1800s: Martineau · Tocqueville · Marx · Spencer · Le Bon · Ward · Pareto · Tönnies · Veblen · Simmel · Durkheim · Addams · Mead · Weber · Du Bois · Mannheim · Elias
166-447: In sociology , anomie or anomy ( / ˈ æ n ə m i / ) is a social condition defined by an uprooting or breakdown of any moral values, standards or guidance for individuals to follow. Anomie is believed to possibly evolve from conflict of belief systems and causes breakdown of social bonds between an individual and the community (both economic and primary socialization ). The term, commonly understood to mean normlessness ,
332-414: A monarch is a single ruler but he may still be subject to, and not exempt from, the prevailing laws, i.e. nomos . In the original city state democracy , the majority rule was an aspect of arché because it was a rule-based, customary system, which may or may not make laws, i.e. nomos . Thus, the original meaning of anomie defined anything or anyone against or outside the law, or a condition where
498-516: A status set in the social structure that has, attached to it, a whole set of expected behaviors. Robert King Merton was born on July 4, 1910, in Philadelphia as Meyer Robert Schkolnick into a family of Yiddish -speaking Russian Jews who had immigrated to the United States in 1904. His mother was Ida Rasovskaya, an "unsynagogued" socialist who had freethinking radical sympathies. His father
664-535: A certain threshold, because then the members of the group may become equally indulgent and fail to hold each other to high performance standards. Merton elaborates on his three main issues or flaws with functionalism, which he labels postulates : The postulate of the functional unity of society refers to the misunderstanding that societies are functional and harmonious unions. According to Merton's perception of functionalism , all standardized social and cultural beliefs and practices are functional for both society as
830-403: A choice that puts in particular evidence the relationship that the researcher should assume in the direction of a pragmatic choice of the instruments and methodology it uses. In this way, the theory can be addressed for heuristic purposes and the empirical research results in the operative aspect of the analysis, where the sociologist is obliged to choose to represent always, not the universe of
996-630: A distinctive way of thinking, the rational calculation which he associated with the Protestant Ethic (more or less what Marx and Engels speak of in terms of those 'icy waves of egotistical calculation'). Together the works of these great classical sociologists suggest what Giddens has recently described as 'a multidimensional view of institutions of modernity' and which emphasises not only capitalism and industrialism as key institutions of modernity, but also 'surveillance' (meaning 'control of information and social supervision') and 'military power' (control of
1162-500: A founder of sociology as the word gained wider meaning. For Isaiah Berlin , even though Marx did not consider himself to be a sociologist, he may be regarded as the "true father" of modern sociology, "in so far as anyone can claim the title." To have given clear and unified answers in familiar empirical terms to those theoretical questions which most occupied men's minds at the time, and to have deduced from them clear practical directives without creating obviously artificial links between
1328-532: A husband's departure or alcoholism." The study by Soltero and Saravia has also found a link between Protestantism and no access to healthcare: When people have access to medical care in their community, joining Protestant churches is less likely, but if access to medical care exists only outside their community the probability of joining a Protestant church increases. [...] Indeed, faith healing seems to be an important aspect of Protestant churches' attraction to believers (Chesnut 1997; Vizquez 1998), as well as
1494-540: A lower socio-economic level might not be striving to achieve the 'American Dream', meaning they do not need to carry out illegal acts. For this reason and others, later adherents of so-called strain theory have developed revisions. Merton argues that the central orientation of functionalism is in interpreting data by their consequences for larger structures in which they are implicated. Like Durkheim and Parsons, he analyzes society with reference to whether cultural and social structures are well or badly integrated. Merton
1660-410: A major contribution to the theoretical concept of structural functionalism . By carefully examining suicide statistics in different police districts, he attempted to demonstrate that Catholic communities have a lower suicide rate than that of Protestants, something he attributed to social (as opposed to individual or psychological ) causes. He developed the notion of objective social facts to delineate
1826-440: A neo-Kantian inquiry into the limits of perception, asking 'What is society?' in a direct allusion to Kant's question 'What is nature?' The deepest problems of modern life flow from the attempt of the individual to maintain the independence and individuality of his existence against the sovereign powers of society, against the weight of the historical heritage and the external culture and technique of life. The antagonism represents
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#17331162040061992-405: A notable biologist , Spencer coined the term survival of the fittest . While Marxian ideas defined one strand of sociology, Spencer was a critic of socialism, as well as a strong advocate for a laissez-faire style of government. His ideas were closely observed by conservative political circles, especially in the United States and England. The first formal Department of Sociology in the world
2158-568: A particular social setting. According to Merton, middle-range theory starts its theorizing with clearly defined aspects of social phenomena, rather than with broad, abstract entities such as society as a whole. Theories of the middle range should be firmly supported by empirical data. These theories must be constructed with observed data to create theoretical problems and to be incorporated in proposals that allow empirical testing. Middle-range theories , applicable to limited ranges of data, transcend sheer description of social phenomena and fill in
2324-443: A possible character beyond positivist data-collection or grand, deterministic systems of structural law. Relatively isolated from the sociological academy throughout his lifetime, Simmel presented idiosyncratic analyses of modernity more reminiscent of the phenomenological and existential writers than of Comte or Durkheim, paying particular concern to the forms of, and possibilities for, social individuality. His sociology engaged in
2490-661: A project dealing with race and media introduced Merton to sociology. Under Simpson's leadership, Merton attended an American Sociological Association annual meeting where he met Pitrim A. Sorokin , the founding chair of the Harvard University sociology department. Merton applied to Harvard and worked from 1931 to 1936 as a research assistant to Sorokin. By his second year at Harvard he had begun publishing with Sorokin. In 1934 he began publishing articles of his own, including "Recent French Sociology", "The Course of Arabian Intellectual Development, 700–1300 A.D.", "Fluctuations in
2656-458: A rapid change of the standards or values of societies (often erroneously referred to as normlessness ), and an associated feeling of alienation and purposelessness. He believed that anomie is common when the surrounding society has undergone significant changes in its economic fortunes, whether for better or for worse and, more generally, when there is a significant discrepancy between the ideological theories and values commonly professed and what
2822-651: A resolutely subjective perspective. Max Weber argued that sociology may be loosely described as a science as it is able to identify causal relationships of human " social action "—especially among " ideal types ", or hypothetical simplifications of complex social phenomena. As a non-positivist, however, Weber sought relationships that are not as "historical, invariant, or generalisable" as those pursued by natural scientists. Fellow German sociologist, Ferdinand Tönnies , theorised on two crucial abstract concepts with his work on " gemeinschaft and gesellschaft " ( lit. ' community' and 'society ' ). Tönnies marked
2988-403: A revolutionary re-constitution of society at large, or in the common ruin of the contending classes. Symbolic interaction —often associated with interactionism , phenomenology , dramaturgy , interpretivism —is a sociological approach that places emphasis on subjective meanings and the empirical unfolding of social processes, generally accessed through micro-analysis. This tradition emerged in
3154-409: A sharp line between the realm of concepts and the reality of social action: the first must be treated axiomatically and in a deductive way ("pure sociology"), whereas the second empirically and inductively ("applied sociology"). [Sociology is] ... the science whose object is to interpret the meaning of social action and thereby give a causal explanation of the way in which the action proceeds and
3320-558: A social whole. The German philosopher Hegel criticised traditional empiricist epistemology, which he rejected as uncritical, and determinism, which he viewed as overly mechanistic. Karl Marx 's methodology borrowed from Hegelian dialecticism but also a rejection of positivism in favour of critical analysis, seeking to supplement the empirical acquisition of "facts" with the elimination of illusions. He maintained that appearances need to be critiqued rather than simply documented. Early hermeneuticians such as Wilhelm Dilthey pioneered
