Handout 1 in Sociology
Definition and Subject Matter of Sociology
The first social scientist to use the term sociology was a Frenchman by the name of Auguste Comte. As coined by Comte, the term sociology is a combination of two words. The first part of the term is a Latin, socius- that may variously mean society, association, togetherness or companionship. The other word, logos, is of Greek origin.
Sociology is the scientific or methodical study of society.
It is a social science which studies the processes and patterns of human individual and group interaction, the forms of organization of social groups, the relationship among them, and group influences on individual behavior, and vice versa, and the interaction between one social group and the other
Sociology is the scientific study of society, which is interested in the study of social relationship between people in group context. Sociology is interested in how we as human beings interact with each other (the pattern of social interaction); the laws and principles that govern social relationship and interactions; the influence of the social world on the individuals, and vice versa. It deals with a factually observable subject matter, depends upon empirical research, and involves attempts to formulate theories and generalizations that will make sense of facts
Sociology may be generally defined as a social science that studies such kinds of phenomena as:
• The structure and function of society as a system;
• The nature, complexity and contents of human social behavior;
• The fundamentals of human social life;
• Interaction of human beings with their external environment;
• The indispensability of social interactions for human development;
• How the social world affects us, etc.
Note that the concepts “society and “culture” are central in sociology.
Society: a group of people who live within some type of bounded territory and who share a common way of life
Culture: is common way of life shared by a society or
The first social scientist to use the term sociology was a Frenchman by the name of Auguste Comte. As coined by Comte, the term sociology is a combination of two words. The first part of the term is a Latin, socius- that may variously mean society, association, togetherness or companionship. The other word, logos, is of Greek origin.
Sociology is the scientific or methodical study of society.
It is a social science which studies the processes and patterns of human individual and group interaction, the forms of organization of social groups, the relationship among them, and group influences on individual behavior, and vice versa, and the interaction between one social group and the other
Sociology is the scientific study of society, which is interested in the study of social relationship between people in group context. Sociology is interested in how we as human beings interact with each other (the pattern of social interaction); the laws and principles that govern social relationship and interactions; the influence of the social world on the individuals, and vice versa. It deals with a factually observable subject matter, depends upon empirical research, and involves attempts to formulate theories and generalizations that will make sense of facts
Sociology may be generally defined as a social science that studies such kinds of phenomena as:
• The structure and function of society as a system;
• The nature, complexity and contents of human social behavior;
• The fundamentals of human social life;
• Interaction of human beings with their external environment;
• The indispensability of social interactions for human development;
• How the social world affects us, etc.
Note that the concepts “society and “culture” are central in sociology.
Society: a group of people who live within some type of bounded territory and who share a common way of life
Culture: is common way of life shared by a society or