Unit 1 Assignment
When discussing types of sociology, there are typically three branches that one could go in depth about. The first is scientific sociology. Sociology is the scientific study of social behavior, its origins, development, organization, and institutions. It is a social science that uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about social order, social disorder and social change. Interpretive sociology is the second focus of the three branches. Interpretive sociology deals with the meaning attached to behavior, unlike positivist sociology which focuses on action. Interpretive sociology sees reality as being constructed by people, unlike positivist sociology which sees an objective reality "out there". Critical Sociology is the third focus of the three branches. Critical theory was first defined by Max Horkheimer of the Frankfurt School of sociology in his 1937 essay Traditional and Critical Theory: Critical theory is a social theory oriented toward critiquing and changing society as a whole, in contrast to traditional theory oriented only to understanding or explaining it. Auguste Comte was the founder of the discipline of sociology. He founded the base of sociology that has branched into three different forms. He identified more with positivist sociology, though interpretive and critical sociology rose from his beliefs to combat how strict positivist sociology was. Emile Durkheim identifies with scientific sociology and had strived to set apart sociology from psychology and philosophy. He also wanted to prove sociology as a genuine science and refined the positivist sociology Comte had founded. He’s often referred to as the “father of sociology.” Marx is interesting because a lot of the world equates his thinking, “Marxist” belief, with sociology, but there’s a lot of the world whom ignored his beliefs. In the US, for instance, Marxist belief was ignored until the 1960s. I believe he...