Sociology aS a Science and aS an
interpretative diScipline
previouS year queStion
1. Sociology as a science -20 marks -2011
2. Sociology as an interpretative discipline -20 marks-2015
3. How far sociology is a science -20 marks-2017
4. Sociological theory and empirical research are interlinked, Discuss -60 marks-
2006
Sociology emerged as a discipline in response to answer the challenges posed before
modernity in medieval European society. The orientation of initial sociologist was to
develop sociology on the lines similar to natural sciences because in that era
intellectuals had more believe in science as compare to other disciplines. The
scientific revolution in the field of astronomy, medical, science, physics and biology
led intellectual to dream of a discipline which could generate similar universal laws
of social organisations.
St. Simon even dreamt of “social physics”. Auguste comte the
founding father of sociology claimed to have developed laws of universal laws of
social organization. Similarly, Hebert Spensors organismic analogy was guided by
the same assumptions. As sociology developed questions were raised on the
possibility of employing basic assumptions of natural sciences in sociology. Objections
were raised on the validity of the universal law develop by initial sociologist. This
initiated a debate on the nature of sociology that is ‘is sociology is science or not’.
The roots of this debate are located in the basic understanding of the term
science. During 19th century the science mainly drew from natural sciences. The body
of knowledge was considered as science only if it yields universal laws and confirms
to the ideals of empiricism and inductivism. Subsequently with the intellectual
development the conception of science underwent a change. Gradually science came
to understood more in terms of method of enquiry rather than a body of knowledge.
Science has been defined as any systematic study based on evidence and reason. It
assumes that if explanations are given in a logical, scientific or reasoned manner they
must be considered as scientific.
conditionS of Science
science is a method of inquiry rather than a body of knowledge
it uses 2 forms for theory building
1. inductivism-first test in the lab then build the theory
2. empiricism -regularly happen, fact ex- sun rises in east
1) Inter subject reliability
It means that concepts framed by any body of knowledge should have the same
meaning for different people. That is, the concepts should be defined precisely.
Eg; oxygen have the same meaning for all disciplines
2) Objectivity
There should be possibility of undertaking investigation without personal biases
or pre conception.
Eg; sun rises in east (fact, no bias)
3) Quantifiability
It should be possible to observe things in a quantifiable manner. That is the scope
of the subject matter should be defined clearly.
Eg; The freezing point at which water (liquid) turns to ice (solid) is 32°F (0°C).
4) Theoretical orientation and Testing
The body of knowledge must be capable of generating theories. Mere collection of
facts can’t be called as science.
Eg; that’s why institutions have big labs for testing and for theory building after the
test
argumentS in favour
As a body of knowledge sociology is considered as a scientific discipline on the
basis of following argument.
1. There is a considerable amount of inter subject reliability in the concepts
framed by sociology.
Eg: the concepts like family, religion, groups etc are defined precisely and
have the same meaning for all.
2. Although absolute objectivity is not possible but sociology has ensured
objectivity by using scientific methodology and a proper training of
investigator.
Eg; by using new research and analysis techniques like Likert scale,
questionaries, schedule, case study and through various research designs we can
ensure objectivity.
3. Social objects or phenomena can be observed in a concrete form through
proper description using case studies. Various phenomena have been
quantified by sociologist.
Eg: various phenomena’s like social group social institutions have been
quantified clearly. Emile Durkheim while defining the scope of sociology tried to
quantify even the extreme abstract forms in his theory of social facts.
4. Sociology has developed theories which have considerable applicability on
number of situations. Although there is an apprehension regarding the
success of universal theories, still the subject matter of sociology is capable of
yielding some theories. There must be possibility of generalisations and
society considered as lab for test sociological theories.
Eg: Marx’s theory of historical materialism, Durkheim’s theory of division of
labour, Weber’s theory of capitalism, Mead’s theory of self-etc have wide
acceptance and are widely applicable.
Sociology uses methods and whole society is a testing ground for
sociologist. Thus, sociology witness a large number of similar situations in which the
theories can be tested
argumentS againSt/limitationS of Sociology aS a
Science
1. Intersubjective reliability is also very low. (religion matters for some and
doesn’t matter for some
2. Absolute objectivity as desirable in natural science is not possible in
sociology. At times there are obvious limitations on experimentation in
sociology.
3. Quantifiability is also impossible in the case of sociology because how can
we quantify relation, marriage, family etc
4. In terms of sociology being similar to natural science there may be number of
limitations like limits to empirical testability and universal theories. Apart
from these sociological investigations, sometimes generate controversies
related to vagueness in concepts, variations in social phenomenon,
unpredictable nature of human beings etc.
concluSion
In this context it is acknowledged that sociology is not a science similar to natural
science but is a science in itself.
According to the Max Weber, natural sciences study matter which is not having any
consciousness, and the behaviour can be predicted in terms of cause & effect. On the
other hand, sociology studies human beings, the behaviour of which can’t be
predicted and thus exact laws are not possible. According to him sociology is a
scientific discipline as it can study subject by using scientific methodology. Thus,
sociology is a social science.
Moreover, famous statement by KARL POPPER further prove sociology to be a
scientific discipline “science is not a body of knowledge, but method of studying a
phenomenon “
Sociology aS an interpretive diScipline