How does the contrast between the views set forth by Spencer and Marx indicates the influence of paradigms on research?
How does the contrast between the views set forth by Spencer and Marx indicates the influence of paradigms on research?
![](/static/compass_v2/shared-icons/check-mark.png)
The comparison between Spencer's and Marx's perspectives demonstrates the impact of paradigms on research.
- The fundamental viewpoints form the kinds of hypotheses we're likely to make, the kinds of evidence we're looking for, and the conclusions we draw from that theory.
- Paradigms also assist us in determining which definitions are relevant and essential to us.
- In reality, research is a process that involves a mix of deduction and induction.
Spencer's contemporary Karl Marx took a very different view of capitalism's evolution. He proposed that social activity could better be understood as a conflict mechanism- attempting to control others while avoiding being dominated.
Marx was mainly concerned with the struggle between economic groups. He looked at how capitalism led to the oppression of employees by business owners in particular. Marx's interest in this subject went beyond academic research: he was ideologically committed to restructuring economic relations to end the injustice he saw.
Spencer was more interested than Marx in the relationship between individuals and society, especially the number of liberty individuals had to give up for society to function.
Outside of the field of strictly economic studies, the conflict approach has proven to be fruitful. In contrast to Marx's interest in the class struggle, Georg Simmel (1858-1918) was particularly interested in small-scale conflict. Conflicts among members of a close-knit community, for example, appeared to be more intense than those among people who did not share feelings of belonging and intimacy, according to Simmel.
Herbert Spencer created an influential synthesis of knowledge, arguing that the person would take precedence over society and science should take precedence over religion. His social Darwinism theory holds that the concepts of evolution, including natural selection, apply to human cultures, social groups, and individuals, and biological organisms evolving over geologic time.
For broadly choosing the paradigms, social Darwinism will be more applicable while studying individual interactions, while marxism would be suited to study conflicts.
Step by step
Solved in 3 steps
![Blurred answer](/static/compass_v2/solution-images/blurred-answer.jpg)
![Social Psychology (10th Edition)](https://www.bartleby.com/isbn_cover_images/9780134641287/9780134641287_smallCoverImage.gif)
![Introduction to Sociology (Eleventh Edition)](https://www.bartleby.com/isbn_cover_images/9780393639407/9780393639407_smallCoverImage.jpg)
![The Basics of Social Research (MindTap Course Lis…](https://www.bartleby.com/isbn_cover_images/9781305503076/9781305503076_smallCoverImage.gif)
![Social Psychology (10th Edition)](https://www.bartleby.com/isbn_cover_images/9780134641287/9780134641287_smallCoverImage.gif)
![Introduction to Sociology (Eleventh Edition)](https://www.bartleby.com/isbn_cover_images/9780393639407/9780393639407_smallCoverImage.jpg)
![The Basics of Social Research (MindTap Course Lis…](https://www.bartleby.com/isbn_cover_images/9781305503076/9781305503076_smallCoverImage.gif)
![Criminalistics: An Introduction to Forensic Scien…](https://www.bartleby.com/isbn_cover_images/9780134477596/9780134477596_smallCoverImage.gif)
![Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach (13th Edition)](https://www.bartleby.com/isbn_cover_images/9780134205571/9780134205571_smallCoverImage.gif)
![Society: The Basics (14th Edition)](https://www.bartleby.com/isbn_cover_images/9780134206325/9780134206325_smallCoverImage.gif)