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3 Approaches to Social Theory
1. Scientific theories aim to discover laws and
principles that apply to human behavior over all
societies and times
true knowledge is the domain of science while novels,
journalism, etc. are opinion and prejudice
 true knowledge requires that observations, research and
facts are organized as general principles or laws

2. Philosophical approaches do not approach
problems based on empirical observation and
research but as based in conceptual thinking
 So one must first decide what is the important focus in
social life. For example, what social institutions (e.g.,
religion, the economy) are most important?
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3. Social theory as having a moral vision views
social knowledge as valuable because it has the
potential to make the world a better place
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theories address social problems and issues, trying
to create a dialogue in society that can aid debate
and social change
theorists give social accounts that advocate specific
social and political responses regarding freedom and
democracy
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Key Features of the Enlightenment
Science is key to the modern project; it provides valid,
objective knowledge
Science is based on methods of observation which
claim objectivity
Science more accurately reflects the world, is not
ideologically driven and can thus bring reason into it
Humanity and society can become better, replacing
religious beliefs with scientific knowledge based on
observations and facts
Industrial capitalism was the motor of modernity,
entailing shifts from rural to urban living as well as
from a feudal society to a democratic one
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Comte is considered the founder of sociology, coining the term sociology. In
his book The Course of Positive Philosophy (1830-42 )and later System of Positive
Polity (1851-4), he elaborates three evolutionary stages in the development of
the human mind. They are the theological, metaphysical and the positive
1.
2.
3.
He says that the human mind explains the origin and purpose of the
social world through reference to religious traditions, revelations and
beliefs, such as spirits, divine beings, gods. For example, Christian
world views exemplify this stage or any of the great religions.
metaphysical thought looks at first order principles that are beyond the
physical world.
Scientific knowledge is dominated by sociologists who use science to
discover natural and social laws.
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In Marx’s German Ideology, he outlines his materialist method, which has 4
premises:
1.) We must begin not with thought, not with self-consciousness or ideas or
values, but with the existence of real, living individuals. That is, the
physical organization of individuals and their consequent relationship to
the rest of nature.
2.) Humans produce their own means of subsistence (we do not have a fixed
nature; we mold and shape our own nature creatively and inventively).
3.) This mode of production affects everything in society, from the selfconsciousness of individuals, to the relationship of individual to
individual, to the relationship of nation to nation.
4.) If one wants to understand history, one must understand the division of
labor. Or who owns and has control over the means and mode of
production?
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In Capital, Marx outlines the elementary unit of
capital: the commodity
A. Commodities have 2 parts:
1.
2.
Use value
Exchange value
Two formulas for capital circulation
1.
C-M-C
2.
M-C-M
C. Surplus Value is defined as value added and is the
basis of profit for capitalists and exploitation for
the laborer
B.
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The first step to understanding Durkheim’s new sociology is to
understand how Durkheim views society and sociological study
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3 parts to his study of The Division of Labor in Society
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Sociology is neither philosophy nor psychology
Rather, sociology is the study of social facts, which are social structures, cultural
norms, and values that are external to social actors.
What factors caused the modern division of labor?
What is the function of the division of labor?
What are the abnormal forms that result from it (abnormal meaning these forms do
not contribute to its successful function)?
Factors in the development of modern divisions of labor:
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weakening of the extended family and the development of the nuclear family
Large population growth
urbanization and people moving away from where they grew up
improvements in transportation and communication
increasing value placed on individuals
rise of professional associations
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PRE-DIVISION OF LABOR
SOCIETY

mechanical solidarity is based
on commonality, likeness and
lack of social differentiation in
labor
 A strong collective conscience
binds people to one another
 This society is strongest when
the collective conscience is
greater than the individual
 Law is repressive since the
collective consciousness
cannot tolerate any violation
of individuality
POST-DIVISION OF LABOR
SOCIETY

Organic solidarity is based on
specialization and
interdependence of occupations
 A weak collective conscience
due to strong individuality
 In this form we have greater
individuality, flexibility and
productive capacity in labor
relations
 Law is based in restitution
since individuals can repay
debits through money or time
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In solidarity, then we have abnormal forms, which
include:
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the pace of social change can create
unsuccessful solidarity
social inequalities develop when people
participate in labor relations they would not
voluntarily choose to but feel compelled or
forced out of economic necessity (nod to Marx)
national markets are so large that they are
impersonal and do not promote feelings of
attachment among people
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MODERN SOCIETY
PRE-MODERN SOCIETY
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Religious (fixed morality)
Undifferentiated
Functional generality
Homogeneity of parts and
whole
Weak individuality
Cultural homogeneity
Repressive sanctions
(affirms society)
mechanical solidarity
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Secular (fluid morality)
Differentiated
Functional specificity
Heterogeneity of parts
and whole
Strong individuality
Cultural pluralism
Restitution (affirms
individuals)
Organic solidarity
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Two Ironies of Modernity and Capitalism
1. modernity (which is thought to be secular) has
religious origins
2. capitalism (an impersonal, instrumentally
rational logic) has its beginnings in religious
(Protestant) spiritual practices; that is, the ethos
of Protestantism made capitalism possible
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Weber asked the following question: Why did
capitalism and rationalism both develop first in
the West (i.e., Europe and North America)?
In trying to answer this question, Weber insists
that one must consider not only the role of
economic organization, but also the ideas,
meanings and the-world images in people’s
heads
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What is the spirit of capitalism?
 Drawing on the writings of Benjamin Franklin, Weber
illustrates the different parts of this spirit or ethos: 1. time is
money; 2. credit is money; 3. money creates money; 4. timely
payments are important, for instrumental as well as for
moral reasons
 How do we get from Protestant theology to “time is
money?” From two beliefs:
(1)