3486-523: A specific society yet would not be able to reach these goals legitimately because of the structural limitations in society. As a result, the individual would exhibit deviant behavior . Friedrich Hayek notably uses the word anomie with this meaning. According to one academic survey, psychometric testing confirmed a link between anomie and academic dishonesty among university students, suggesting that universities needed to foster codes of ethics among students in order to curb it. In another study, anomie
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#17331162040063652-759: A student at South Philadelphia High School , he was a frequent visitor to nearby cultural and educational venues, including the Andrew Carnegie Library , the Academy of Music , the Central Library, and the Museum of Arts. In 1994, Merton stated that growing up in South Philadelphia provided young people with "every sort of capital—social capital, cultural capital, human capital, and, above all, what we may call public capital—that is, with every sort of capital except
3818-528: A theoretical empiricism . The extent of antipositivist criticism has also diverged, with many rejecting the scientific method and others only seeking to amend it to reflect 20th-century developments in the philosophy of science. However, positivism (broadly understood as a scientific approach to the study of society) remains dominant in contemporary sociology, especially in the United States. Loïc Wacquant distinguishes three major strains of positivism: Durkheimian , Logical, and Instrumental. None of these are
3984-590: A trusted colleague, and a close friend. His death, in many ways, puts a period at the end of 20th-century sociology. Through his theory and research during his many decades as a sociologist, Merton essentially created and sustained what is the modern sociology of science. Over his career, Merton published some 50 papers in the sociology of science. Among many other fields and topics to which he contributed his ideas and theories were deviance theory , Organization theory, and middle-range theory . Merton received many national and international honors for his research. He
4150-426: A unique empirical object for the science of sociology to study. Through such studies he posited that sociology would be able to determine whether any given society is healthy or pathological, and seek social reform to negate organic breakdown, or " social anomie ". Sociology quickly evolved as an academic response to the perceived challenges of modernity , such as industrialization, urbanization, secularization , and
4316-805: A variety of different fields. Since its inception, sociological epistemology, methods, and frames of inquiry, have significantly expanded and diverged. Durkheim, Marx, and the German theorist Max Weber are typically cited as the three principal architects of sociology. Herbert Spencer , William Graham Sumner , Lester F. Ward , W. E. B. Du Bois , Vilfredo Pareto , Alexis de Tocqueville , Werner Sombart , Thorstein Veblen , Ferdinand Tönnies , Georg Simmel , Jane Addams and Karl Mannheim are often included on academic curricula as founding theorists. Curricula also may include Charlotte Perkins Gilman , Marianne Weber , Harriet Martineau , and Friedrich Engels as founders of
4482-447: A whole as well as individuals in society. This outlook maintains that various parts of social systems must show a high level of integration, but Merton argues that a generalization like this cannot be extended to larger, more complex societies. Merton points out that not all societies are happy and well-integrated, where the people function well together and all involved prosper. Merton cites examples, such as civil wars, African-Americans in
4648-445: Is a central element in modern sociological, political, and economic theory, is one type of process through which a belief or expectation affects the outcome of a situation or the way a person or group will behave. More specifically, as Merton defined, "the self-fulfilling prophecy is, in the beginning, a false definition of the situation evoking a new behavior, which makes the originally false conception come true". Merton's concept of
4814-404: Is a contradiction to what is seen in the real world; not every structure, idea, belief, etc., has positive functions. Merton believes that some things may have consequences that are generally dysfunctional or which are dysfunctional for some and functional for others. For example, poverty may benefit the rich because they are allowed to maintain more of their wealth, but it certainly does not benefit
4980-466: Is a short-term response (unlike the other four). Like retreaters, rebels reject both existing societal goals and means, but unlike retreaters, rebels work at the macro level to replace those existing societal goals and means with new goals and means embodying other values. Innovation and ritualism are the pure cases of anomie as Merton defined it because in both cases there is a contradiction or discontinuity between goals and means. The sociology of science
5146-483: Is a subsequent modification of Merton's norm set, as he did not refer to Originality in the 1942 essay that introduced the norms, "The Normative Structure of Science". Merton introduced many concepts to the sociology of science, including: " obliteration by incorporation ", referring to when a concept becomes so popularized that its inventor is forgotten; and " multiples ", referring to independent similar discoveries. Merton and his colleagues spent much time studying "how
Anomie - Misplaced Pages Continue
5312-523: Is also in this tradition that the radical-empirical approach of ethnomethodology emerges from the work of Harold Garfinkel . Utilitarianism is often referred to as exchange theory or rational choice theory in the context of sociology. This tradition tends to privilege the agency of individual rational actors and assumes that within interactions individuals always seek to maximize their own self-interest. As argued by Josh Whitford , rational actors are assumed to have four basic elements: Exchange theory
5478-578: Is also interested in the persistence of societies and defines functions that make for the adaptation of a given social system . He believed that the way these early functionalists put emphasis on functions of one social structure or institution for another, created bias when focusing only on adaptation or adjustment because they would always have a positive consequence. Finally, Merton thinks that shared values are central in explaining how societies and institutions work; however, he disagrees with Parsons on some issues. His belief in empirical testing led to
5644-815: Is an established tradition within sociological theory. Lastly, as argued by Raewyn Connell , a tradition that is often forgotten is that of Social Darwinism , which applies the logic of Darwinian biological evolution to people and societies. This tradition often aligns with classical functionalism, and was once the dominant theoretical stance in American sociology, from c. 1881 – c. 1915 , associated with several founders of sociology, primarily Herbert Spencer , Lester F. Ward , and William Graham Sumner . Contemporary sociological theory retains traces of each of these traditions and they are by no means mutually exclusive. A broad historical paradigm in both sociology and anthropology , functionalism addresses
5810-401: Is aware of the intended consequences, but the unintended are more difficult to recognize, and therefore, sociological analysis is required to uncover what they may be. In his 1936 essay, "The Unanticipated Consequences of Purposive Social Action", Merton uncovered the wide field of human activity where things do not go as planned, and paradoxes and strange outcomes are seen. One of these outcomes
5976-510: Is believed to have been popularized by French sociologist Émile Durkheim in his influential book Suicide (1897). Émile Durkheim suggested that Protestants exhibited a greater degree of anomie than Catholics. However, Durkheim first introduced the concept of anomie in his 1893 work The Division of Labour in Society . Durkheim never used the term normlessness ; rather, he described anomie as "derangement", and "an insatiable will." Durkheim used
6142-431: Is but a consequence of this rationalism. The term has long since ceased to carry this meaning; there are no fewer than twelve distinct epistemologies that are referred to as positivism. Many of these approaches do not self-identify as "positivist", some because they themselves arose in opposition to older forms of positivism, and some because the label has over time become a pejorative term by being mistakenly linked with
6308-420: Is connected with the division of labor) and his achievements which make him unique and indispensable but which at the same time make him so much the more dependent on the complementary activity of others; Nietzsche may have seen the relentless struggle of the individual as the prerequisite for his full development, while socialism found the same thing in the suppression of all competition – but in each of these
6474-432: Is impossible, as sensitivity to mutual needs promotes evolution in the division of labour: Producers, being near consumers, can easily reckon the extent of the needs to be satisfied. Equilibrium is established without any trouble and production regulates itself. Durkheim contrasted the condition of anomie as being the result of a malfunction of organic solidarity after the transition to mechanical solidarity: But on
