Chapter 2- Textbook Flashcards
1
Q
What is a theory?
A
a statement that tries to explain how certain facts or variables are related in order to predict future events
2
Q
What did Thomas Hobbes suggest?
A
That people are responsible for creating the social world around them and that society could thus be changed through conscious reflection.
3
Q
Who was one of the first theorists to view people as responsible and accountable for the society they created?
A
Hobbes
4
Q
What is Hobbes well known for?
A
His analysis of how humans exited before the emergence of formal social structures (ex. government), a condition he referred to as the natural states.
5
Q
What is the natural state?
A
Hobbe’s conception of the human condition before the emergence of formal social structures
-it was brutal (direct competition and constant state of fear)
6
Q
Hobbes believed that people are motivated by___and the pursuit of___.
A
- self-interset
- power
7
Q
What did Hobbes believe about the collective?
A
Since people are naturally rational, in order to gain peace and protection, they will enter into a collective agreement and give up some of their individual freedom and autonomy to an absolute authority. The collective has the right to revolt against it should it fail to fulfill its obligations.
8
Q
What is Hobbe’s legacy with regards to the development of sociological theory?
A
His assertion that individuals are the basic building blocks of society. Since human beings are “active, assertive, and dynamic being[s]”, the appropriate role for government is to preserve the individual’s ability to achieve self-interests while protecting everyone from others’ natural, self-serving inclinations.
9
Q
What did John Locke argue?
A
That God was responsible for the emergence of society and government.
10
Q
Who said that people are born tabula rasa “blank slate”?
A
Locke
11
Q
What does tabula rasa suggest?
A
That there can be no knowledge independent of experience
12
Q
How did Locke view the emergence of the state?
A
As being more about preserving an individual’s right to maintain property than about protecting individuals from warring against each other. The government itself has no rights but only obligations to the members of society
13
Q
What is Locke’s contribution to social theory?
A
His advocacy of individual freedom and autonomy, which ultimately built the foundation upon which democracy and the US Constitution were established.
14
Q
What did Locke and Hobbes agree on?
A
The ideas of democratic leadership and the rights of the masses to assert their power over corruption
15
Q
What did Charles de Montesquieu suggest about society?
A
That people had never existed outside, or without, society. Instead of humans defining and creating society, he proposed that humans were defined and created by society.
16
Q
What did Montesquieu practice and how?
A
the sociological imagination by writing a book where he wrote letters from the perspective of someone outside his own culture
17
Q
What did Montesquieu believe that analyzing a society’s laws would lead to?
A
Enables one to see what that society deems to be important.
18
Q
What do the laws define according to Montesquieu?
A
the spirit of the people
19
Q
What are Montesquieu’s ideal types?
A
Classic or pure forms of a given social phenomenon.
20
Q
What are Montesquieu’s three types of governments?
A
1) Republic (which had two forms: democracy and aristocracy) (the spirit behind the Republic was virtue)
2) Monarchy (the spirit behind the Monarchy was honour)
3) Despotism (the spirit behind Despotism was fear)
21
Q
What did Montesquieu believe that the true nature or spirit of a society is?
A
Not what it is, but instead what it wants to become
22
Q
What is Montesquieu’s contribution to sociological theory?
A
Is appreciation for cultural diversity and his comparative methodology, which allowed social scientists to analyze various social phenomena cross-nationally
23
Q
What are Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s two most famous insights?
A
state of nature and the social contract
24
Q
What is Rousseau’s state of nature?
A
A state in which people were precocial: natural state was a primitive condition before laws or mortality. People existed in a symbiotic and idyllic relationship based on equality
25
What did Rousseau believe a perfect society would mirror?
Our natural state. When our social arrangements were inconsistent with these natural rules, we suffered social problems
26
How did Rousseau suggest people could achieve their potential?
only through society
27
What was the inspiration for moving beyond the natural state and toward collective arrangements acc. to Rousseau?
population pressures.
28
Why did Rousseau believe that people needed to be protected from each other?
as we moved into collective arrangements, certain individuals prospered. People needed to be protected from each other and needed to secure their private property (inequality)
29
What is Rousseau's social contract?
The rise of government was really the manifestation of the social contract. We give up something to get something in return. People needed to be protected from each other. People entered into the social contract as free and equal individuals.
30
What is Rousseau's contribution to social theory?
His analysis of the social contract and his belief in the autonomy of the individual.
