E-LESSON-4 SOCIOLOGY-1

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B.A.English 2 All right are reserved with CU-IDOL INTRODUCTION TO INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY SOCIOLOGY Course Code: BAQ109 Semester: First SLM Unit : 4 E-Lesson: 4 www.cuidol.in Unit-4(BAQ-109)

INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY 33 OBJECTIVES INTRODUCTION After studying this unit, you will be able to: Charateristics of Society and its origin To understand the meaning of society, its In sociology, there are various theories and characteristics and theories of its origin. concepts which need to be studied in order to understand man as a member of To gain knowledge about the relationship between society. individual and society. www.cuidol.in Unit-4(BAQQ-110099)) . INASTllITrUigThEtOaFreDrISeTsAeNrvCeEdAwNiDthOCNUL-IINDEOLLEARNING

TOPICS TO BE COVERED 4 > Introduction to Society: Meaning, INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY Characteristics > Theories of Origin of Society- Organic and > Social Contract > Relationship between Individual and Society www.cuidol.in Unit-4(BAQ-109) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

INTRODUCTION TO SOCIETY: MEANING 5 AND CHARACTERISTICS Definitions  According to Horton and Hunt: ‘Society is a relatively independent, self-perpetuating human group which occupies a territory, shapes a culture and has most of its associations within this group.’  According to Mac Iver and Page: ‘Society is a complicated web of social relationships.’ Characteristics of Society 1. First and foremost, society is characterized by a system of social relationships: A social relationship is one that is bound by mutual awareness and reciprocity. 2. Society is characterized by both likeness and difference: Social relationships lead to a ‘we feeling’ or a kind of oneness or commonness 3. In society, the differences are subordinate to the likeness: If we consider a factor like specialization or division of labour in society – our first observation is that there are differences. www.cuidol.in Unit-4(BAQ-109) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

INTRODUCTION TO SOCIETY: MEANING 6 AND CHARACTERISTICS (4) A man is dependent on society: This ‘dependence of man’ is more important than the sense of uniformity and likeness. (5) Society is not static, it is dynamic: Changeability is an inherent quality of human society. New associations, institutions and groups may come into being and old ones may die a natural death (6) Social control: Society has its own ways and means of controlling the behaviour of its members. No doubt cooperation exists in society, but, side by side, competitions, conflicts, revolts are also prevalent (7) Culture: Every society is unique because it has its own way of life called culture. It includes our attitudes, judgements, morals, values, beliefs, ideas and our institutions: political, legal, economic; our sciences and philosophies. (8) Finally, society can be classified into varied types: There have been several attempts to classify societies www.cuidol.in Unit-4(BAQ-109) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

THEORIES OF ORIGIN OF SOCIETY- 7 ORGANIC AND SOCIAL CONTRACT There are theories regarding the origin of society. One such theory is the Organic theory. This theory views society as a living organism. In the manner, the human body is dependent upon its different organs, and is unable to exist apart from its parts or organs, society is the same. Even human society is unable to exist without individuals. And the individuals are incomplete without society. In the way, we are unable to imagine a human being, without its body parts, similarly, the concept of society, without individuals, will not hold meaning. Moreover, even individuals are not independent of society. One of the advocates of this theory was Herbert Spencer. Social Contract theory is another theory in relation to origin of society. This theory views society as an artificial phenomenon. Social contract theory tries to explain the relation between individuals and society. It puts forward that initially people lived independently. They did not have reciprocal relations. They assumed that they were self-sufficient enough. Gradually, over a period of time, they started to get into contact with others and this led to a formation of a society. Society was formed on the basis of personal advantage. Hence, it is believed that emergence of society happens to be a mechanical process in which individuals came together. www.cuidol.in Unit-4(BAQ-109) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN 8 INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIETY There are four categories under which contemporary sociological theory classifies the relationship between individuals and society. These are- (i) Nominalism is a theory: It sees individuals as the only reality. Other concepts like culture, society, values and group are not considered helpful for studying human behaviour .It is only human behaviour which can be explained and is very helpful. This theory is similar to Social Contract theory, wherein, society is seen as an artificial phenomenon (ii) Interactionism puts forward that we cannot discuss individuals or society, independently. They both interact with each other. This helps to meaningfully discuss the relation between them. Individuals and society are inseparable and interconnected. The Organic theory of society holds similarity with this concept, as both look at society as being interconnected to its parts-individuals, like the human body and its organs are interconnected. (iii) Neo-nominalism accepts the existence of a group as an objective reality. It also considers individuals as fundamental units. It proposes that it is persons and processes, which make up society. Individual phenomenon can be used to explain social phenomena.This concept also puts across that it is society, which is made up of persons, cannot be termed as an artificial appearance. It is similar to Group mind theory. www.cuidol.in Unit-4(BAQ-109) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN 9 INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIETY (iv) Realism upholds that individual and group are both real. Both are abstract entities by nature and not concrete. Additionally, it also puts across that groups are understandable as well as explicable.This is in terms of social factors and processes, but not in reference to behaviour of individuals. There exists a tendency to explain social life on the basis of psychological factors, but this is not correct. Collective life is not derived from individual life. Individuals cannot explain collective, but it aids an explanation. In contrast, there are views of George Homans, that sociology can be derived from psychology, and that the social processes, can be brought down to laws from behavioural psychology. www.cuidol.in Unit-4(BAQ-109) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

