significant sociologists. auguste comte ( 1798-1857) french philosopher considered the founder of...
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Significant Sociologists
Auguste Comte
• (1798-1857) French Philosopher• Considered the founder of sociology• Coined the term ‘sociology’• Philosophy of Positivism- a belief
that the world can best be understood through scientific inquiry
Harriet Martineau
• (1802-1876)• British Sociologist• Translated and condensed Comte’s
work• Studied/researched effects of
Industrial Revolution and capitalism in USA and UK on women, children and others marginalized in society
• Advocated for racial and gender equality
Herbert Spencer
• British Social Theorist(1820-1903)• Evolutionary perspective on social order
and change• Society has independent parts that work to
ensure the stability of the whole• ‘Social Darwinism’• Equated natural selection with progress• Used to justify the “superiority” of the
white race after the US Civil War
Emile Durkheim
• French sociologist (1858-1917)– Viewed people as the product of their
social environment– Society holds together because its
members identify with their society as a whole and want it to survive.
– Contributed the idea that societies are built on ‘social facts’ (patterned ways of acting, thinking, and feeling that exist outside any one individual)
• Saw social change as a strain on society leading to the breakdown in traditional organization, values, and authority
• Lead to an increase in ‘anomie’- a condition in which social control becomes ineffective as a result of the shared loss of values and a sense of purpose in society
• Founder of funtionalist theoretical tradition• Famous study on suicide
Karl Marx
• Karl Marx (1818-83) Germany– Industrial Revolution – why did a few have so
much wealth while most had so little?– Uneven distribution of wealth was a norm in
society: capitalists vs. working class– Class conflict – struggle between rich and poor-
necessary to bring about change– Society’s problems would not be alleviated
until power was redistributed among the people.
Max Weber
• Max Weber (1864-1920) Germany– Many facets of power in society, not just
economic as Marx had emphasized– Government bureaucracies could relieve
many social problems– Society could be reformed and improved– Sociological research should be ‘values
free’– Very influential early sociologist– Sociological immagination
George Herbert Mead
• (1863-1931) USA• Sociologist and social psychologist• One of the best known members of
the Chicago School• Founder of the symbolic
interaction perspective