31
What was the Enlightenment?
Intellectual movement that began around 1650 and ended with the French Revolution
32
Who were the main group of Enlightenment intellectuals?
French Philosophes
33
Who were the Philosophes?
French philosophers during the Enlightenment period who advocated critical thinking and practical knowledge. Tough any attempt to limit free thinking and expression.
34
What was people's thinking like before the Enlightenment?
Directed by God, the Church, and the aristocracy.
35
What did Enlightenment thinking promote?
Promoted human agency and thus was a clear continuation of the writing of Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau.
36
What led to the Americana and French Revolution?
The ability of the masses to take control of their lives and challenge their oppressors
37
What was sociology born from?
the conservative reaction to the ideas of Enlightenment thinking
38
What did conservatives promote?
A return to earlier times
39
What did conservatives believe?
That society is not the product of individuals but, rather, and entity in itself, independent and separate from the individuals who make it up
40
What are the 10 propositions of conservative reaction thinking?
1) Society exists on its own and is independent of individuals
2) Society is the most important unit of social analysis, and it produces the individual
3) Individuals are not the base unit of social interest; society consists of components such as roles, relationships, structures, and institutions, and individuals are simply those who fill these positions
4) The smallest unit of social analysis is the family
5) the parts of society are interrelated and interdependent
6) Change is a threat
7) Social institutions are beneficial both to individuals and to society as a whole
8) Modern social changes create fear and anxiety and need to be diminished
9) Traditional elements of social life are important to society and offer a stabilizing influence
10) A return to social hierarchies because they promote a system of differential status and reward which reinforces the principle that healthy competition between individuals is a good thing
41
Is the conservative reaction theory more associated with macrosociology or microsociology?
macrosociology
42
Is Enlightenment thinking more consistent with microsociology or macrosociology?
microsociology
43
Which is inductive and which is deductive: macrosociology and microsociology?
Inductive: microsociology
Deductive: macrosociology
44
How does macrosociology see behaviour and what is it associated with?
As predictable, and is associated with European classical social theory
45
How does microsociology see behaviour and what is it associated with?
Sees behaviour as creative, and is characteristically North American and contemporary
46
How do functionalists view the social world?
As a dynamic system of interrelated and interdependent parts. Social structures exist to help people fulfill their wants and desires. Functionalists view human society as being similar to an organism. Like the human body, society is made up of interrelated and interdepend parts that each has a structure and perform a function for the whole. The system's natural state is one of equilibrium.
47
What is the organic analogy?
The belief that society is like an organism with interdependent and interrelated parts
48
What must be a reality for the social system to be considered healthy from a functionalist perspective?
All individuals who are part of that social system must feel valued and content. The society must meet the needs of the majority; when it does not the system is sick and must make adjustments to return to a state of equilibrium and harmony. Short-term periods of strife and conflict can occur, but over time these events will be addressed by the system and it will return to a state of homeostasis
49
What can functionalism be linked to?
the conservative reaction movement
50
What is Hebert Spencer best known for?
Coining the term survival of the fittest and for his application of thepriniples of biological evolution to human societies, referred to as social Darwinism.
51
What did Spencer believe about overpopulation?
That it would become more of a problem over time and that people would be forced to compete over increasingly scarce resources.
52
What is survival of the fittest?
Spencer's interpretation of biological principles to justify why only the strong should survive.
53
What is natural selection?
The biologically based principle that environmental pressures allow certain beneficial traits to be passed on to future generations.
54
What is evolution?
The biological process by which genetic mutation are selected for and against, through environmental pressures.
55
What is social Darwinism?
Spencer's assertion that societies evolve according to the same principles as do biological organisms.
56
How does Spencer employ a functionalist approach?
by suggesting that societies evolve because there is a reason for the changes.
57
What is a laissez-faire belli?
A point of view that opposed regulation of or interference with natural processes.
58
Who would argue that even seemingly small personal choices have large social origins?
Emile Durkheim
59
What does Durkheim believe individual behaviours are inspired by?
collective social forces
60
According to Durkheim, culture and society exist__of the individual, are___of the individual, and__the individual.
- outside
- independent
- outlive
61
What did Durkheim refer to the external collective force as?
the collective conscience
62
What is collective conscience?
Durkheim's concept highlighting the totality of beliefs and sentiments that are common to the average person in a society.
63
What is a reflection of a shared experience by individuals than it is a "thing" that can be measured or directly studied.
the collective conscience
64
What are social facts?
