SOSYOLOJİYE GİRİŞ

Auguste Comte examines “society” within an evolutionist and positivist framework. 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.

Theological stage: In this stage, the human mind tries to explain everything through supernatural forces.

Metaphysical stage: In this stage, the human mind tries to explain all social and physical phenomena and events through abstract forces.

Positive stage: In this stage, the human mind finally tries to explain all phenomena and events scientifically.

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. 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”.

"Historical materialism" 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.

The "base" consists of economic structure (means of production
and relations of production) and "superstructure" consists of law, politics, religion, family and ideologies.

Marx suggests that all societies except those he called primitive communal are class societies divided into two classes: who own the means of production and those who do not.

“Surplus value” refers to the difference between the value produced by workers and the payment they are given. Workers are often paid less than they deserve and the remaining “surplus value” becomes the “profit” for the capitalist.

Durkheim defines collective conscience as the common beliefs and feelings of the members of a society.

Durkheim states that if this collective value system guiding individuals and ensuring the continuity of social life weakens due to rapid social changes, a dangerous fact called anomie, emerges. Anomie is a fact that refers to normlessness or ambiguity with regards to basic values of society.

Dramaturgy theory simulates social life as a theatre.

Postmodernism, like feminism, is critical to other approaches. Postmodernism is not only effective in sociology but also in art, music, literature, culture and social sciences. Postmodernism has developed as an opposition to modernism, which emerged in the 18th century during the enlightenment period and consists of ideas, values, and hypotheses that rely on technology, knowledge, and progress. Postmodernism has led to intellectual transformation in sociology and in the western thought as a whole. Giddens
(2009: 98) argues that postmodernism has recently lost its importance, especially in the face of globalization theories, and that globalization
theories are more explanatory in understanding the direction of social change in today’s 21st century societies.