6640-622: Is more or less synonymous with quantitative research , and so only resembles older positivism in practice. Since it carries no explicit philosophical commitment, its practitioners may not belong to any particular school of thought. Modern sociology of this type is often credited to Paul Lazarsfeld , who pioneered large-scale survey studies and developed statistical techniques for analysing them. This approach lends itself to what Robert K. Merton called middle-range theory : abstract statements that generalize from segregated hypotheses and empirical regularities rather than starting with an abstract idea of
6806-589: Is no moral compass, which leads to apathy and detachment. In The Ink Black Heart of the Cormoran Strike novels, written by J. K. Rowling under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, the main antagonist goes by the online handle of "Anomie". Sociology 1800s: Martineau · Tocqueville · Marx · Spencer · Le Bon · Ward · Pareto · Tönnies · Veblen · Simmel · Durkheim · Addams · Mead · Weber · Du Bois · Mannheim · Elias Sociology
Anomie - Misplaced Pages Continue
6972-519: Is not more popular amongst the poor. Their findings do confirm the assumptions of anomie, with Catholic communities of El Salvador enjoying high social cohesion, while the Protestant communities have been associated with poorer social integration, internal migration and tend to be places deeply affected by the Salvadoran Civil War . Additionally, Soltero and Saravia found that Salvadoran Catholicism
7138-479: Is not sufficiently integrated at the points where he is in contact with it. These gaps between one and another individual consciousness, estranging them from each other, are authentic results of the weakening of the social fabric. In 1938, Robert K. Merton linked anomie with deviance , arguing that the discontinuity between culture and structure have the dysfunctional consequence of leading to deviance within society. He described 5 types of deviance in terms of
7304-423: Is specifically attributed to the work of George C. Homans , Peter Blau and Richard Emerson. Organizational sociologists James G. March and Herbert A. Simon noted that an individual's rationality is bounded by the context or organizational setting. The utilitarian perspective in sociology was, most notably, revitalized in the late 20th century by the work of former ASA president James Coleman . Following
7470-429: Is the "self-defeating prophecy", which through the very fact of its being publicized, is actually wrong. Merton was able to illustrate this by referencing Karl Marx 's prediction that as societies become more modern, the wealth will be concentrated amongst fewer people, and the majority of society would suffer from poverty and misery. This prediction helped to stimulate the socialist movement, which in some countries slowed
7636-741: Is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society , human social behavior , patterns of social relationships , social interaction , and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. Regarded as a part of both the social sciences and humanities , sociology uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about social order and social change . Sociological subject matter ranges from micro-level analyses of individual interaction and agency to macro-level analyses of social systems and social structure . Applied sociological research may be applied directly to social policy and welfare, whereas theoretical approaches may focus on
7802-476: Is tied to social activism, liberation theology and the political left, as opposed to the "right wing political orientation, or at least a passive, personally inward orientation, expressed by some Protestant churches". They conclude that their research contradicts the theory that Protestantism responds to the spiritual needs of the poor more adequately than Catholicism, while also disproving the claim that Protestantism appeals more to women: These outcomes contradict
7968-418: Is to extract from their subject-matter 'correct' or 'valid' meaning. Both Weber and Georg Simmel pioneered the " Verstehen " (or 'interpretative') method in social science; a systematic process by which an outside observer attempts to relate to a particular cultural group, or indigenous people, on their own terms and from their own point of view. Through the work of Simmel, in particular, sociology acquired
8134-459: Is viewed as one of the founding fathers of modern-day sociology. His works are seen as the driving force of many of today's sociologists' studies. Merton's friends and colleagues credit his guidance to the positive direction of modern sociology as well. In particular, Columbia provost Jonathan R. Cole who studied under Merton praised him shortly after his death, saying: Bob Merton became the leader of structural-functional analysis in sociology, and
8300-555: The Chicago School of the 1920s and 1930s, which, prior to World War II, "had been the center of sociological research and graduate study." The approach focuses on creating a framework for building a theory that sees society as the product of the everyday interactions of individuals. Society is nothing more than the shared reality that people construct as they interact with one another. This approach sees people interacting in countless settings using symbolic communications to accomplish
8466-459: The Domesday Book in 1086, while ancient philosophers such as Confucius wrote about the importance of social roles. Medieval Arabic writings encompass a rich tradition that unveils early insights into the field of sociology. Some sources consider Ibn Khaldun , a 14th-century Muslim scholar from Tunisia , to have been the father of sociology, although there is no reference to his work in
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#17331162040068632-525: The Frankfurt School of critical theory ) was founded in 1923. International co-operation in sociology began in 1893, when René Worms founded the Institut International de Sociologie , an institution later eclipsed by the much larger International Sociological Association (ISA), founded in 1949. The overarching methodological principle of positivism is to conduct sociology in broadly
8798-467: The Industrial Revolution led individuals to pursue egoistic ends rather than seeking the good of a larger community. Robert King Merton also adopted the idea of anomie to develop strain theory , defining it as the discrepancy between common social goals and the legitimate means to attain those goals. In other words, an individual suffering from anomie would strive to attain the common goals of
8964-407: The effects which it produces . By 'action' in this definition is meant the human behaviour when and to the extent that the agent or agents see it as subjectively meaningful ... the meaning to which we refer may be either (a) the meaning actually intended either by an individual agent on a particular historical occasion or by a number of agents on an approximate average in a given set of cases, or (b)
9130-474: The institution of medicine ; economy ; military ; punishment and systems of control ; the Internet ; sociology of education ; social capital ; and the role of social activity in the development of scientific knowledge . The range of social scientific methods has also expanded, as social researchers draw upon a variety of qualitative and quantitative techniques. The linguistic and cultural turns of
9296-534: The postulate of indispensability refers to the social function for customs, ideals, or institutions as a whole. This postulate states that the standardized parts of society have positive functions, and also represent indispensable parts of the working whole, which implies that structures and functions are functionally necessary for society. Here, Merton argues, people must be willing to admit that there exist various structural and functional alternatives within society. In terms of structural functionalism, Merton felt that
9462-410: The self-regulating behaviour of a division of labour based on differences in constituency, equated to organic solidarity , whose lack of inertia made it sensitive to needed changes. Durkheim observed that the conflict between the evolved organic division of labour and the homogeneous mechanical type was such that one could not exist in the presence of the other. When solidarity is organic, anomie
9628-444: The social structure —referred to as " social organization " by the classical theorists—with respect to the whole as well as the necessary function of the whole's constituent elements. A common analogy (popularized by Herbert Spencer ) is to regard norms and institutions as 'organs' that work towards the proper functioning of the entire 'body' of society. The perspective was implicit in the original sociological positivism of Comte but
9794-554: The " Matthew effect ". (See also Stigler's law of eponymy .) As a result of the Matilda effect , Harriet Zuckerman is credited by Merton as co-author of the Matthew effect . With his study of the Matthew effect , Merton showed how the social system of science sometimes deviated structurally from the ethos of science, in this case by violating the norm of universalism: a few top scientists enjoying large chunks of awards, grants and jobs, and
9960-419: The "role model" first appeared in a study on the socialization of medical students at Columbia University. The term grew from his theory of the reference group , the group to which individuals compare themselves but to which they do not necessarily belong. Social roles were central to Merton's theory of social groups . Merton emphasized that, rather than a person assuming just one role and one status, they have
