Probably one of the most common questions in a sociologist's life is also the one he repeats most to himself: after all, what is “sociology? What is your purpose? What am I going to use this for in my life?
Well, the last question is not necessarily that of a sociologist, but it is certainly one that this professional listens to most. I imagine that you, dear reader, must have already asked that same question to your teacher or you have already found yourself lost in that maelstrom of complicated names that all sociologists love and that often seem to be just for us. to confuse.
Read too: What is culture?
What is sociology?
Let's start at the beginning. In simple terms, the sociology and the science which focuses on society itself and all its ramifications, components and members. She is dedicated to understanding the ways in which we interact with each other, our organizations and the social phenomena observed in the reality of individuals.
O sociological look It always brings us a new perspective on situations that are apparently individual in nature, but which end up reaching a much wider range of our collective reality. We can take as an example unemployment, which, although it is a terrible tragedy in the individual's life, echoes throughout the social chain, affecting our economic reality and accentuating the
social inequality and possibly aggravating other problems, such as violence, hunger and poor education.Read too: Social institutions - what they are and what they are for
Is sociology a science?
Sociology is, to all intents and purposes, a science. It is closely linked to the scientific method, although it presents divergences on certain points, and proposes to understand processes and phenomena, directly or indirectly, observable. Even though it is not possible to place a society or a social interaction under the lens of a microscope, it is possible to approach specific parts of our reality to that we can observe it and, from these observations, try to draw explanations, theories and conclusions about these “objects” that are also concrete in their own form.
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Where did sociology arise?
As a single subject, sociology is relatively “new”. It started as an idea in the middle of the XIX century, like french philosopher Augusto Comte, which proposed a new area of study that would bring together the main areas of knowledge of the human sciences in a single one, the which would be dedicated to understanding all aspects of social man and the phenomena that manifest themselves in the different realities social.
Therefore, this new area of knowledge, according to Comte, should be universal and applicable to any and every society that exists or will exist. With this aim, Comte turned to the form of observation of other sciences prior to sociology, arguing that the studies of this new matter should be based on observable and measurable phenomena so that it would be possible to apprehend the general rules that govern the social world of the individual. This perspective was called “positivism” and was the dominant form of observation of the world in the middle of the Industrial Revolution (19th - 20th centuries). To learn more about positivism, read: Positivism: what it is, characteristics, in Brazil.
What is the role of sociology?
That's the main question for many. O sociological look helps us to face our reality from angles we are not used to seeing. As human beings and individuals, we are used to taking into account only what is in our direct contact. However, our reality is not just formed by our particular experiences. Our interaction with the other members of our reality and the interactions they have in their reality take part in the building a much larger whole and, therefore, end up shaping our own realities and the ways we interact with the world.
Sociology is there to make us look further, to unwind our vision of the world and make us realize that our reality goes far beyond what we imagine.
by Lucas Oliveira
Graduated in Sociology