10 There are various thinkers who look at the relationship between society and individuals from different perspectives. Emile Durkheim says that social processes are independent of human will, and so, social phenomena cannot be reduced to individual phenomena. It is the combination of individual consciousness in a particular manner which leads to the emergence of social life. There is another group of thinkers like Znaniecki and Charles Horton Cooley, for whom, the society and individuals are two sides of the same reality. Individuals are neither products of their milieu, nor do they produce their own milieu, but we can say both. White, another thinker, has suggested that individuals are the only genuine reality. www.cuidol.in Unit-4(BAQ-109) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

KEY WORDS/ABBREVIATIONS 11  Social relationships- total of all social interactions  Dynamic- characterized by constant change  Nominalism- theory that individuals are the only reality  Interactionism- how individuals shape society and are in turn shaped by society through meaning in interactions  Neo-nominalism- group is seen as objective reality  Realism- both individuals and groups are re www.cuidol.in Unit-4(BAQ-109) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

LEARNING ACTIVITY 12 1. Write down how you are connected to your society, and how strong the social bonds are? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Describe yourself as an individual in a society. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- www.cuidol.in Unit-4(BAQ-109) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS 13 1. Society is characterized by both likeness and __________. (a) Goal (b) Group (c) Difference (d) Theory 2. Organic theory views society as a living __________. (a) Association (b) Control (c) Static (d) Organism 3. Man is much more than a __________ animal, due to being a product of culture. (a) Economic (b) Political (c) Psychological (d) Historical 4. Social contract theory tries to explain the relation between __________and society. (a) Individuals (b)minorities (c)majorities (d)none of the above Answers: 1.( c) 2.(d) 3.( c) 4.(a) Unit-4(BAQ-109) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL www.cuidol.in

SUMMARY 14 Theories of Origin of Society- Organic and Social Contract: There are theories regarding the origin of society. One such theory is the Organic theory. This theory views society as a living organism. In the manner, the human body is dependent upon its different organs, and is unable to exist apart from its parts or organs, society is the same. Even human society is unable to exist without individuals. And the individuals are incomplete without society. Social Contract theory is another theory in relation to origin of society. This theory views society as an artificial phenomenon. Social contract theory tries to explain the relation between individuals and society. It puts forward that initially people lived independently. They did not have reciprocal relations. Gradually, over a period of time, they started to get into contact with others, and this led to a formation of a society. Society was formed on the basis of personal advantage. Relationship between Individual and Society: There are four categories, under which contemporary sociological theory, classifies the relationship between individuals and society. These are- (i) Nominalism (ii) Interactionism (iii) Neo-nominalism (iv) Realism www.cuidol.in Unit-4(BAQ-109) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 1. Name the theories of origin of society. (For more information see SLM) 15 Ans Organic and Social Contract theory. 2. List out the relationship between individual and society. (For more information see SLM) Ans: (i) Nominalism (ii) Interactionism (iii) Neo-nominalism (iv) Realism 3. Explain relationship between individual and society. Ans: There are four categories under which contemporary sociological theory classifies the relationship between individuals and society. These are- (i) Nominalism is a theory: It sees individuals as the only reality. Other concepts like culture, society, values and group are not considered helpful for studying human behaviour It is only human behaviour which can be explained and is very helpful. (ii) Interactionism puts forward that we cannot discuss individuals or society, independently.They both interact with each other. This helps to meaningfully discuss the relation between them. Individuals and society are inseparable and interconnected. organs are interconnected. (For more information see SLM) www.cuidol.in Unit-4(BAQ-109) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

REFERENCES 16 1. www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199756384/obo- 9780199756384-0080.xml 2. www.sociologyguide.com/basic-concepts/Community.php 3. https://cec.vcn.bc.ca/cmp/whatcom.htm 4. www.sociologygroup.com/association-meaning-characteristics/ 5. https://sociology.iresearchnet.com/sociology-of-organizations/oragnization-in-sociology/ 6. www.sociologyguide.com/organization-and-individual/definition.php 7. Giddens Anthony: Sociology, Polity Press, Ed.2, London 1999. 8. Schaefer Richard: Sociology, McGraw-Hill, 2005. 9. Horton and Hunt: Sociology, McGraw-Hill, Kogakusha Ltd. 10. Leslie, Larson, Gorman: Sociology, Oxford University Press, 1998. 11. www.kkhsou.in/main/philosophy/individual_society.html www.cuidol.in Unit-4(BAQ-109) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

17 THANK YOU For queries Email: [email protected] www.cuidol.in Unit-4(BAQ-109) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL