The Scientific Viewpoint In Sociology – A scientific Viewpoint is very important for anyone studying a subject like sociology. Scientists are desperate to know. Scientists must seek knowledge using all available sources and means. A scientific view or perspective mainly refers to how people see things. To be called a scientist, one must have a scientific attitude and perspective.
In order to have that scientific view, point of view, perspective, you have to have certain qualities and follow certain basic norms. Some of them are mentioned:
Basic norms of Scientific Viewpoint In Sociology
(1) Scientists like the truth and love the truth. He’s looking for facts. He has a clear vision and thoroughly presents the facts.
(2) Scientists maintain objectivity. He tries to separate his own desires and values from the observation process. He tries to control his likes and dislikes that can affect his own investigation.
(3) Scientists take an immoral approach. He is ethically neutral. He never studies things as they should be. God treats them as they are. He never makes value judgments.
(4) Scientists have no bias or preconceptions. He is not influenced by other people’s opinions and views. He develops the habit of thinking calmly and accurately.
(5) The scientist is a brave man. He is always ready to face the facts. He never denies the fact that other people don’t like it. He never accepts opinions that fit only his prejudices. He is a selfless truth seeker, so he does not get discouraged when he fails. Under no circumstances is he afraid to face the truth.
(6) Scientists fundamentally assume that knowledge has value. He does not believe that only facts about humans are more important, and facts about animals are less important. as a scientist he knows how important it is to give humanity more knowledge than it has ever had.
(7) The scientist is unbiased. He never confines himself to religious, racial, national, or any other kind of narrow cells at the expense of facts and the naked truth. When it comes to truth, he is uncompromising.
(8) Scientists are always analytical. He digs deep into the problem and tries to find the answer to the question “What?” why? how? He is also a rationalist.
Sociology as a science
There is controversy over the nature of sociology as a science. “Is sociology a science?” is a frequently debated and debated topic. The correct answer to this question cannot be shared. It falls into two categories: “Yes” or “No.” But the correct answer should refer to the extent to which sociology is a science.
Some critics argue that sociology cannot claim to be a science. Some argue that sociology is essentially a science similar to other social sciences such as political science, economics, and psychology.
W.F. Ogburn, an American sociologist, believes that sociology is a science. According to him, science should be judged according to three criteria:
(i) the credibility of his body of knowledge; (ii) its organization; and
(iii) his method;
The question of whether sociology is a science can be better answered if it is considered in the light of these criteria.
(i) Reliability of knowledge: Science depends on reliable knowledge. In this respect, sociology has made a promising start. Sociological research on populations, families, collective behavior, institutional development, processes of social change, and other similar topics is considered highly reliable.
Science assumes that all phenomena have uniformity and regularity.
The goal is to establish universal generalizations. However, the generalizations of sociology, unlike those of physics and chemistry, are limited in time and space. Social data is changing too fast, too fast. Sociology is primarily concerned with human material, and this human material is irregular and illusory. Social relationships are flexible, not rigid. Variables are hard to control and there are many variables in social data.
Despite the difficulties, sociologists have attempted generalizations with great success. For example, it is a sociological generalization that society has always regulated marriage to prevent incest. Much of the knowledge in sociology is reliable.
A very good test of the reliability of knowledge is the prediction and control test. In sociology, prediction, like control, is difficult if not impossible. There are many causes of juvenile delinquency, such as unhappy parents, broken homes, and overcrowded cities.
To test the effect of only one factor, family disruption, on juvenile delinquency, other variables such as crowded cities must be controlled. This is an almost impossible task. Acquiring knowledge in all areas of sociological research is not easy. Some areas cannot be measured. Scientific methods are rarely available in areas such as religion, art, and morality.
In addition, many publications have been published under the title of sociology, some of which consist only of ideas rather than knowledge. These are essays, ethical arguments, wise statements, interpretations, theories, programs, evaluations, etc. Their practical importance may even be greater than their scientific importance.
(ii) Organization of knowledge: A disjointed set of facts cannot be science. Science should be organized. The organization of science is based on the relationships that parts of knowledge have to each other. The value of an organization is not its symmetry, but the value of discovering more knowledge.
Sociology does not disappoint when it comes to organizing knowledge. Sociology has many connections. This is enough to drive more discoveries, but not enough to properly integrate the whole field. Ultimately, it is expected that larger bodies of knowledge will provide such integration.
(iii) Method: A field of knowledge can be called science if it follows the scientific method in research or investigation. The scientific method begins with a hypothesis. This hypothesis has been confirmed by experiment. However, in sociology it is difficult to experiment with laboratory situations.
Although laboratory experiments have been very useful to many natural scientists, they are less common in sociology because experimental methods have some limitations related to human behavior.
One limitation is that once people become aware of the fact that they are being studied, the experimental situation may become impossible. Additionally, the experimenter himself may have biases or biases toward the subject. This experimental method requires a fixed, static situation. However, this is difficult in sociology. Social life is certainly dynamic and not static.
Strictly speaking, laboratory experiments are not possible in sociology. However, in sociology, using statistical methods he can measure the relationship between two variables. For example, if you want to know whether child mortality rates are higher in low-income households, you can collect statistics. You need two family groups with the same type of diet, habits, etc.
By examining and varying the income factor and holding other factors constant, a relationship between child mortality and income can be established.
There are many other methods in sociology besides experimental methods. Examples include historical methods, case study methods, social research methods, functional methods, and statistical methods. These methods are often useful in sociological research. Sociology has proven to be a growing science. Of course, sociology as a science is not as precise as physics or chemistry.
It is true that social phenomena are difficult to measure. Nonetheless, there is relative order and approximate predictability in certain types of social phenomena. To those who argue that experimentation is impossible in sociology, and that experimentation is the only criterion of science, many facts and generalizations, even in the natural sciences, are not based at all on experimentation. You can also claim However, those facts are primarily derived from observation rather than experimentation.
In conclusion, we can say that “science” is, after all, a means of discovering truth. Experimentation is not the only way to discover truth. Sociology has many methods and methods, and if applied properly, sociology undoubtedly exhibits the properties of a true science. Appropriate application of various techniques in the spirit of objectivity always yields fruitful results.
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Sociology as a science.
There is controversy over the nature of sociology as a science. “Is sociology a science?” is a frequently debated and debated topic. The correct answer to this question cannot be shared. It falls into two categories: “Yes” or “No.” But the correct answer should refer to the extent to which sociology is a science. Some critics argue that sociology cannot claim to be a science. Some argue that sociology is essentially a science similar to other social sciences such as political science, economics, and psychology.
Reference Books | The Scientific Viewpoint In Sociology
- C.N. Shankar Rao – Principle of sociology with an introduction to social thoughts
- Introduction to Sociology by Anthony Giddens
- A Dictionary of Sociology by John Scott
- Handbook of Indian Sociology by Veena Das
- Sociological Theory by George Ritzer
- Social Change in Modern India by M N Srinivas