General social features that exist on they own and are independent of individual manifestations. For example, laws, beliefs, customs, and morals.
65
Social facts are the creation of human actions, but are not the___consequences with them--they are___outcomes of collective behaviour.
- intended
| - unintentional
66
What constrains and coerces us to behave in established, predictable ways acc. to Durkheim?
social facts
67
What is Durkheim's analysis of suicide rates throughout Europe?
His assertion that the degree of social integration (the extent to which individuals feel connected to each other) and the degree of social regulation (the extent to which individual desires, behaviours, and emotions are regulated by society) are important causes of a society's suicide rates. He argued that societies with levels of integration or regulation that are too high or too low will suffer from higher suicide rates.
68
What is anomie?
Durkheim's term for a state of formlessness that results from a lack of clear goals and ma ultimately result in higher suicide rates
69
Who is well known for his analysis of how societies grow and change over time?
Durkheim
70
What is mechanical solidarity?
Describes early societies based on similarities and independence. People were still independent of each other since they were largely self-sufficient.
71
What is organic solidarity?
Describes later societies organized around interdependence and the increasing divide of labour People depend on the collective to meet their individual and social needs.
72
According to Durkheim, what is the result of the fact that we no longer have the choice to coexist--we need each other to survive?
Takes away our independence and results in more social unrest and tension because we lack a basic sense of freedom and independence. WE are arguably freer but are also more likely to suffer from anomie.
73
What is social action theory?
Parson's framework attempting to separate behaviours from actions to explain why people do what they do.
74
What are behaviours?
For Parsons, the almost mechanical responses to specific stimuli
75
What are actions?
For Parsons, the results of an active and inventive process
76
What is AGIL?
Four function imperatives that are required for a social system to remain homeostasis acc. to Parsons.
adaption, goal attainment, integration, latency
77
What is adaption?
the social system must be able to gather and distribute sufficient resources and adjust to changes in its environment
78
What is goal attainment?
the system needs to establish clear goals and priorities
79
What is integration?
the system needs to maintain solidarity while allowing the aspirations of subgroups
80
What is latency?
the system needs to motivate individuals to release their frustrations in socially appropriate ways
81
What is tension maintenance?
recognizes the internal tensions and strains that influence all actors
82
What is pattern maintenance?
involves socially appropriate ways to display tensions and strains
83
How does Robert Merton further our understanding of functions theory?
by stressing that social structures have many functions
84
What are manifest functions?
The intended consequences of an action or social pattern
85
What are latent functions?
The unintended consequences of an action or social pattern
86
What did Merton wan socialists to reflect on?
What is functional and for whom and the social system may have parts that are in fact not functional for everyone.
87
What is Merton's contribution to social theory?
His analysis of manifest and latent functions and in his caution that the functionalist theorists need to recognize that what is considered functional often varies by the person or the group?
88
What is the critiques of functionalism?
- how can functionalism account for social change when the organism's natural state is homeostasis?
- overemphasizes the extend to which harmony and stability actually exist in society
- chang his badly needed at times in order to create a new, more just, and ultimately more effective system
- classic functionalism often overlooked the positive consequences that can result from conflict and struggle
89
What assumption is conflict theory based on?
society is grounded on inequality and competition over scarce resources that ultimately result in conflict, which often inspires social change.
90
What are the two basic principles that all conflict theorists share?
1) power is the core of all social relationships and is scarce and unequally divided
2) social values and the dominant ideology are vehicles by which the powerful promote their own interests at the expense of the weak.
91
What are the two types of inequality that Rousseau argued are among people?
- natural or physical inequality
| - moral or political inequality
92
What is natural or physical inequality?
According to Rousseau, inequality based on physical differences established by nature (e.g., strength, intelligence)
93
What is moral or political inequality?
According to Rousseau, inequality based on human classification of valuable things (e.g., money, social status)
94
What was Marx's early thinking about society defined by?
His analysis of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel's philosophy
95
What did Marx agree with Hegel on?
To understand social development and history one needs to understand dialectics and idealism. They argued that human history unfolds as a series of conflicts that result in continuous transformations. Social structures are dynamic and change over time.
96
What are dialectics?
Hegel's view of society as the result of oppositions, contradictions, and tensions from which new ideas and social change can emerge.
97
What is idealism?
The belief that the human mind and consciousness are more important in understanding the human condition than is the material world.
