COURSE :

INTRODUCTION TO
SOCIOLOGY
LECTURE - 02
Josinta Zinia
Assistant Professor of Sociology
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
PREVIEW OF THE LAST CLASS
 What we have discussed?
TODAY’S FOCUS :
 Uses of Sociology
 Relationship of Sociology with other Social
Sciences
 Value-freeness
 Objectivity
USES OF SOCIOLOGY:
USES OF SOCIOLOGY
(CONTND.)
 Sociology studies society in a scientific way

 Sociology throws more light on the social

nature of man

 Sociology improves our understanding of

society and increases the power of social action

 The study of sociology helps us to know not

only our society and men but also others, their
motives, aspirations, status, culture etc.
USES OF SOCIOLOGY
(CONTND.)
 The contribution of sociology is not less
significant in enriching culture.

 The need for the study of sociology is greater

especially in the underdeveloped countries.

 The study of society is of paramount

importance in solving social problems.

 Sociological knowledge is necessary for

understanding and planning of society.
WHAT IS SOCIAL SCIENCE?
WHAT IS SOCIAL SCIENCE?
 Social science is, in its broadest sense, the study
of society and the manner in which people
behave and influence the world around us.
 It tells us about the world beyond our immediate
experience, and can help explain how our own
society works - from the causes of
unemployment or what helps economic growth,
to how and why people vote, or what makes
people happy. It provides vital information for
governments and policymakers, local authorities,
non-governmental organisations and others.
RELATIONSHIP OF SOCIOLOGY
WITH OTHER SOCIAL SCIENCES :
 The life of man is many-sided. There is an economic
aspect, legal aspect, a religious aspect, political
aspect and so forth. Sociology, therefore, can
understand social life as a whole taking help from
other social sciences.

 But this does not mean that sociology only borrows

from other social sciences and gives them nothing.
As a matter of fact, various social sciences are very
much dependent on sociology. Sociology has shown
a new path, a new dimension to other social
sciences. It has enriched other sciences by its highly
useful sociological knowledge and approaches.
RELATIONSHIP OF SOCIOLOGY WITH
OTHER SOCIAL SCIENCES (CONTD.)
1. Sociology and Political Science:

The sociologist is interested in all aspects of

the social structure. On the other hand,
political science is a branch of social science
dealing with the principles of organisation
and Government of human society. Its study
is directed to the growth and development of
the State as an organization and the
measures that may be taken for making the
organization effective.
RELATIONSHIP OF SOCIOLOGY WITH
OTHER SOCIAL SCIENCES (CONTD.)
2. Sociology and Economics:

Economics is the study of production and distribution of

goods and services. It has dealt almost exclusively
economic variables – the relationship of price and
supply, money flows, inputs-outputs and the like.

 As such the relationship between economics and

sociology is very intimate. Both economics and sociology
are closely related in several respects. The study of
economics would be misleading and incomplete without
a knowledge of sociology and the study of sociology
would be fruitless without a proper understanding of the
interplay of economic forces.
RELATIONSHIP OF SOCIOLOGY WITH
OTHER SOCIAL SCIENCES (CONTD.)
3. Sociology and History:

 Sociology and history are social disciplines and both are

concerned with human activities. Therefore, both are
very closely related. It is often pointed out that the
beginning of sociology is historical. The history provides
material for sociology. The comparative method and
historical sociology always require data which only the
history can supply.

 Similarly, the historian also uses sociology. Until recently

the historian took his clues to important problems and
his concepts and general ideas from philosophy. Now,
these are drawn from sociology.
RELATIONSHIP OF SOCIOLOGY WITH
OTHER SOCIAL SCIENCES (CONTD.)
4. Sociology and Anthropology:

 Anthropology is the science of man.

Sociology and anthropology are frequently
indistinguishable. The relationship between
sociology and anthropology is so keen that
they often appear as two names for the same
field of enquiry. A.L. Kroeber succinctly
regards sociology and anthropology as twin
sisters.
RELATIONSHIP OF SOCIOLOGY WITH
OTHER SOCIAL SCIENCES (CONTD.)
5. Sociology and Psychology:

 Psychology is the positive science of human experience

and behaviour. Psychology is interested in his
intelligence and his learning, his motivation and his
memory and the order and disorder of his mind.
Sociology as a scientific study of human society studies
the human interactions in social situation.
 It is the study of human social behaviour resulting from
the interaction of human minds. All social relationships
are basically psychological both are positive sciences
dealing with human experiences and behaviour. Social
psychology serves as a bridge between psychology and
sociology.
DIAGRAM:
IS SOCIOLOGY A SCIENCE?
A. The early sociologists regarded their new discipline as a science.
 
B. Early social theorists hoped to accomplish for the social world
what others had done for the natural sciences through the use of
the SCIENTIFIC METHOD.
 
C. Not everyone regards sociology as a science. Some contend that
sociology, strictly speaking, is not a science because it involves
unscientific techniques, because human behavior is too complex
to study scientifically and because sociologists are inevitably
biased.
 
D. Defenders contend that sociology can be considered a science
because sociologists use a variety of techniques and observers to
remain objective and make cross-cultural comparisons.
VALUE-FREENESS:
 Like all other social sciences, sociology also
is concerned with the life and activities of
man.
 Sociology also tries to determine the
relationship and inter-dependence between
different elements of social life , between
the moral and the religious, the economic an
political and so on.
OBJECTIVITY:
 Sociology is the science of society. No other
science endeavors to study in its entirety.

 The immediate goal of sociology is to acquire

knowledge of society like all other sciences.

 In brief, as Samuel Koenig has pointed out the

ultimate aim of sociology is “ to improve man’s
adjustment to life by developing objective
knowledge concerning social phenomena which
can be used to deal effectively with social
problems.”
RECAPITULATE
ANY QUERIES?
CLASS- WORK:
THE END