10126-411: The 1950s, and South African blacks during the apartheid regime as instances where societies were not necessarily functional for all people. The postulate of universal functionalism refers to the idea that all ideals work for everyone in a society. The claim of universal functionalism argues that all standardized social and cultural structures and forms have a positive function. Merton argues that this
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#173311620400610292-475: The 1997 Nobel Prize in economics , and two daughters, Stephanie Merton Tombrello and Vanessa Merton, professor of law at Pace University School of Law . In 1968 Merton and Carhart separated; she died in 1992. In 1993 Merton married his fellow sociologist and collaborator, Harriet Zuckerman . After years of failing health, and battling six forms of cancer, Merton died in Manhattan on 23 February 2003, aged 92. He
10458-434: The 19th-century French magician Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin , widely considered the father of modern-style conjuring . Thus his stage name became "Robert Merton", and he kept it as his personal name upon receiving a scholarship to Temple University . Merton began his sociological career under the guidance of George E. Simpson at Philadelphia's Temple University (1927–1931). Merton's work as Simpson's research assistant on
10624-622: The ASA in 1905. The sociological canon of classics with Durkheim and Max Weber at the top owes its existence in part to Talcott Parsons , who is largely credited with introducing both to American audiences. Parsons consolidated the sociological tradition and set the agenda for American sociology at the point of its fastest disciplinary growth. Sociology in the United States was less historically influenced by Marxism than its European counterpart, and to this day broadly remains more statistical in its approach. The first sociology department established in
10790-481: The Catholic faith binds individuals together and builds strong social ties, decreasing the risk of suicide and alienation. In this, Durkheim argued that religion is much more important than culture in regards to anomic suicide. This allowed Durkheim to successfully tie social cohesion to suicide rates: If the individual isolates himself, it is because the ties uniting him with others are slackened or broken, because society
10956-466: The Harvard department." As Parsons began to dominate general theory, his work primarily referenced European sociology—almost entirely omitting citations of both the American tradition of sociocultural-evolution as well as pragmatism. In addition to Parsons' revision of the sociological canon (which included Marshall, Pareto, Weber and Durkheim), the lack of theoretical challenges from other departments nurtured
11122-581: The Rate of Industrial Invention", and "Science and Military Technique". In 1936 he graduated from Harvard, having obtained an MA and PhD in sociology. By the end of his student career in 1938 he embarked on works that brought him renown, publishing his first major study, Science, Technology, and Society in Seventeenth-Century England , which helped create the sociology of science . Merton's dissertation committee comprised Sorokin, Talcott Parsons ,
11288-536: The Sociological Method (1895). For Durkheim, sociology could be described as the "science of institutions, their genesis and their functioning." Durkheim's monograph Suicide (1897) is considered a seminal work in statistical analysis by contemporary sociologists. Suicide is a case study of variations in suicide rates among Catholic and Protestant populations, and served to distinguish sociological analysis from psychology or philosophy. It also marked
11454-564: The Spirit of Capitalism (1905). Weber had suggested a strong relationship between Protestant beliefs and the Economic activity that gave rise to capitalism. Merton's extensive research highlighted a complementarity between puritanical Protestant beliefs and science, which developed rapidly in the seventeenth century. Merton believed that middle range theories bypassed the failures of larger theories, which are too distant from observing social behavior in
11620-711: The United Kingdom was at the London School of Economics and Political Science (home of the British Journal of Sociology ) in 1904. Leonard Trelawny Hobhouse and Edvard Westermarck became the lecturers in the discipline at the University of London in 1907. Harriet Martineau , an English translator of Comte, has been cited as the first female sociologist. In 1909, the German Sociological Association
11786-459: The absence of norms. Thus, a society with too much rigidity and little individual discretion could also produce a kind of anomie ... In 1893, Durkheim introduced the concept of anomie to describe the mismatch of collective guild labour to evolving societal needs when the guild was homogeneous in its constituency. He equated homogeneous (redundant) skills to mechanical solidarity whose inertia hindered adaptation. He contrasted this with
11952-460: The acceptance or rejection of social goals and the institutionalized means of achieving them. The term anomie— "a reborrowing with French spelling of anomy "—comes from Ancient Greek : anomía ( ἀνομία , 'lawlessness'), namely the privative alpha prefix ( a- , 'without'), and nomos ( νόμος , 'law'). The Greeks distinguished between nomos , and arché ( ἀρχή , 'starting rule, axiom, principle'). For example,
12118-494: The analysis of society as a whole, Merton argued that analysis could and should also be done on an organization, institution or group. Some of the crucial innovations that Merton made to sociology include the description of the unanticipated consequences of social action, of latent functions vs. manifest functions, and, as previously mentioned, of dysfunctions. According to Merton, unanticipated consequences are actions that have both intended and unintended consequences. Everyone
12284-410: The attaining of societal goals by socially accepted means, while innovation refers to the attaining of those goals in unaccepted ways (such as crime and deviance). Innovators find and create their own ways to obtain what they want, and a majority of the time, these new means are considered to be socially unaccepted and deviant. Merton considers ritualism the acceptance of the means but the forfeit of
12450-418: The basic form of society would increase in complexity and those forms of social organization that promoted solidarity would eventually overcome social disorganization. As Giddens states: Functionalist thought, from Comte onwards, has looked particularly towards biology as the science providing the closest and most compatible model for social science. Biology has been taken to provide a guide to conceptualizing
12616-439: The blanks between raw empiricism and grand or all-inclusive theory. The identification of middle-range theories or "intermediate provisions", as defined by Rinzivillo (2019), is typical of the specification that passes through functional analysis, developed by Merton in the course of his research on the relationship between theory and empirical research. Unlike the functionalist theorisation proposed by Parsons, Merton proposes
12782-400: The concept of net balance . Because the issues are complex and based on a lot of subjective judgement, they cannot be calculated and weighed easily. Therefore, positive functions and dysfunctions cannot be simply added up and objectively determine which outweighs the other. To deal with these issues, Merton believed that there must be levels of functional analysis. Rather than solely focusing on
12948-412: The contrary, if some opaque environment is interposed ... relations [are] rare, are not repeated enough ... are too intermittent. Contact is no longer sufficient. The producer can no longer embrace the market at a glance, nor even in thought. He can no longer see its limits, since it is, so to speak limitless. Accordingly, production becomes unbridled and unregulated. Durkheim's use of anomie
13114-409: The current laws were not applied resulting in a state of illegitimacy or lawlessness. The contemporary English understanding of the word anomie can accept greater flexibility in the word " norm ", and some have used the idea of normlessness to reflect a similar situation to the idea of anarchy . However, as used by Émile Durkheim and later theorists, anomie is a reaction against or a retreat from
13280-416: The decline of theories of sociocultural evolution in the United States, the interactionist thought of the Chicago School dominated American sociology. As Anselm Strauss describes, "we didn't think symbolic interaction was a perspective in sociology; we thought it was sociology." Moreover, philosophical and psychological pragmatism grounded this tradition. After World War II, mainstream sociology shifted to
13446-411: The detail of Comte's philosophy, he retained and refined its method, maintaining that the social sciences are a logical continuation of the natural ones into the realm of human activity, and insisting that they may retain the same objectivity, rationalism, and approach to causality. Durkheim set up the first European department of sociology at the University of Bordeaux in 1895, publishing his Rules of
13612-487: The development of his "paradigm" of functional analysis. According to Merton, paradigm refers to: exemplars of codified basic and often tacit assumptions, problem sets, key concepts, logic of procedure, and selectively accumulated knowledge that guide [theoretical and empirical] inquiry in all scientific fields. In Merton's writing on dysfunctions , he highlights problems that tend to keep social systems from meeting all of their functional requirements. In doing this, he