98
What did Marx reject about Hegel?
his idealistic philosophy
99
What was Engels interested in?
the plight of the working class and in Hegelian philosophy. Insight into the day-to-day condition of the poor
100
Who initially argued that social revolution was the inevitable result of capitalism?
Engels
101
What did Marx and Engels believe about the human consciousness and human interaction with the material world?
Could change society
102
What is Marx's base and superstructure model?
The dynamic relationship between the material and social elements of society.
103
What is the base?
the material and economic foundation for society, made up of the fires of production and the relations of production.
104
What are the forces of production?
The physical and intellectual resources a society has with which to make a living. Marx argued that the forces of production influence not only the type of society that develops but also the lives of individuals.
105
What are relations of production?
The relationship between workers and owners. A relationship based on power that defines a society's use of productive assets and the relationship between social classes.
106
What is a social class?
A group who share a similar relationship to labour and who are aware of their conflict with other classes
107
What is class conflict?
when the interests of one classier in opposition to another
108
What are the proletariat?
The workers
109
What are bourgeois?
The owners of the means of production
110
What is alienation?
Marxist concept to describe the process by which workers lack connection to what they produce and become separated from themselves and other workers.
111
What are Marx's two main classes?
proletariat and bourgeoisie
112
What type of relationship is the tension that exists between workers and owners/
dialectic relationship
113
What is exploitation?
The difference between what workers are paid and the wealth they create for the owner
114
Where is the exploitative nature of labour hidden within capitalism?
the wage system
115
What can be seen as the full that drives capitalism to evolve and change?
the contrasting interests of workers and owners
116
What is the defining contrast between conflict theory and functionalism?
the dialectic relationship between the workers and owners
117
What did Marx and Engels suggest that the superstructure was made possible upon?
the base of society
118
What is the superstructure?
All of the things that society values and aspires to once its material needs are met (e.g., religion, politics, law).
119
What is ideology?
A set of beliefs and values that support and justify the ruling class of a society. The concept of ideology connects closely with that of power.
120
What is the dominant ideology of a society?
One that maintains the position of the ruling elite.
121
What is false consciousness?
Belief in an disport for the system that oppresses you.
122
What is class consciousness?
Recognition of domination and oppression and collective action to change it
123
What are the main critiques of conflict theory?
- tend to diminish the many areas of our lives where we experience an uncoerced consensus about things we feel are important
- fail to acknowledge that much struggle today is not about a personal desire for power but instead is institutionalized in such contentious events as political elections and collective bargaining between labour unions and corporate management
- insistence on the primary and driving role of economics and materialist interpretations of social life
- insights achieved through Marx's analysis of the forces of production and relations of production re too narrow to allow for a complete understanding dos social motivation and social organization
- focuses too much on macro-level issues and fails to investigate individual motivation s and reactions to tensions and conflicts in people's lives.
124
What is symbolic interactionism?
Emphasizes that society and all social structures are nothing more than the creations of interacting people, and that they can, therefore, be changed.
125
What is the Thomas theorem?
Assertion that things people define as real are real in their consequences.
126
What are Ritzer's seven fundamental principles of symbolic interactionism?
1. unlike other animals, human beings have the capacity for thought
2. human thinking is shaped by social interaction
3. in social settings, people learn meanings and symbols
4. meanings and symbols enable people to carry on unique human actions and interactions
5. people are able to change meanings and symbols given their interpretation
6. people are able to make these modifications because they have the unique ability to interact with themselves
7. the culmination of patterns of action and interaction make up groups and societies
127
How is symbolic interactionism distinct from the other two theories?
Because of its microsociological orientation. They study specific cases of how individuals act in small groups and in face-to-face interactions.
128
What do symbolic interactionists highlight?
The important ways in which meanings are created, constructed, mediated, and changed by members of a group or society.
129
what is verstehen?
Weber's term for a deep understanding and interpretation of subjective social meanings. Refers to understanding the meaning of an action from the actor's point of view.
130
What does Weber emphasis?
an individuals subjective analysis and interpretation of an action or situation
131
How did Simmel view society?
As the summation of human experience and its patterned interactions
132
What is formal sociology?
Simmel's theory that argues that different human interactions, once isolated from their content, can be similar in form.
133
What does formal sociology lead to the realization of?
social process that seem very different are actually comparable
134
What did Mead suggest about the social organism?
