西方社会学名著选读.doc

1.1 What is Sociology?Sociology is the systematic study of social behaviour and human groups. It focuses primarily on the influence of social relationships upon peoples attitudes and behaviour and on how societies are established and change. As a field of study, sociology has an extremely broad scope. The Sociological ImaginationIn attempting to understand social behaviour, sociologists rely on an unusual type of creative thinking. C. Wright Mills (1959) described such thinking as the Sociological Imagination, an awareness of the relationship between an individual and the wider societyThis awareness allows people (not simply sociologists) to comprehend the links between their immediate, personal social settings and the remote, impersonal social world that surrounds them and helps to shape them.A key element in the sociological imagination is the ability to view ones own society as an outsider would, rather than from the limited perspective of personal experiences and cultural biases. Sociological imagination can bring new understanding to daily life around us or even to our view of the past. For example, Claude Fischer (1988) studied gender differences in telephone use during the half century before World War II and the social meanings of these differencesDuring the period of 1890-1940, telephones became popular in middle-class urban homes as well as on many farms. Fischer observes that, in the period under study, North American women seemed to have a special affinity for the household telephone and that affinity seemed to involve sociability. He offers a number of possible explanations for this gender difference, among them: Women, especially homemakers, were typically more isolated from daily adult contact than men were. Therefore telephone calls allowed many women to experience some of the social contact that their husbands found in the work place. Womens traditional role as social managers for their families led to extensive telephone responsibilities in service to the household, the extended family, the friendship circle, and the community.Fischer concludes that, like the bicycle and the automobile, the telephone served as “technology of sociability” that allowed women to increase their social interactions. Sociology and the Social SciencesIn a general sense, sociology can be considered a science. The term “science” refers to the body of knowledge obtained by methods based upon systematic observation. Like other scientific disciplines, sociology engages in organized, systematic study of phenomena (in this case, human behaviour) in order to enhance understanding.All sciences attempt to collect precise information through methods of study which are as objective as possible. They rely on careful recording of observations and accumulation of data.Social science is the study of various aspects of human society. The social sciences include sociology, anthropology, economics, history, psychology and political science. These academic disciplines have a common focus on the social behaviour of people, yet each has a particular orientation in studying such behaviour. Sociology emphasizes the influence that society has on peoples attitudes and behaviour and the ways in which people shape society. Humans are social animals; therefore sociologists scientifically examine our social relationships with people. 1.2 Origins of SociologyPeople have always been curious about how we get along, what we do, and whom we select as our leaders. Philosophers and religious authorities of ancient and medieval societies made countless observations about human behaviour. These observations were not tested or verified scientifically; nevertheless, they often became the foundation of moral codes.Several of the early social philosophers predicted that a systematic study of human behaviour would one day emerge. Beginning in the nineteenth century, European theorists made pioneering contributions to the development of a science of human behaviour. Early Thinkers: Comte, Martineau, and SpencerIn France, the nineteenth century was an unsettling time for that nations intellectuals. The French monarchy had been deposed earlier in the revolution of 1789, and Napoleon had subsequently been defeated in his effort to conquer Europe. Amidst this chaos, philosophers considered how societies might be improved. Auguste Comte (1798-1857) , credited with being the most influential of these philosophers of the early 1800s, believed that a theoretical science of society and systematic investigation of behaviour were needed to improve society.Comte coined the word “sociology” to apply to the science of human behaviour and insisted that sociology could make a critical contribution to a new and improved human community. Writing in the 1800s, Comte feared that Frances stability had been permanently impaired by the excesses of the French Revolution. Yet he hoped that the study of social behaviour in a systematic way would eventually lead to more rational human interactions.In Comtes hierarchy of sciences, sociology was at the top. He did not simply give its name but also presented a rather ambitious challenge to the fledgling discipline. Scholars were able to learn of Comtes works largely through translations by the English sociologist Harriet Martineau (1802-1876). But Martineau was a path breaker in her own right as a sociologist; she offered insightful observations of the customs and social practices of both her native Britain and the United States.Martineau s book “Society in America” examines religion, politics, child rearing, and immigration in the young nation. Martineau gives special attention to status distinctions and to such factors as gender and race.Another important contributor to the discipline of sociology was Herbert Spencer (1820-1903). Writing from the vantage point of relatively prosperous Victorian England, Spencer did not feel compelled to correct