13778-412: The development that Marx had predicted. Struggles for economic equality tend to spread economic benefit rather than concentrating it. The opposite of the "self-defeating prophecy" then, is the "self-fulfilling prophecy", when an originally unfounded prophecy turns out to be correct because it is believed and acted upon. The distinction implied between manifest and latent functions was devised to preclude
13944-495: The disciplined investigation of what is first entertained as an interesting idea. E.F. Gay also played a role in Merton's thought, as did the famous historian of science George Sarton , who allowed Merton to work with him at Harvard and is believed to have inspired Merton to have interest in science. Émile Durkheim and Georg Simmel also greatly contributed to Merton's understanding of sociology and to his own ideas. Today, Merton
14110-498: The distinction between natural and social science (' Geisteswissenschaft '). Various neo-Kantian philosophers, phenomenologists and human scientists further theorized how the analysis of the social world differs to that of the natural world due to the irreducibly complex aspects of human society, culture, and being . In the Italian context of development of social sciences and of sociology in particular, there are oppositions to
14276-705: The existence of Protestant churches with middle and upper middle class constituencies (Cleary 1992; Garrard-Burnett 1998). In a study of Guatemalan highland Maya, Smith (1998) reports no differences in lifestyle between poor Protestants and poor Catholic. [...] There is no difference between men and women in terms of their likelihood of joining a non-Catholic church (Protestant or otherwise) or being non-religious, rather than being Catholic. Indeed, Peterson (2001:30) argues that in El Salvador, "progressive Catholic communities offer many women support, both material and moral, for their efforts to cope with domestic problems such as
14442-413: The family, religion and communities, largely serve as sources of norms and social control to maintain a synnomic society . In Albert Camus 's existentialist novel The Stranger , Meursault—the bored , alienated protagonist—struggles to construct an individual system of values as he responds to the disappearance of the old. He exists largely in a state of anomie, as seen from the apathy evinced in
14608-408: The feminist tradition in sociology. Each key figure is associated with a particular theoretical perspective and orientation. Marx and Engels associated the emergence of modern society above all with the development of capitalism; for Durkheim it was connected in particular with industrialization and the new social division of labor which this brought about; for Weber it had to do with the emergence of
14774-466: The field and for having founded the sociology of science . Merton's contribution to sociology falls into three areas: (1) sociology of science; (2) sociology of crime and deviance; (3) sociological theory. He developed notable concepts, such as " unintended consequences ", the " reference group ", and " role strain ", but is perhaps best known for the terms " role model " and " self-fulfilling prophecy ". The concept of self-fulfilling prophecy , which
14940-492: The first foundation of the discipline, sustained by speculative philosophy in accordance with the antiscientific tendencies matured by critique of positivism and evolutionism, so a tradition Progressist struggles to establish itself. At the turn of the 20th century, the first generation of German sociologists formally introduced methodological anti-positivism , proposing that research should concentrate on human cultural norms , values , symbols , and social processes viewed from
15106-410: The first sociology textbook: An introduction to the study of society . George Herbert Mead and Charles Cooley , who had met at the University of Michigan in 1891 (along with John Dewey ), moved to Chicago in 1894. Their influence gave rise to social psychology and the symbolic interactionism of the modern Chicago School . The American Journal of Sociology was founded in 1895, followed by
15272-445: The focus should be on social functions rather than on individual motives. He raises the question and doubt of whether every social institution performs a specific function, believing that several institutions can provide the same function or none at all, so it is impossible to decipher what functions are vital or not to a society. To help people determine whether positive functions outweigh dysfunctions, and vice versa, Merton developed
15438-403: The foundation of the discipline itself. Social analysis has origins in the common stock of universal, global knowledge and philosophy, having been carried out from as far back as the time of old comic poetry which features social and political criticism, and ancient Greek philosophers Socrates , Plato , and Aristotle . For instance, the origin of the survey can be traced back to at least
15604-491: The gap between culturally determined goals and the institutionalized tools available to fulfill these goals. Merton uses the progress of achieving the ' American Dream ' as an example. If an individual can not achieve the culturally dominant goal (of success), it can prove frustrating for the individual and may lead to breaking free into illegal escape routes or delinquency. The theory has been criticized for not or insufficiently factoring in an individual's social class as someone as
15770-422: The goals. Ritualists continue to subscribe to the means, but they have rejected the overall goal; they are not viewed as deviant. Retreatism is the rejection of both the means and the goals. Retreaters want to find a way to escape from everything and therefore reject both the goals and the means and are seen as deviant. Rebellion differs from the other four approaches in a number of ways. Temporally, rebellion
15936-486: The historian George Sarton , and the biochemist Lawrence Joseph Henderson . Merton's thesis —similar to Max Weber 's famous claim about a link between the Protestant work ethic and the capitalist economy —proposed a positive correlation between the rise of Protestant pietism , Puritanism , and early experimental science. In 1934 Merton married Suzanne Carhart, with whom he had a son, Robert C. Merton , winner of
16102-458: The individual of self-determination and a relatively small reference group to relate to, such as the band, clan or tribe. In 2003, José Soltero and Romeo Saravia analyzed the concept of anomie in regards to Protestantism and Catholicism in El Salvador . Massive displacement of population in the 1970s, economic and political crises as well as cycles of violence are credited with radically changing
16268-420: The inequality between particular groups. The following quotes from Durkheim and Marx epitomize the political, as well as theoretical, disparities, between functionalist and conflict thought respectively: To aim for a civilization beyond that made possible by the nexus of the surrounding environment will result in unloosing sickness into the very society we live in. Collective activity cannot be encouraged beyond
16434-716: The influence of a lack of norms or norms that were too rigid. However, such normlessness or norm-rigidity was a symptom of anomie, caused by the lack of differential adaptation that would enable norms to evolve naturally due to self-regulation , either to develop norms where none existed or to change norms that had become rigid and obsolete. Durkheim found that Protestant communities have noticeably higher suicide rates than Catholic ones, and justified it with individualism and lack of social cohesion prevalent amongst Protestants, creating poorly integrated society and making Protestants less likely to develop close communal ties that would be crucial in times of hardship. Conversely, he states that
16600-438: The later decades of the nineteenth century. To say this is certainly not to claim that French sociologists such as Durkheim were devoted disciples of the high priest of positivism. But by insisting on the irreducibility of each of his basic sciences to the particular science of sciences which it presupposed in the hierarchy and by emphasizing the nature of sociology as the scientific study of social phenomena Comte put sociology on
16766-505: The leader of those sociologists who attempted to create social theories that could be empirically tested. He was an inspirational teacher and editor, and with his students, such as James S. Coleman and Seymour Martin Lipset , among many others who would become leading figures in the field, he helped to build and legitimate the field of sociology in America. For me, he was a model teacher and mentor,
16932-581: The legitimate avenues to attaining the Dream. In other words, Merton believes that the American Dream is a cultural ideal, but the ways in which people go about obtaining it are not the same. This can lead to a considerable amount of deviance (in the Parsonian sense). This theory is commonly used in the study of criminology (specifically the strain theory ). In 1938, Merton's “Social Structure and Anomie,” one of
17098-453: The less complex sciences , attacking the laissez-faire sociology of Herbert Spencer and Sumner. Ward's 1,200-page book was used as core material in many early American sociology courses. In 1890, the oldest continuing American course in the modern tradition began at the University of Kansas , lectured by Frank W. Blackmar . The Department of Sociology at the University of Chicago was established in 1892 by Albion Small , who also published
