1. Sociology is the scientific study of human behavior relative to society. Science is a methodology that uses experiments and observation to learn information about a certain topic. Sociology focuses on the superstructure and environment of society similar to psychology’s examination of individual behavior. There are many theories as are in most topics. Theories are broad statements about facts and how they fit together. Three major social theories in sociology are symbolic interactionism, functional analysis, and conflict theory.
Symbols shape reality. Symbolic interactionism is the idea that the symbols we give meaning to shape our understanding of reality. We use symbols to communicate and give value to items. The value we portray in symbols can be negative or positive and our different according to different people. Symbols can change meanings quickly. Waking up and finding out the person sleeping next to you was actually your cousin can change emotional and behavioral reactions. George Herbert Mead was one of the main founders of symbolic interactionism and pragmatism.
The next paradigm is functional analysis which states that society is a biological entity whose parts together make the whole. However some sociologist would quote Aristotle to say “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” like Robert Merton who rejected society as a
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Society may appear has a harmonious body but when you look deeper into the ideology you see a battle between classes. “There is class warfare. And my class is winning” said Warren Buffett. Karl Marx is the father of the idea of class conflict. Class in class conflict was first used as capitalist verse the workers but now is applied to small groups like communities and families. Class conflict theory has had the greatest effect on history compared to the other