or improve society; instead, he hoped to describe it better. Spencer was familiar with Comtes work but seemed more influenced by Charles Darwins study “On the Origin of Species”. Drawing on Darwins insights, Spencer used the concept of evolution of animals to explain how societies change over time. Similarly, he adapted Darwins evolutionary view of the “survival of the fittest” by arguing that it is “natural” that some people are rich while others are poor.Spencers approach to societal change was extremely popular in his own lifetime. Indeed, he dominated scholarly thinking more than Comte did. Unlike Comte, Spencer suggested that societies are bound to change; therefore, one need not be highly critical of present social arrangements or work actively for social change.This viewpoint appealed to many influential people in Great Britain and the United States who had a vested interest in the status quo and were suspicious of social thinkers who endorsed change.Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) s important theoretical work on suicide was but one of his many pioneering contributions to sociology. Durkheim will be remembered for his insistence that behaviour cannot be fully understood in individualistic terms, that it must be understood within a larger social context.One of Durkheims main interests was the consequences of work in modern societies. In his view, the growing division of labour found in industrial societies as workers became much more specialized in their tasks led to what he called anomie. Anomie refers to a loss of direction that is felt in a society when social control of individual behaviour has become ineffective.The state of anomie occurs when people have lost their sense of purpose or direction, often during a time of profound social change. In a period of anomie, people are so confused and unable to cope with the new social environment that they may resort to taking their own lives. Durkheim was concerned about the dangers that such alienation, loneliness, and isolation might pose for modern industrial societies. He shared Comtes belief that sociology should provide direction for social change. As a result, he advocated the creation of new social groupsbetween the individuals family and the statewhich would ideally provide a sense of belonging for members of huge, impersonal societies.Another important theorist who contributed to the scientific study of society was Max Weber. Born in Germany in 1864, Weber took his early academic training in legal and economic history, but he gradually developed an interest in sociology. He pointed out that much of our social behaviour cannot be analyzed by the kinds of objective criteria we use to measure weight or temperature. To fully comprehend behaviour, we must learn the subjective meanings people attach to their actionshow they themselves view and explain their behaviour. For example, suppose that sociologists were studying the social ranking of individuals within an electricians union. Weber would expect researchers to employ Verstehen in order to determine the significance of the unions hierarchy for its members. Sociologists would seek to learn how these electricians relate to union members of higher or lower status; they might examine the effects of seniority on standing within the union. While investigating these questions, researchers would take into account peoples emotions, thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes.We also owe credit to Weber for a key conceptual tool: the ideal type. An ideal type is a construct, a model that serves as a measuring rod against which actual cases can be evaluated. In his own works, Weber identified various characteristics of bureaucracy as an ideal type.In presenting this model of bureaucracy, Weber was not describing any particular business, nor was he using the term ideal in a way that suggested a positive evaluation. Instead, his purpose was to provide a useful standard for measuring how bureaucratic an actual organization is.Although their professional careers come at the same time, Emile Durkheim and Max Weber never met and probably were unaware of each others existence, let alone ideas. This was certainly not true of the work of Karl Marx.Durkheim s thinking about anomie was related to Marxs writings, while Webers concern for a value-free, objective sociology was a direct response to Marxs deeply held convictions. Thus it is no surprise that Karl Marx is viewed as a major figure in the development of several social sciences, among them sociology.Karl Marx (1818-1883) shared with Durkheim and Weber a dual interest in abstract philosophical issues and in the concrete reality of everyday life. Unlike the others, Marx was so critical of existing institutions that a conventional academic career was impossible, and although he was born and educated in Germany, most of his life was spent in exile. Marxs personal life was a difficult struggle. When a paper that he had written was suppressed, he fled his native land and went to France. In Paris, he met Friedrich Engels (1820-1893), with whom he formed a lifelong friendship. They lived during a time when European and North American economic life was increasingly being dominated by the factory rather than the farm. In 1847, Marx and Engels attended secret meetings in London of an illegal coalition of labour unions, the Communist League. The following year, they finished preparing a platform called The Communist Manifesto, in which they agreed that the masses of people who have no resources other than their labour (whom they referred to as the proletariat) should unite to fight for the overthrow of capitalist societiesIn the words of Marx and Engels:The history of all hitherto society is the history of class struggles. