SOCIAL THEORY

Social Theory

Social Theory

1) Social Theory

Sociology (in the sense in which this highly ambiguous word is used here) is a science concerning itself with the interpretive understanding of social action and thereby with a causal explanation of its course and consequences. We shall speak of “action” insofar as the acting individual attaches a subjective meaning to his behavior - be it overt or covert, omission or acquiescence. Action is “social” insofar as its subjective meaning takes account of the behavior of others and is thereby oriented in its course.

Marx may be considered a Weberian, I will add, due to his insight into society as a network of actors orienting their actions to other actors. His frustration with capitalism, for example, emerged from his understanding that private property, division of labor, exchange, money and banking, and profit making are inextricably linked, albeit imperfectly. Indeed, his advocacy of a planned economy resulted from his knowledge that separate private property owners, independently directing their resources, could not, perfectly, co-ordinate their plans.

In short, there was no way, Marx believed, for actors in market institutions to obtain a perfect interpretative understanding of other actors' plans, and thereby, orient their behavior in its course, without, e.g., consumers being inundated with buttons, but going naked because of a dearth of cloth.

Both Marx and Weber intimated that society is a complex set of purposive actions whose meanings - and effects - are not self-evident. Only via accurate interpretation of others' actions, and precise communication of their own actions, is, as Simmel stated, society possible. (And only by viewing sociology as a Hermeneutical Human Science is sociology possible.)

Marx and Weber called attention to the fact that there are “unintended consequences” or effects that were no part of actors' intentions. Hence, the study of spontaneous orders, or emergence, has been at the heart of sociology since its inception. This is why sociologists, whether qualitative or quantitative, do not simply record the intentions of the human actors they study. Sociologists develop their own interpretive understanding of social phenomena via an amalgam of narratives, large scale data sets, and theories. And once developed, she is ready to defend her interpretive understanding.

Sociological Imagination

Sociology is the systematic breakdown of social behaviour. Its emphasis is on the social behaviour of the individual within the context of his or her social group or society. A way of understanding sociology can be done through the 'sociological imagination', which is a tool that provides many distinctive perspectives on the world, which generate innovative ideas and appraisal old. According to Charles Wright Mills, “people need a quality of mind to use information to develop reason to make connections between what is going on in the world and what is happening to them. He calls this the Sociological Imagination” (Hofstede 2006).

Sociological imagination further helps us understand what the sociologist Charles Wright Mills signify when he writes of the 'personal troubles of milieu' and 'the public issues of social structure', and in addition to how 'sociological ...