17264-401: The map. To be sure, [its] beginnings can be traced back well beyond Montesquieu , for example, and to Condorcet , not to speak of Saint-Simon , Comte's immediate predecessor. But Comte's clear recognition of sociology as a particular science, with a character of its own, justified Durkheim in regarding him as the father or founder of this science, even though Durkheim did not accept the idea of
17430-419: The meaning attributed to the agent or agents, as types, in a pure type constructed in the abstract. In neither case is the 'meaning' to be thought of as somehow objectively 'correct' or 'true' by some metaphysical criterion. This is the difference between the empirical sciences of action, such as sociology and history, and any kind of prior discipline, such as jurisprudence, logic, ethics, or aesthetics whose aim
17596-478: The means of violence in the context of the industrialisation of war). The first college course entitled "Sociology" was taught in the United States at Yale in 1875 by William Graham Sumner . In 1883, Lester F. Ward , who later became the first president of the American Sociological Association (ASA), published Dynamic Sociology—Or Applied social science as based upon statical sociology and
17762-785: The mid-20th century, especially, have led to increasingly interpretative , hermeneutic , and philosophical approaches towards the analysis of society. Conversely, the turn of the 21st century has seen the rise of new analytically , mathematically , and computationally rigorous techniques, such as agent-based modelling and social network analysis. Social research has influence throughout various industries and sectors of life, such as among politicians, policy makers , and legislators; educators ; planners ; administrators ; developers ; business magnates and managers; social workers; non-governmental organizations; and non-profit organizations, as well as individuals interested in resolving social issues in general. Sociological reasoning predates
17928-514: The most important works of structural theory in American sociology, Merton's basic assumption was that the individual is not just in a structured system of action but that his or her actions may be forced by the demands of the system. Merton argued that when the economic system fails to provide legitimate means to earn an income, and status, the cultural logic of the social system may force the individual to act in ways that are culturally logical, even if illegal. In this rubric, conformity refers to
18094-474: The most modern form of the conflict which primitive man must carry on with nature for his bodily existence. The eighteenth century may have called for liberation from all the ties which grew up historically in politics, in religion, in morality, and in economics to permit the original natural virtue of man, which is equal in everyone, to develop without inhibition; the nineteenth century may have sought to promote, in addition to man's freedom, his individuality (which
18260-479: The necessity for social science to establish a general foundation, Merton preferred more limited, middle-range theories. Merton later explained in his writings that "although much impressed by Parsons as a master-builder of sociological theory, I found myself departing from his mode of theorizing (as well as his mode of exposition)." Merton himself fashioned his theory very similarly to that of Emile Durkheim 's Suicide (1897) or Max Weber 's Protestant Ethic and
18426-424: The notion of objective sui generis "social facts" to serve as unique empirical objects for the science of sociology to study. The variety of positivism that remains dominant today is termed instrumental positivism . This approach eschews epistemological and metaphysical concerns (such as the nature of social facts) in favour of methodological clarity, replicability , reliability and validity . This positivism
18592-412: The opening lines: " Aujourd'hui, maman est morte. Ou peut-être hier, je ne sais pas " ("Today mum died. Or maybe yesterday, I don't know"). Fyodor Dostoyevsky expresses a similar concern about anomie in his novel The Brothers Karamazov . The Grand Inquisitor remarks that in the absence of God and immortal life, everything would be lawful. In other words, that any act becomes thinkable, that there
18758-428: The personally financial." He adopted the name Robert K. Merton initially as a stage name for his magic performances. Young Merton developed a strong interest in magic, heavily influenced by his sister's boyfriend. For his magic acts he initially chose the stage name "Merlin", but eventually settled on the surname "Merton" to further "Americanize" his immigrant-family name. He picked the given name "Robert" in honor of
18924-427: The point set by the condition of the social organism without undermining health. The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles. Freeman and slave, patrician and plebeian, lord and serf, guild-master and journeyman, in a word, oppressor and oppressed, stood in constant opposition to one another, carried on an uninterrupted, now hidden, now open fight, a fight that each time ended, either in
19090-438: The poor who struggle. On this point he approaches conflict theory , although he does believe that institutions and values can be functional for society as a whole. Merton states that only by recognizing the dysfunctional aspects of institutions, can we explain the development and persistence of alternatives. Merton's concept of dysfunctions is also central to his argument that functionalism is not essentially conservative. Lastly,
19256-506: The process of rationalization . The field predominated in continental Europe , with British anthropology and statistics generally following on a separate trajectory. By the turn of the 20th century, however, many theorists were active in the English-speaking world . Few early sociologists were confined strictly to the subject, interacting also with economics, jurisprudence , psychology and philosophy, with theories being appropriated in
19422-400: The progression of human understanding, after conjectural theological and metaphysical phases. In observing the circular dependence of theory and observation in science, and having classified the sciences, Comte may be regarded as the first philosopher of science in the modern sense of the term. Comte gave a powerful impetus to the development of sociology, an impetus that bore fruit in
19588-506: The provision of a more traditional kind of medical assistance to the public (Smith 1998). Freda Adler coined synnomie as the opposite of anomie. Using Émile Durkheim 's concept of social solidarity and collective consciousness , Adler defined synnomie as "a congruence of norms to the point of harmonious accommodation". Adler described societies in a synnomie state as "characterized by norm conformity, cohesion, intact social controls and norm integration". Social institutions such as
19754-417: The rambling style of Laurence Sterne 's The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman . Merton was heavily influenced by Talcott Parsons and to a much lesser degree by Pitirim Sorokin . Indeed, Merton's choice of dissertation topic reflect profoundly the interest from Parsons and was not of Sorokin's liking. Hence, Sorokin was strongly opposed to the emphasis of the creativity of Puritanism, which
19920-447: The regulatory social controls of society , and is a completely separate concept from anarchy, which consists of the absence of the roles of rulers and submitted. Nineteenth-century French sociologist Émile Durkheim borrowed the term anomie from French philosopher Jean-Marie Guyau . Durkheim used it in his influential book Suicide (1897) in order to outline the social (and not individual) causes of suicide , characterized by
20086-446: The relationship between culture, structure and anomie. Merton argued that deviance is most likely to occur when there is a discrepancy between culturally prescribed goals and the legitimate means of obtaining them. Merton defines culture as an "organized set of normative values governing behavior which is common to members of a designated society or group". Social structures are the "organized set of social relationships in which members of
20252-498: The religious composition of the country, rendering it one of the most Protestant countries in Latin America . According to Soltero and Saravia, the rise of Protestantism is conversationally claimed to be caused by a Catholic failure to "address the spiritual needs of the poor" and the Protestant "deeper quest for salvation, liberation, and eternal life". However, their research does not support these claims, and showed that Protestantism
20418-589: The rise of the Parsonian structural-functionalist movement, which reached its crescendo in the 1950s, but by the 1960s was in rapid decline. By the 1980s, most functionalist perspectives in Europe had broadly been replaced by conflict -oriented approaches, and to many in the discipline, functionalism was considered "as dead as a dodo:" According to Giddens : Robert K. Merton Robert King Merton (born Meyer Robert Schkolnick ; July 4, 1910 – February 23, 2003)
20584-462: The same as that set forth by Comte, who was unique in advocating such a rigid (and perhaps optimistic) version. While Émile Durkheim rejected much of the detail of Comte's philosophy, he retained and refined its method. Durkheim maintained that the social sciences are a logical continuation of the natural ones into the realm of human activity, and insisted that they should retain the same objectivity, rationalism, and approach to causality. He developed