Martin Luther’s idea of the calling and (2) John Calvin’s notion
of predestination
Protestant followers asked themselves if they were one of
the elect? And they began to look for external signs. In this
context two types of pastoral advice appear:
1. it is a duty to consider one’s self chosen and part of the elect
2. hard work at a vocational calling builds self-confidence in one’s
elect status
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The Iron Cage of Bureaucracy
 independent individuality gives way to an iron
cage of bureaucratic systems without which
capitalism would not be possible.
 these instrumentally rational bureaucratic systems
turn individuals into standardized cogs in a
bureaucratic machinery.
 So the irony is that, although capitalism and
bureaucracies would not have been possible
without the strong, inner-directed Protestant
personality, once they are institutionalized, they
no longer need this foundation.
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Parson’s The Social System (1951) focuses on
patterns of interaction or what he calls “the
social system.”
 There are 3 distinct systems in society:
1.
2.
3.
The personality system based in individual needs
The cultural system based in shared beliefs
The social system based in the multiple social roles
and norms
In Social Systems and the Evolution of Action Theory
(1971), he developed a more functionalist
approach.
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Social systems now have 4 functions: adaptation,
goal attainment, integration and pattern
maintenance.
4 subsystems compose society:
1.
2.
3.
4.
The economy specializes in material conditions
(adaptation)
The political organizes social resources (goal attainment)
The legal system maintains social regulation and
solidarity (integration)
The family, religion, and education aim to produce the
appropriate needs, values, motives, skills that
individuals need (pattern maintenance)
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In The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the
Sociology of Knowledge (1967), Berger and
Luckmann theory focuses on everyday life as a
social accomplishment based in the interactions of
individuals
3 processes construct social reality
1.
2.
3.
Externalization is the physical and mental outpouring of
human activity into the external world
Objectivation is the process by which the world takes on
a factual existence for individuals
Internalization is the process by which the external
world is made part of human’s subjective consciousness
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In Conflict Sociology: Towards an Explanatory
Science (1975), Randall Collins argues that
individuals are motivated to struggle in
meeting their needs and wants
 Individuals use whatever material (e.g., wealth
or physical strength) and cultural (e.g.,
education or verbal skills) to secure their goals.
 Individuals will be conflict due to the unequal
distribution of resources (e.g., wealth,
education, prestige) and institutional and
culture structures reflect this.
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Collins, following Weber, says social stratification
occurs in 3 dimensions:
1.
Economic or occupational conflicts
2.
Culture or status group conflicts
3.
Political or political party conflicts
In Peter Blau’s Inequality and Heterogeneity: A
Primitive Theory of Social Structure, he develops a
theory of social structure that links social
association and social integration

Social Structure is defined as the distribution of
people among social positions or “parameters.”
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1.
2.
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There are 2 type of parameters in the US used to
distinguished people from one another.
Nominal parameters divide people into subgroups
with distinct boundaries (e.g., gender, religion, and
age)
Graduated parameters distinguish people according to
a rank order (e.g., income)
Nominal parameters mark out horizational
differentiation (heterogeneity) among social groups
while graduated parameters designate differences
(inequality) in social status
Blau thesis is that heterogeneity and inequality
determine the rate and type of social association and
whether society is divided or integrated accordingly.
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In The Power Elite (1959), C. Wright Mills argues that
the elite were mostly men in 3 institutions: 1.
corporate businesses; 2. political parties; and 3.
military sectors

Corporate executives, military leaders and
politicians share an interlocking interest in
decision making due to their position as top level
decision makers in each respective institutional
sphere
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Their personal ties bind them together as well
while simultaneously separating them from the
public masses
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While the power elite are a loosely linked network
bound by personal and structural ties, they are
interested in maintaining inequalities of wealth,
prestige and power in order to maintain their
dominance.
It is their professed desire to run society in the
interests of the larger public while remaining
largely unaccountable that was at the center of
Mills’s critique.
Blue and white collar workers are blinded by
consumerism and personal affairs and thus
elections became thin forms of a democratic ritual
that ratifies elite rule.
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In Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in
American Life (1985), Bellah et al. write about the 4
traditions that are central to individuals and
American society
1.
The biblical tradition is based in Protestant and
Christian heritage and focuses on self-realization
as tied to an ethical and spiritual life and the
Puritan John Winthrop exemplifies this.
2.
The republican tradition is rooted in democratic
organizations and constitutional framers like
Thomas Jefferson embody this idea.
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3.
4.
Utilitarian individualism stands as a
counterpart to the biblical and republican
traditions which emphasize society. This
tradition emphasizes how individuals focus on
their own needs for wealth, protection, etc.
Ben Franklin embodies this.
Expressive individualism is also a selfcentered, individualistic world view and
focuses on human potential as one’s purpose
in life. The poet Walt Whitman exemplifies
this.
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