A diverse political and intellectual movement chiefly developed by women, but having increasing influence with both sexes, that seeks to criticize, re-evaluate and transform the place of women in social organization and in culture. Common to Feminists is the assumption that social organization and culture have been dominated by men to the exclusion of women. And that this exclusion has been accompanied by diverse pattern of devaluation and disadvantages that have marginalized womens status in most known societies. Consequently, a major area of concern to feminism is the recovery and articulation of womens experience in history and in contemporary societies and a wholesale reconstruction of the fundamental intellectual assumptions of social practices and of many areas of study

including especially sociology, psychology, history, and other social and humanistic disciplines.

Theoretical Paradigm
Structural Functional

Orientation
Macro level

Image of Society
A system of interrelated parts that is relatively stable because of widespread agreement on what is morally desirable; each part has a particular function in the society as a whole A system based on social inequality; each part of society benefits some categories of people more than others; social inequality leads to conflict which in turn, leads to social change. An ongoing process of social interaction in specific settings based on symbolic communications; individual perceptions of reality are variable and changing.

Core Questions
How is society integrated? What are the major parts of society? How are these part interrelated? What are the consequences of each part for the overall operation of society? How is society divided? What are the major patterns of social inequality? How do some categories of people try to protect their privileges? How do other categories of people challenge the status quo? How is society experienced? How do human beings interact to create, maintain, and change social patterns? How do individuals try to shape the reality that others perceive? How does individual behavior change from one situation to another?

Social Conflict

Macro level

Symbolic Interaction

Micro level

(Macionis, 1999)

Benefits of Sociological Perspectives: 1. The sociological perspective helps us assess the truth of commonly held assumptions. Ex. Individual deciding and shaping their own lives 2. It prompts us to assess both the opportunities and the constraints that characterize our lives. 3. The sociological perspective empowers us to participate actively in our society. 4. The sociological perspective helps us recognize human variety and confront the challenges of living in a diverse world.
(Macionis, 1999)

Sociology vs. Anthropology Sociology recent or contemporary while anthropology is historical/evolutionary and cultural (way of life which has been learned and transmitted from one generation to another by means of language and symbols. Anthropology is the holistic study of humans--our biology and cultures, from our origins to the present, in all types of societies across the globe.

E. Limitations of scientific sociology. 1.Human behavior is too complex to allow sociologists to predict any individuals actions precisely. 2.Because humans respond to their surroundings, the mere presence of a researcher may affect the behavior being studied. 3.Social patterns change constantly; what is true in one time or place may not hold in another. 4.Because sociologists are part of the social world they study, being valuefree when conducting social research is especially difficult. Development of Sociology and Anthropology in the Philippines Anthropology started as a practical of colonizers in the service of Christianity and the Spanish Government. Alfred Marche led archeological explorations in the 19 th century. Ethnological Survey of the Philippines replaced the Bureau of Non- Christian tribes. Otley H. Beyer elevated anthropology as an academic discipline at the University of the Philippines. Fr. Valentin Marin introduced sociology in the Philippines in 1896 as a course on criminology at the University of Santo Tomas. Serafin Macaraig first Filipino to receive a doctorate degree in sociology in 1939. Introduction to Sociology became the first text in the University of the Philippines written by Serafin Macaraig. Juan Ruiz offered courses in social work in the University of the Philippines. Prof. Marcelo Tangco succeeded Dr. Macaraig Flora Diaz Catapusan invited to teach sociology in the Centro Escoloar University in 1946 Dr. Benicio Catapusan invited to serve as a professional lecturer in sociology at the University of the Philippines in 1948 Philippine Sociological Society was organized by a group of Filipino educators and visiting professors in the different regions whose objectives are: To increase knowledge about social behavior To gather data on social problems for their possible solutions 6

 To train teachers and researches in the field of sociology To develop cooperation and unity among social scientists in the Philippines. 1960 the Research Foundation of Philippine Anthropology and Archeology was established Philippine Social Science Council consolidated the Philippine social science resources in 1968 whose objectives are: To promote the quality and relevance of social science researches To improve teaching skills in social sciences To finance researches along the social sciences To encourage social science publications Factors and Stages in the development of sociology in the Philippines in the words of Catapusan and Catapusan: Considerable efforts have been made to define and to determine the fields of sociology There are considerable specializations in subject matter and in approach Sociological principles are being employed in the analysis of an increasing number of social situations The study of various problems led to discovering, refining, and perfecting new methods of sociological investigations. 1960s and 1970s researches were undertaken along different aspects of social and cultural life Source: Palispis, Epitacio S., Introduction to Sociology and Anthropology. Manila: Rex Printing Company, Inc., 1996

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Sociology is a colonial implant Flourished during the American regime but started during the later part of Spanish rule Gained significance after WWII aimed for social planning and reconstruction Focused on religion, family, ethnic relations norms and values of Filipinos Polarization, collision between functionalism and Marxism in methods and approaches Sociology was branded as ideational (not grounded to realities) Positivism/generalization was challenged by interpretive and phenomenological schools of thought (subjective realities) which resulted to pluralism of methods and approaches in sociology Participation of sociologist during the Marcos regime in community planning (known as technocrats agents of change and reforms) Government recruited sociologists to legitimize the structure by providing scientific aura to the course of state action Technocrats versus non partisan sociologists (branded as radicals and insurgents) Convergence After the collapse of Marcos regime the life chances/ economic opportunities were unavailable which to diaspora, social scientists have no other course of action but to put together their resources (methods and techniques) to explain and repair this disenchanting phenomenon Diverse theoretical and methodological stance allowed Sociology to travel across boundaries to both natural and social sciences the defect however is the slow sophistication of theories and methods in the Philippines not because the environment lacks raw materials but because of poor documentation (ex. Changes in the family structure, homosexuality) The challenge of the 1990s is to arm sociologists with theoretical and methodological skills ready to shift gears to alleviate human condition Aggressive application of social science researches

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Note: Points taken from Reflections of Philippine Sociology in the 1990s by Cynthia Rose Bautista