SOSYOLOJİYE GİRİŞ

It is emphasized that the most significant contribution of Saint-Simon to the development of sociology is the term industrial society, which successfully influenced both the radicals like Marx and conservative theoreticians like Comte at same time by reflecting both socialist and conservative point of views (Ritzer, 2011: 15; Swingewood, 2009: 37). The correct answer is A.

Saint-Simon is considered “the first sociologist, and the first socialist” (Meriç, 1995). The correct answer is B.

Comte used the term “sociology” for the first time and established a tradition known as positivist sociology. Thus, he is agreed to be the founder of sociology by some researchers in the field. The correct answer is C.

The positivist approach developed by Comte is based on the assumption that social life has an objective reality just like natural life. From this point
of view, positivists argue that quantitative data based scientific methods used in natural sciences can also be applied in social sciences. According to this method, only observable, measurable and classifiable phenomena have a scientific reality, and truthful realities about a society can be explored and analyzed through scientific methods. The correct answer is D.

Comte defines sociology as a science that discovers and analyzes the laws of social order (statics) and social transformation (dynamics) through historical methods. The correct answer is E.

According to Comte, human thought and societies evolve through three basic stages:

a) Theological stage: In this stage, the human mind tries to explain everything through supernatural forces.
b) Metaphysical stage: In this stage, the human mind tries to explain all social and physical phenomena and events through abstract forces.
c) Positive stage: In this stage, the human mind finally tries to explain all phenomena and events scientifically (based on universal laws). According to Comte, in this stage, the human mind rejects supernatural and abstract forces due to positive sciences and tries to reveal existing relationships among observable phenomena and systematize these relationships within universal laws. The correct answer is A.

Herbert Spencer of England contributed to the early development of sociology with his evolutionary social development theory. Inspired by Comte’s works and having an important role in early phases of British sociology, Spencer adapted the “natural selection” principle, which means the survival of the fittest, into social evolution and rejected any type of state interventions and social reforms that are supportive of disadvantaged individuals in social life. The correct answer is B.

Karl Marx developed a theory called historical materialism, which had a great influence in the field. In this theory, which emphasizes the importance of economic factors rather than thoughts and values in social transformation and can be defined briefly as “embracing history from a materialist point of view”, Marx specifically focuses on production. According to Marx, some social relations called production relations develop among the people participating in the production process in order to produce their social lives in the historical process. The correct answer is C.

Durkheim pioneered the development of structural-functionalism, which is considered one of the most important approaches of the tradition called consensus in sociological theory, with his works based on a functional point of view and focusing on social order and solidarity. The correct answer is D.

Max Weber, unlike positivism, places social action into the center of sociology and sociological analysis. From this point of view, Weber’s ideas are associated with a general theoretical perspective in sociology called interactionism. The correct answer is E.

E

A

B

c

B

a

D

e

b

A