20750-937: The same fundamental motive was at work, namely the resistance of the individual to being leveled, swallowed up in the social-technological mechanism. The contemporary discipline of sociology is theoretically multi-paradigmatic in line with the contentions of classical social theory. Randall Collins ' well-cited survey of sociological theory retroactively labels various theorists as belonging to four theoretical traditions: Functionalism, Conflict, Symbolic Interactionism, and Utilitarianism. Accordingly, modern sociological theory predominantly descends from functionalist (Durkheim) and conflict (Marx and Weber) approaches to social structure, as well as from symbolic-interactionist approaches to social interaction, such as micro-level structural ( Simmel ) and pragmatist ( Mead , Cooley ) perspectives. Utilitarianism (also known as rational choice or social exchange), although often associated with economics,
20916-449: The same manner as natural science . An emphasis on empiricism and the scientific method is sought to provide a tested foundation for sociological research based on the assumption that the only authentic knowledge is scientific knowledge, and that such knowledge can only arrive by positive affirmation through scientific methodology. Our main goal is to extend scientific rationalism to human conduct.... What has been called our positivism
21082-464: The same time particular institutions are not the only ones able to fulfill these functions; a wide range of functional alternatives may be able to perform the same task. This notion of functional alternative is important because it alerts sociologists to the similar functions different institutions may perform and it further reduces the tendency of functionalism to imply approval of the status quo. Merton's theory on deviance stems from his 1938 analysis of
21248-572: The scientific understanding of social life. Writing shortly after the malaise of the French Revolution , he proposed that social ills could be remedied through sociological positivism , an epistemological approach outlined in the Course in Positive Philosophy (1830–1842), later included in A General View of Positivism (1848). Comte believed a positivist stage would mark the final era in
21414-404: The social needs not met by government institutions. Merton made it very clear however, that unanticipated consequences and latent functions are not the same. Latent functions are one type of unanticipated consequences; functional for the designated system. According to Merton, there are also two other types of unanticipated consequences: Merton sees attention to latent functions as increasing
21580-469: The social structure, they do not have the same opportunity of realizing the shared values. This can create deviance. The term anomie , derived from Émile Durkheim , for Merton means a discord between cultural goals and the legitimate means available to reach them. Applied to the United States, he sees the American dream as an emphasis on the goal of monetary success, but without a corresponding emphasis on
21746-470: The social system of science works in accordance with, and often also in contradiction to, the ethos of science." This newer focus on the social organization of science led Merton to study the reward system in science, priority disputes between scientists, and the way in which famous scientists often receive disproportionate credit for their contributions, while less-known scientists receive less credit than their contributions merit. Merton called this phenomenon
21912-474: The society or group are variously implicated." Anomie, the state of normlessness, arises when there is "an acute disjunction between the cultural norms and goals and the socially structured capacities of members of the group to act in accord with them." In his theory, Merton links anomie with deviance and argues that the discontinuity between culture and structure have the dysfunctional consequence of leading to deviance within society. The goal of material success
22078-655: The sociology of science, developing the Merton Thesis explaining some of the religious causes of the Scientific Revolution , and the Mertonian norms of science, often referred to by the acronym " CUDOS ". This is a set of ideals that are dictated by what Merton takes to be the goals and methods of science and to be binding on scientists. They include: The "OS" in "CUDOS" is sometimes identified as "Originality" (i.e. novelty in research contributions) and "Skepticism". This
22244-472: The spread and distribution of resources and recognition among scientists being highly skewed. Merton referred to his book On the Shoulders of Giants: A Shandean Postscript as "OTSOG"—"part parody and part history of ideas", according to the publisher. In OTSOG , he traces the history of Newton's famous comment "If I have seen farther, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants" back to centuries earlier, in
22410-433: The structure and the function of social systems and to analyzing processes of evolution via mechanisms of adaptation. Functionalism strongly emphasizes the pre-eminence of the social world over its individual parts (i.e. its constituent actors, human subjects). Functionalist theories emphasize "cohesive systems" and are often contrasted with "conflict theories", which critique the overarching socio-political system or emphasize
22576-452: The survey-research of Paul Lazarsfeld at Columbia University and the general theorizing of Pitirim Sorokin , followed by Talcott Parsons at Harvard University . Ultimately, "the failure of the Chicago, Columbia, and Wisconsin [sociology] departments to produce a significant number of graduate students interested in and committed to general theory in the years 1936–45 was to the advantage of
22742-487: The tasks at hand. Therefore, society is a complex, ever-changing mosaic of subjective meanings. Some critics of this approach argue that it only looks at what is happening in a particular social situation, and disregards the effects that culture, race or gender (i.e. social-historical structures) may have in that situation. Some important sociologists associated with this approach include Max Weber , George Herbert Mead , Erving Goffman , George Homans , and Peter Blau . It
22908-406: The term "the malady of the infinite" because desire without limit can never be fulfilled; it only becomes more intense. For Durkheim, anomie arises more generally from a mismatch between personal or group standards and wider social standards; or from the lack of a social ethic , which produces moral deregulation and an absence of legitimate aspirations , i.e.: [A]nomie is a mismatch, not simply
23074-536: The theory that Protestantism responds to the spiritual needs of the poor (Shaull and Cesar 2001; Smith, 1998; Vazquez 2000) more adequately than Catholicism in El Salvador's less resourceful suburban areas. In fact, the results indicate that individuals of different resource levels, among the sample studied, have no real preference between Protestantism and Catholicism for the most part. Hence, believers' spiritual needs may or may not take them to another church, independently of their social class background, as demonstrated by
23240-413: The three states and criticized Comte's approach to sociology. Both Comte and Karl Marx set out to develop scientifically justified systems in the wake of European industrialization and secularization , informed by various key movements in the philosophies of history and science . Marx rejected Comtean positivism but in attempting to develop a "science of society" nevertheless came to be recognized as
23406-419: The two, was the principal achievement of Marx's theory. The sociological treatment of historical and moral problems, which Comte and after him, Spencer and Taine , had discussed and mapped, became a precise and concrete study only when the attack of militant Marxism made its conclusions a burning issue, and so made the search for evidence more zealous and the attention to method more intense. Herbert Spencer
23572-550: The understanding of social processes and phenomenological method. Traditional focuses of sociology include social stratification , social class , social mobility , religion , secularization , law , sexuality , gender , and deviance . Recent studies have added socio-technical aspects of the digital divide as a new focus. As all spheres of human activity are affected by the interplay between social structure and individual agency , sociology has gradually expanded its focus to other subjects and institutions, such as health and
23738-458: The understanding of society: the distinction between manifest and latent forces the sociologist to go beyond the reasons individuals give for their actions or for the existence of customs and institutions; it makes them look for other social consequences that allow these practices' survival and illuminate the way society works. Functionalists believe societies must have certain characteristics to survive. Merton shares this view but stresses that at
23904-468: The unintentional confusion between conscious motivations for our social behavior and its objective consequences. Manifest functions are the consequences that people observe or expect, or what is intended; latent functions are those that are neither recognized nor intended. In distinguishing between manifest and latent functions, Merton argued that one must dig to discover latent functions. His example from his 1949 piece, "Manifest and Latent Functions",
24070-515: The variables in play, but a reduction of the field of scientific interest. A strategy, in short, in favor of the survey . Merton argued that deviance may result as a consequence of a blockage in an individual's life which does not allow them to achieve their goal, essentially leading to deviant behavior. According to Merton’s strain theory, criminality is determined by acceptance or rejection of cultural ideals and/or institutionalized mechanisms of accomplishing those goals. The term “strain” refers to
