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Chapter 2
Sociology’s Family
Tree: Theories and
Theorists
1
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
What Is Theory?

2
According to sociologists, a theory is an
abstract proposition that both explains the
social world and makes predictions about
future events. Theories can and do change
over time because theories seek to explain
society, which itself also changes over time.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Sociology’s Family Tree—Auguste
Comte
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Auguste Comte is often only remembered for
coining the term, “sociology,” though his
other contributions to the discipline were also
significant. He developed the theory of
positivism, which argues that sense
perceptions are the only valid source of
knowledge.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Sociology’s Family Tree—Auguste
Comte (cont’d)

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He also began to imagine how the scientific
method, a procedure for acquiring knowledge
that emphasized collecting concrete data
through observation and experiment, could be
applied to the study of social affairs.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Sociology’s Family Tree—Harriet
Martineau

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Harriet Martineau was an English journalist
and political economist. She traveled to the
United States and studied American society,
which she believed was flawed and
hypocritical because of the existence of
slavery and the fact that both women and
blacks were denied equal rights.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Sociology’s Family Tree—Harriet
Martineau (cont’d)

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Despite these impressive works, her most
important contribution may have been her
English translation of Comte’s Introduction
to Positive Philosophy.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Sociology’s Family Tree—Herbert
Spencer
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Herbert Spencer was the first great Englishspeaking sociologist. Spencer was an
advocate of the idea of evolution, even before
Darwin made it famous and coined the phrase
“survival of the fittest.” He believed that
societies, like living organisms, evolve
through time by adapting to their changing
environment. His philosophy is often referred
to as “social Darwinism.”
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Sociology’s Family Tree—Classical
Period

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The era of the 1800s is referred to as
sociology’s classical period because it marked
the beginning of sociology as a substantive
discipline and the work done in this period
forms the theoretical foundations for all
sociological work that followed.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Sociology’s Family Tree—Emile
Durkheim

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Emile Durkheim spent much of his life trying
to establish sociology as an important
academic discipline. In his first major study,
he demonstrated that social bonds exist in all
types of societies.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Sociology’s Family Tree—Emile
Durkheim (cont’d)

10
He believed that agrarian, pre-modern
societies were held together by mechanical
solidarity, a type of social bond where shared
traditions and beliefs created a sense of social
cohesion.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Sociology’s Family Tree—Emile
Durkheim (cont’d)

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On the other hand, industrial societies were
held together by organic solidarity, a type of
social bond based on a division of labor that
created interdependence and individual rights.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Sociology’s Family Tree—Emile
Durkheim (cont’d)

12
In another study, Durkheim found that the
more firmly connected people are to others,
the less likely they are to commit suicide; thus
demonstrating that even suicide is impacted
by social forces.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Sociology’s Family Tree—Karl Marx

13
Karl Marx was a German philosopher and
political activist whose contribution to
sociology can be found in conflict theory.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Sociology’s Family Tree—Karl Marx
(cont’d)

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Marx lived during the Industrial Revolution,
when major societal changes were leading to
the emergence of capitalism, the economic
system that is based on the private for-profit
operation of industry.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Sociology’s Family Tree—Karl Marx
(cont’d)

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Marx believed that capitalism was creating
class conflict and social inequality between
the bourgeoisie, who owned the means of
production (money, factories, natural
resources, land), and the proletariat, who
were the workers.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Sociology’s Family Tree—Max Weber

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Max Weber was also interested in the shift
from traditional society to the modern
industrial society.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Sociology’s Family Tree—Max Weber
(cont’d)

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He was particularly concerned with the
process of rationalization, the application of
economic logic to all human activity, due to
the development of bureaucracies throughout
society.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Sociology’s Family Tree—Max Weber
(cont’d)

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He believed that contemporary life was filled
with disenchantment, the inevitable result of
the dehumanizing features of bureaucracies
that dominated modern societies.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Sociology’s Family Tree—Sigmund
Freud

