What is science, and where does sociology fit in?
What is science, and where does sociology fit in?
Sociology founding fathers such as Auguste Comte and original academic sociologists such as Emile Durkheim considered sociology a science.
There is no common consensus on the concept of science. Still, it is often regarded through strict hypothesis tests as a structured, hierarchical, and cumulative pursuit of knowledge, generally about the natural world. Science emphasizes proof, testing, and objectivity. It is believed. Some claim that science is founded on empiricism: information is obtained by observation or practice rather than just theorization.
The positivists thought sociology would use empirical methods, like natural sciences, to determine social facts and prove universal laws. However, interpretative sociologists contend that as humans have an organism and, unlike natural phenomena, do not merely adhere to universal rules or predictable trends and developments, sociology is not a science and does not attempt it to be.
It is one of the critical debates in the study of sociology.
Trending now
This is a popular solution!
Step by step
Solved in 3 steps