24236-591: The writings of European contributors to modern sociology. Khaldun's Muqaddimah was considered to be amongst the first works to advance social-scientific reasoning on social cohesion and social conflict . The word sociology derives part of its name from the Latin word socius ('companion' or 'fellowship' ). The suffix -logy ('the study of') comes from that of the Greek -λογία , derived from λόγος ( lógos , 'word' or 'knowledge'). The term sociology
24402-448: Was Aaron Schkolnickoff, a tailor who had officially been registered at port of entry to the United States as "Harrie Skolnick". Merton's family lived in strained financial circumstances after his father's uninsured dairy-product shop in South Philadelphia burned down. His father later became a carpenter's assistant to support the family. Even though Merton grew up fairly poor, he believed that he had been afforded many opportunities. As
24568-487: Was a central element in Merton's discussion. Merton, however, managed to have both men on his dissertation committee. Merton worked with Sorokin as a graduate student at Harvard University. However, intellectuals like Paul Lazarsfeld influenced Merton to occupy himself with middle-range theories . Yet Merton's general theoretical perspectives were much closer to Parsons than Sorokin. He was also influenced by Lawrence Joseph (L.J.) Henderson , who taught him something about
24734-452: Was a field that Merton was very interested in and remained very passionate about throughout his career. Merton was interested in the interactions and importance between social and cultural structures and science. For example, he did pioneering historical research in his PhD dissertation on the role of military institutions in stimulating scientific research during the era of the Scientific Revolution . Merton carried out extensive research into
24900-444: Was able to point out the details as well as the contradictions of the overall concept. One group's function could serve as another group's dysfunction, and a general incident could turn out to be both functional and dysfunctional for the same group. Merton clarified the concept by stating that a certain degree of social cohesion eases the productivity of a group and is therefore functional, but it can become dysfunctional when it surpasses
25066-421: Was accepted, but the legitimate means were abandoned in preference for illegitimate ones. So, theft might replace hard work as the means for achieving goals. Merton argued deviance results not from pathological personalities but from the culture and structure of society itself. Value consensus is when all members of society share the same values; however, since members of society are placed in different positions in
25232-448: Was actually achievable in everyday life. This was contrary to previous theories on suicide which generally maintained that suicide was precipitated by negative events in a person's life and their subsequent depression . In Durkheim's view, traditional religions often provided the basis for the shared values which the anomic individual lacks. Furthermore, he argued that the division of labor that had been prevalent in economic life since
25398-470: Was an American sociologist who is considered a founding father of modern sociology, and a major contributor to the subfield of criminology . He served as the 47th president of the American Sociological Association . He spent most of his career teaching at Columbia University , where he attained the rank of University Professor. In 1994 he was awarded the National Medal of Science for his contributions to
25564-582: Was an adjunct faculty member at Rockefeller University , and was also the first Foundation Scholar at the Russell Sage Foundation . He withdrew from teaching in 1984. In recognition of his lasting contributions to scholarship and the university, Columbia established the Robert K. Merton Professorship in the Social Sciences in 1990. Upon moving to Columbia in 1941, Merton joined Paul Lazarsfeld , who
25730-412: Was an analysis of political machines. Manifest and latent functions were devised to prelude the inadvertent confusion between conscious motivations for social behavior and its objective consequences. Merton began by describing the negative consequences of political machines, and then changed the angle and demonstrated how the people in charge of the machines, acting in their own interest, were meeting
25896-469: Was associate director of the university's Bureau of Applied Social Research from 1942 to 1971, and named Giddings Professor of Sociology in 1963. He was also named to the university's highest academic rank, University Professor, in 1974 and became a Special Service Professor, a title reserved by the trustees for emeritus faculty who "render special services to the University", upon his retirement in 1979. He
26062-435: Was established in 1892 by Albion Small —from the invitation of William Rainey Harper —at the University of Chicago . The American Journal of Sociology was founded shortly thereafter in 1895 by Small as well. The institutionalization of sociology as an academic discipline, however, was chiefly led by Émile Durkheim , who developed positivism as a foundation for practical social research . While Durkheim rejected much of
26228-590: Was first coined in 1780 by the French essayist Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès in an unpublished manuscript . Sociology was later defined independently by French philosopher of science Auguste Comte (1798–1857) in 1838 as a new way of looking at society. Comte had earlier used the term social physics , but it had been subsequently appropriated by others, most notably the Belgian statistician Adolphe Quetelet . Comte endeavored to unify history, psychology, and economics through
26394-580: Was founded by Ferdinand Tönnies , Max Weber, and Georg Simmel , among others. Weber established the first department in Germany at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in 1919, having presented an influential new antipositivist sociology. In 1920, Florian Znaniecki set up the first department in Poland . The Institute for Social Research at the University of Frankfurt (later to become
26560-409: Was in regards to the phenomenon of industrialization —mass- regimentation that could not adapt due to its own inertia. More specifically, its resistance to change causes disruptive cycles of collective behavior (e.g. economics) due to the necessity of a prolonged buildup of sufficient force or momentum to overcome the inertia. Later in 1897, in his studies of suicide, Durkheim associated anomie to
26726-668: Was introducing quantitative methods into empirical research in sociology. Lazarsfeld and Merton emphasized the importance of “systematic data,” collected in a systematic way through representative sampling. Merton sought to develop a theoretical approach "that would turn the results from this research into sociology." Merton's work is often compared to that of Talcott Parsons . Merton enrolled in Parsons' theory course while at Harvard, admiring Parsons' work because it introduced him to European methods of theory, while also broadening his own ideas about sociology. However, unlike Parsons, who emphasized
26892-803: Was one of the first sociologists elected to the National Academy of Sciences , and the first American sociologist to be elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences , foreign member of the Polish Academy of Sciences , and a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy . He was also a member of the American Philosophical Society , the American Academy of Arts and Sciences , which awarded him its Parsons Prize,
27058-478: Was one of the most popular and influential 19th-century sociologists. It is estimated that he sold one million books in his lifetime, far more than any other sociologist at the time. So strong was his influence that many other 19th-century thinkers, including Émile Durkheim , defined their ideas in relation to his. Durkheim's Division of Labour in Society is to a large extent an extended debate with Spencer from whose sociology Durkheim borrowed extensively. Also
27224-566: Was seen as a "push factor" in tourism. As an older variant, the 1913 Webster's Dictionary reports use of the word anomie as meaning "disregard or violation of the law." However, anomie as a social disorder is not to be confused with anarchy : proponents of anarchism claim that anarchy does not necessarily lead to anomie and that hierarchical command actually increases lawlessness. Some anarcho-primitivists argue that complex societies, particularly industrial and post-industrial societies, directly cause conditions such as anomie by depriving
27390-534: Was survived by his wife, three children, nine grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren. Merton taught at Harvard until 1938, when he became professor and chairman of the Department of Sociology at Tulane University . In 1941, he joined the Columbia University faculty, where he spent the vast majority of his teaching career. Over his five decades at Columbia University he held numerous prestigious titles. He
27556-448: Was theorized in full by Durkheim, again with respect to observable, structural laws. Functionalism also has an anthropological basis in the work of theorists such as Marcel Mauss , Bronisław Malinowski , and Radcliffe-Brown . It is in the latter's specific usage that the prefix "structural" emerged. Classical functionalist theory is generally united by its tendency towards biological analogy and notions of social evolutionism , in that
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