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. WORKING MEN OF ALL COUNTRIES, UNITE!After completing The Communist Manifesto, Marx returned to Germany, only to be expelled. He then moved to England, where he continued to write books and essays. Marxs life there was one of extreme poverty. He pawned most of his possessions, and several of his children died of malnutrition and disease. Marx clearly was an outsider in British society, a fact which may well have affected his view of western cultures. Marxs thinking was strongly influenced by the work of a German philosopher, Georg Hegel. Hegel saw history as a dialectical processa series of clashes between conflicting ideas and forces. At the end of each clash, a new and improved set of ideas was expected to emerge. In Hegels view, conflict was an essential element in progress.In applying Hegels theories, Marx focused on conflict between social classes, as represented by industrial workers and the owners of factories and businesses. Under Marxs analysis, society was fundamentally divided between classes who clash in pursuit of their own class interests. He argued that history could be understood in dialectical terms as a record of the inevitable conflicts between economic groups. This view forms the basis for the contemporary sociological perspective of conflict theory.When Marx examined the industrial societies of his time, such as Germany, England, and the United States, he saw the factory as the centre of conflict between the exploiters (the owners of the means of production) and the exploited (the workers). Marx believed that an entire system of economic, social and political relationships had been established to maintain the power and dominance of the owners over the workers. Consequently, Marx and Engels argued that the working class needed to overthrow the existing class system. Marxs writings inspired those who were subsequently to lead communist revolutions in Russia, China, Cuba, Vietnam and elsewhere. Even apart from the political revolutions that his work helped to foster, Marxs influence on contemporary thinking has been dramatic. Although he certainly did not view himself as a sociologist, Marx nevertheless made a critical contribution to the development of sociology and other social sciences. Partly this reflected Marxs emphasis on carefully researching the actual, measurable conditions of peoples lives, a practice which foreshadowed the scientific nature of todays social sciences.Twentieth-Century Sociology Sociology, as we know it in the 20th century, draws upon the firm foundation developed by Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, and Karl Marx. However, the discipline has certainly not remained stagnant over the last century. Sociologists have gained new insights which have helped them to better understand the workings of society.Charles Horton Cooley (1864-1929) was typical of the sociologists who became prominent in the early 1900s. Cooley shared the desire of Durkheim, Weber, and Marx to learn more about society，but preferred to use the sociological perspective to look first at smaller unitsintimate face-to-face groups such as families, gangs, and friendship networks. He saw these groups as the seedbeds of society in the sense that they shape peoples ideals, beliefs, values and social nature. Cooleys work brought new understanding to groups of relatively small size.Many of the leading American sociologists of the early 1900s saw themselves as social reformers dedicated to systematically studying and then improving a corrupt society. corrupt: immoral, dishonest (esp. through taking bribes)They were genuinely concerned about the lives of immigrants in the nations growing cities, whether these immigrants came from Europe or from the American south.genuine: really what it is said to beEarly female sociologists, in particular, were often active in poor urban areas as leaders of community centres known as settlement houses. For example, Jane Addams (1860-1935), a member of and speaker before the American Sociological Society, cofounded the famous Chicago settlement, Hull House.Addams and other pioneering female sociologists commonly combined intellectual inquiry, social service work, and political activismall the goal of assisting the underprivileged and creating a more egalitarian society.egalitarian: favouring the doctrine of equal treatment for all citizensEgality, Fraternity, LibertyBy the middle of the twentieth century, however, the focus of the discipline has shifted. Sociologists restricted themselves to theorizing and gathering information, while the aim of transforming society was left to social workers and others. This shift away from social reform was accompanied by a growing commitment to scientific methods of research and to value-free interpretation of data.Sociologist Robert Merton made an important contribution to the discipline by successfully combining theory and research. Merton has produced a theory that is one of the most frequently cited explanations of deviant behaviour. He noted different ways in which people attempt to achieve success in life. In his view, some may not share the socially agreed-upon goal of accumulating material goods or the accepted means of achieving this goal. deviant: different in moral and social standards from what is normal or customaryFor example, in Mertons classification scheme, “innovators” are people who accept the goal of pursuing material wealth but use illegal means to do so, including robbery, burglary, and extortion. extort: obtain by violence, threats etc.Mertons explanation of crime is based on individual behaviourinfluenced by societys approved goals and meansyet it has wider applications. It helps to account for the high crime rates among the nations poor, who may see no hope of advancing themselves through traditional roads to success.1.3 Perspectives of SociologySociologists view society in different ways. Some see the world basically as a stable and ongoing entity. They are impressed with the endurance of the f