That the "social organism" is not an organic individual but a "social group of individual organisms". The individual, therefore, exists as a member of a social organism, and his or her acts can be understood only in the context of social actions that involve other individuals.
135
What is society the result of according to Mead?
The result of individuals defining themselves through participation in social acts.
136
According to Mead, what does the human mind result from?
The individuals ability to respond to and engage with the environment. The mind emerges and develops once individuals demonstrate an ability to communicate their thoughts to others and to themselves.
137
When does the concept of self emerge according to Mead?
Once individual actors can reflect on themselves as objects and see their actions as the result of social processes.
138
What did Mead define to helped understand the social nature of the individual
the differences between the I and Me
139
What is the 'I'?
The unsocialized part of the self that is spontaneous, creative, and impulsive. The 'I' represents the individuals response to the actions of others
140
What is the 'Me'?
The socialized part of the self that monitors the actions of the 'I'. It is the judgemental, reflective, and and controlling side of the elf that reflects the values and attitudes of society. The 'Me' controls the response of the I.
141
What did Cooley suggest was the best way for a sociologist to exam the social world?
through sympathetic introspection
142
What is sympathetic introspection?
Cooley's concept of the value of putting yourself into another person's shoes an seeing the world as he or she does. Analyze an actors consciousness by putting themselves in his or her shoes.
143
What is the looking-glass self?
Cooley's belief that we develop our self-image through the cues we receive from others.
144
What is a self-fulfilling prophecy?
A prediction that, once made, causes the outcome to occur.
145
What are the three basic components to the looking-glass self?
1) image how we appear to others
2) imagine how others would judge that appearance
3) reflect on that image and develop some self-feeling as a result (pride, fear, embarrassment, etc.)
146
What was Erving Goffman interested in?
Interactions between small groups.
147
What is Goffman's concept of dramaturgical analysis?
This approach sees the 'self' as emerging from the performances we play and how the other actors relate to us. The 'self' does not really exist but rather is a function of the social interactions we have with others and how they interpret the signs and signals we convey. We try to control how others see us and at times put on a mask to hide our true feelings or motivations.
148
What does Goffman argue that interactions are influenced by?
Each person's personal history ad experiences and that these ultimately define and flavour each and every interaction. Actors sends and receive signals to and from each other in order to understand and manage their individual roles and performances.
149
What are the critiques of symbolic interactionism?
- fail to acknowledge how difficult it is to change long-established social arrangements
- does not account for the importance of social structures and institutions in defining the world in which we live
150
What did Mary Wollstonecraft challenge?
social convention by suggesting that marriage was a form of legal prostitution. She wanted to educate boys and girls together to challenge the patriarchy
151
What is Harriet Martineau best known for?
Translating Comte's works into English and helping define how sociologists study the social world.
152
How was the first Canadian woman to receive a Ph.D. in sociology? What did her work centre on that was one of the first large-scale uses of survey research in Canada?
- Annie Marion MacLean
- On women and their role as wage earners. Her work was instrumental in helping sociologists understand the plight of the working classes in North America
153
What is Anna Julia Cooper known for?
- focusing on race, education, and gender
| - internationally known spokesperson for social and racial issues
154
Who was the the member of the visible minority who was a civil rights leader, suffragist, journalist and public speaker who wrote articles about the atrocities of black lynchings?
Ida Wells-Barnett
155
What is W.E.B Du Bois known for?
his concept of double consciousness which is the divided identity experienced by American blacks.
156
What is Frantz Fanon known for?
establishing his positing as a leading theorist on black identity, colonial rule, and decolonization. Racism generates harmful psychological constructs. Language also influences how people view themselves.
157
What did C.L.R. James contribute?
to the growing anti-colonic l struggle
158
What is George Padmore given credit for?
radicalizing much of the Caribbean working class and was a leading advocate for colonial revolution
159
Why did contributions by non-Western scholars receive limited profile in Canada and the US?
It is a reflection of who this material "spoke" to (i.e., the oppressed). Additionally, these works were ignored by the mainly white sociologists working at North American universities.
160
Who are the contributions by women?
- Mary Wollstonecraft
- Harriet Martineau
- Annie Marion MacLean
161
Who are the contributions by visible minorities?
- Anna Julia Cooper
- Ida Wells-Barnett
- W.E.B. Du Bois
162
Who are the contributions by non-western scholars?
- Frantz Fanon
- C.L.R. James
- George Padmore