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Sigmund Freud is usually associated with
psychoanalysis, but his theories have helped
sociologists gain a better understanding of
social behavior.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Sociology’s Family Tree—Sigmund
Freud

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Among his greatest contributions to
understanding human behavior were the
concepts of the subconscious and the
unconscious mind, which he believed were
responsible for most of our drives and
impulses and the unacknowledged source of
our conscious thoughts and behavior.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Modern Schools of Thought—
Structural Functionalism

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Structural Functionalism begins with the
assumption that society is a unified whole that
functions because of the contributions of its
separate structures. Its origins can be traced
to the ideas of Comte, Spencer, and
Durkheim.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Modern Schools of Thought—
Structural Functionalism

23
Society is viewed as an ordered system of
interrelated parts, or structures, which are the
different large-scale social institutions that
make up society (family, education, politics,
the economy). Each of these different parts of
society meets the needs of society by
performing specific functions for the whole
system (society).
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Modern Schools of Thought—
Structural Functionalism

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Talcott Parsons addressed the types of functions that
social structures (or institutions) might fulfill, such
as adaptation to the environment (socialization of
children), realization of goals (opportunity for
success provided by education system), social
cohesion (shared values provided by religion helping
to bring people together), and the maintenance of
cultural patterns (the passing along of traditions by
families).
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Modern Schools of Thought—
Structural Functionalism

25
Robert Merton clarified the difference
between manifest functions, the obvious
intended functions of a social structure for the
social system, and latent functions, the less
obvious unintended functions of a social
structure.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Modern Schools of Thought—Conflict
Theory

26
Conflict Theory sees social conflict as the
basis of society and social change, and
emphasizes a materialist view of society, a
critical view of the status quo, and a dynamic
model of historical change, emerged from the
writings of Marx.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Modern Schools of Thought—
Symbolic Interactionism

27
Symbolic Interactionism sees interaction and
meaning as central to society and assumes
that meanings are not inherent but are created
through interaction. It is America’s unique
contribution to sociology and has proved to be
the most influential perspective of the
twentieth century.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
New Theoretical Approaches—
Feminist Theory

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Feminist Theory looks at gender inequalities
in society and the way that gender structures
the social world.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
New Theoretical Approaches—Queer
Theory

29
Queer theory is a paradigm that proposes that
categories of sexual identity are social
constructs, and that no sexual category is
fundamentally either deviant or normal.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
New Theoretical Approaches—
Postmodern Theory

30
Postmodern Theory is a paradigm that
suggests that social reality is diverse,
pluralistic, and constantly in flux.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Concept Quiz:
1. The purpose of sociological theory is:
a. to prove sociological hypotheses.
b. to demonstrate that human behavior can be
seen in predictable absolutes.
c. to show that sociology has more to offer that
psychology.
d. to help people understand the world around
us.
31
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Concept Quiz:
2. Which of the following is NOT true about social
theory?
a. Social theories are completely consistent over
time.
b. Social theories are also known as perspectives.
c. Social theories will change over time because
society changes over time.
d. Social theories attempt to explain human
behavior.
32
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Concept Quiz:
3. What century is generally referred to as
sociology’s classical period?
a.
b.
c.
d.
33
1600s
1700s
1800s
1900s
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Concept Quiz:
4. According to Karl Marx, _______ is the source of all
social change.
a. conflict
b. solidarity
c. politics
d. anomie
34
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Concept Quiz:
5. Which of the following is a paradigm that begins
with the assumption that society is a unified whole
that functions because of the contributions of its
separate structures?
a. Conflict Theory
b. Labeling Theory
c. Structural Functionalism
d. Symbolic Interactionism
35
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Concept Quiz:
6. What theory looks at gender inequalities in society
and the way that gender structures the social world?
a. Conflict Theory
b. Psychoanalytic Theory
c. Critical Theory
d. Feminist Theory
36
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.