Sociology is the scientific study of society, including patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and culture (Gordon, 1998 and Collins English Dictionary, 2012). It attempts to explain and understand the behaviours of human beings in the society (Haralambos and Holborn, 2008). More importantly, Sociology is a social science that uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about social order, acceptance, and change (Ashley and Orenstein, 2005). The term Sociology was coined by Frenchman Auguste Compte in the 1830s when he proposed a synthetic science uniting all knowledge about human activity (Craig and Calhun, 2002). The discipline emerged at this time as the …show more content…
Marx viewed the structure of society in relation to its major classes, and the struggle between them as the engine of change in this structure (Rummel, 1977). Marx saw class divisions as the most important source of social conflict. The theory asserts that an individual’s position within a class hierarchy is determined by his or her role in the production process, and argues that political and ideological consciousness is determined by class position (Parkin, …show more content…
According to Durkheim, mechanical solidarity is the social integration of members of a society who have common values and beliefs. These common values and beliefs constitute a “collective conscience” that works internally in individual members to cause them to cooperate.
In contrast, organic solidarity is social integration that arises out of the need of individuals for one another’s services. In a society characterized by organic solidarity, there is relatively greater division of labour, with individuals functioning much like the interdependent but differentiated organs of a living body. Society relies less on imposing uniform rules on everyone and more on regulating the relations between different groups and persons, often through the greater use of contracts and laws. Durkheim theorized that mechanical integration and organic integration were key factors in the management and glue holding society