Origins of Sociology
SOCIOLOGY
SOCY 112
The Origins of Sociology
The social transformation of European societies in the 19th century resulted from a number of revolutionary changes. Sociology is seen as a reaction to these revolutionary developments which occurred in Europe. The key revolutionary developments were the Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment, the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution. Sociology is seen as a reaction to these developments but also as a fundamental contributor to the ongoing social, economic, political and intellectual movements that developed as a result (Abbott, Wallace & Tyler, 2005).
Scientific Revolution
According to Abbott, Wallace and Tyler (2005), “the Scientific Revolution made possible the unprecedented understanding and control of natural world”. The thinking of sociologists was that the methodology of the natural sciences would make it possible to understand and control the social world.
The Scientific Revolution was one of the most important movements in the 17th century to shape the modern world view. It made physical nature a valid object for the experimental inquiry and mathematical calculation.
The Scientific Revolution brought a new mechanical conception of nature, which enabled westerners to discover and explain the laws of nature mathematically. It entailed the discovery of a new replicable methodology. A new scientific culture was born. It provided the model for progress in the natural sciences and in human societies which were to imitate them.
It changed the traditional world view which proposed that earth was the centre of the universe (geocentric theory). Copernicus was the first to try to explain the heliocentric universe using mathematical using mathematical explanations.
The work of Copernicus was advanced by Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler. Galileo advanced the work on astronomy even further which substantiated the Copernican views. Galileo’s teachings were condemned and he was
SOCY 112
The Origins of Sociology
The social transformation of European societies in the 19th century resulted from a number of revolutionary changes. Sociology is seen as a reaction to these revolutionary developments which occurred in Europe. The key revolutionary developments were the Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment, the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution. Sociology is seen as a reaction to these developments but also as a fundamental contributor to the ongoing social, economic, political and intellectual movements that developed as a result (Abbott, Wallace & Tyler, 2005).
Scientific Revolution
According to Abbott, Wallace and Tyler (2005), “the Scientific Revolution made possible the unprecedented understanding and control of natural world”. The thinking of sociologists was that the methodology of the natural sciences would make it possible to understand and control the social world.
The Scientific Revolution was one of the most important movements in the 17th century to shape the modern world view. It made physical nature a valid object for the experimental inquiry and mathematical calculation.
The Scientific Revolution brought a new mechanical conception of nature, which enabled westerners to discover and explain the laws of nature mathematically. It entailed the discovery of a new replicable methodology. A new scientific culture was born. It provided the model for progress in the natural sciences and in human societies which were to imitate them.
It changed the traditional world view which proposed that earth was the centre of the universe (geocentric theory). Copernicus was the first to try to explain the heliocentric universe using mathematical using mathematical explanations.
The work of Copernicus was advanced by Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler. Galileo advanced the work on astronomy even further which substantiated the Copernican views. Galileo’s teachings were condemned and he was
References: Abbott, P., Wallace, C. & Tyler, M. (2005). An Introduction to Sociology: Feminist Perspectives. New York, Routledge. Perry, M., Chase, M., Jacob, J.R., Jacob, M.C., & Von Laue, T.H. (1999). Western Civilization: Ideas, Politics, and Society (Sixth Edition) New York, Houghton Mifflin Company. Remmling, G,W. (1973). Towards the sociology of knowledge: origin and development of a sociological thought cycle. London, Routledge and Kegan Paul.