SOSYOLOJİYE GİRİŞ

Saint- Simon claimed that a positive science is necessary to analyze the problems that emerged during the industrial society phase following the French Revolution and based his ideas and actions on these arguments accordingly.

Saint-Simon contributed to the development of sociology with his studies, and 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.

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 emphasis Marx places on economic factors in social transformation can be clearly seen in his distinction between base and superstructure in social analysis. In this distinction, the base consists of economic structure (means of production and relations of production) and superstructure consists of law, politics, religion, family and ideologies.

According to Durkheim, society is similar to a biological organism consisting of components having different functions to form a unity. At this point, he believes that society has an independent reality in a way that cannot be reduced to the individuals that form it.

Weber criticizes positivism and disagrees with Marx in many issues. Influenced by Kantian philosophy, Weber criticized Marx because he focused on economic factors as the determinant factors of social transformation.

Generally speaking, the theories in modern sociology were inspired by the theories developed by Marx, Weber and Durkheim, the pioneers of sociology.

Functionalism has an important place in modern sociology and was initially influenced by Durkheim’s works in sociology in the s19th century.

The theory developed by Ralf Dahrendorf (1929-2009) stands out among these conflict theories. he was not one of the pioneers of Critical Theory.

Alfred Schutz’s sociological phenomenology approach examining the reality of everyday life, and the ethnomethodology approach dealing with the empirical examination of the reality created during daily interaction. The phenomenological sociology of Alfred Schutz, based on the philosophy of the German philosopher Edmund Husserl, has attracted considerable interest in this period.

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. A is the correct answer.

Saint-Simon contributed to the development of sociology with his studies, and 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. Hence, B is the correct answer.

Comte acknowledges that there are similarities as well as differences between natural reality and social reality. Therefore, he claims that not only scientific methods but also historical methods should be used while studying the social world. Hence, C is the correct answer.

According to Comte, in metaphysical stage, the human mind tries to explain all social and physical phenomena and events through abstract forces. D is the correct answer.

Some argue that Spencer used the phrase “adapters (strong ones) survive”, which is used to explain natural selection by Darwin, much earlier than him for human societies. Therefore, Spencer’s approach is also called “social Darwinism”. Therefore, E is the correct answer.

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”. Therefore, A is the correct answer.

In this distinction, the base consists of economic structure (means of production and relations of production) and superstructure consists of law, politics, religion, family and ideologies. According to Marx, there is an interaction-based relationship between economic base and superstructure. However, economic base has a determinant effect on superstructure. Therfore, B is the correct answer.

Functionalism has an important place in modern sociology and was initially influenced by Durkheim’s works in sociology in the 19th century. Hence, C is the correct answer.

Conflict theories emphasize the importance of social structures in societies; however, unlike functionalism, which focuses on the consensus, they focus on power, social divisions, inequality and struggle among different groups pursuing their own interests. D is the correct answer.

Critical Theory emphasizes that individuals are simply manipulated in such societies through mass culture and become entities that tend to think and search less since they are seduced by the irresistible power of consumption. At this point, critical theorists have argued that the problem of modernity is not just the injustices and inequalities of the capitalist system, but that all modern societies are organized by instrumental rationality. E is the correct answer.