Sociology is a reasoned and rigorous study of human sociallife, social groups, and societies. At the heart of
sociology is a distinctive point of view called “the sociological perspective”. Thus sociology offers a
perspective, a view of the world. For example: why do human lives seem to follow certain predictable
pattern? The truth is that:
• Our lives do not unfold according to sheer chance,
• Nor do we decide for ourselves how to live, acting on what is called ‘free will’.
We make many important decisions everyday, of course, but always within the larger arena called “society”.
The essential wisdom ofsociology is that:
Our social world guides our actions and life choices just as the seasons influence our activities and
clothing.
This is sociological perspective. Perspective means a view or an outlook or an approach or an imagination (of the world). Hence sociological perspective means an approach to understanding human behavior by placing it within its broader social context.
People live in a society. Society is a group of people who share a culture and a territory. People’s behavior
is influenced by their society.To find out why people do what they do, sociologists look at social location, where people are located in a particular society.
For human beings the existence of society is essential. It is essential:
• For the survival of human child at birth; and also
• For social experience – for purposes of ‘nurturance’.
The human child is so helpless at the time of birth that without the help of other members of society
(family for example) the mere survival is at stake. Then the other important aspect is to ‘nurture’ this
human being into a ‘social being’ i.e.a participating member of the society. For developing the child into a
regular participating ‘social being’ the role of society is crucial. The cases of isolated children (Anna,
Isabelle, and Genie) provide evidence to the fact thatwithout the interaction with members of society the
natural potentials are lost and the child may not becomea normal ‘social being’. Each society nurtures the
child into a ‘social being’ within its own societal perspective.
Seeing the general in the particular:
Peter Burger (1963) described the sociological perspective as seeing the general in the particular.It means
identifying general patterns in the behavior of particular people. Although every individual is unique, a
society shapes the lives of its members. People in the USA are much more likely to expect love to figure in
marriage than, say, people living in a traditional village in rural Pakistan. Nevertheless, every society acts
differently on various categories of people (children compared to adults; women compared to men, rich
compared to poor).
General categories to which we belong shape our experiences. Children are different from adults, more
than just biological maturity. Society attaches meaning to age, so that we experience distinct stages in our
lives i.e. childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, late adulthood, and old age. In fact all these stages with
respect to the lines of demarcation (years as cutting points) are determined by society. What is the position
of a particular age category in the society and what are the roles and responsibilitiesassigned to members of
that age group are all determined by that society. Therefore age is social construction.
Children are often considered as dependent, whereas adults as responsible. What about the old? What is the cutting age point for this group and what are the society’s expectations about this group in Pakistani rural society? Are these expectations in Pakistani rural society different from Pakistani urban society? [Give some
thought to this issue.]
Although societies define the stages of life differently, yet there are differences by social class within
the same society. Here a particular social class may be considered as a sub-society in itself and may have
their own distinct definition of stages of life. For example concept of ‘childhood’ may be different in the
lower class than what one finds in the middle class of Pakistani society. In the lower class, child shoulders
the adult responsibilities much earlier (starts at aroundage 10 years) than a child from the middle or upper
class. In the lower class there is a “hurried childhood” and that is how we come across the concept of
“child labor”. This concept of “child labor” is not only associated with the lower class within the national
boundaries but also internationally with the low-income countries compared with the high-income
countries.
Gender is also a social construction
Male and female is a biological distinction but there are different role expectations attached to these two
categories of human beings in different societies. Societies give them different work and different family
responsibilities. The advantages and opportunities available to us differ by gender. Not going into the
rationale of such differences, for the present one could simply say that it is the society that determines the
image of a gender. Further to the societal variationsin gender outlooks, one could see gender differences
by social class in the same society.
Society affects what we do
To see the power of society to shape individual choices, consider the number of children women have. In
the US the average woman has slightly fewer than two children during her lifetime. In Pakistan it is four, in
India about three, in South Africa about four, in Saudi Arabia about six, and in Niger about seven. Why
these striking differences? Society has much todo with decisions women and men make about
childbearing.
Another illustration of power of society to shape evenour most private choices comes from the study of
suicide. What could be a more personal choice than taking one’s own life? Emile Durkheim showed that
social forces are at work even in the apparently isolatedcase of self-destruction. One has to look into such
individual decisions in social context. You may look at the social forces that are at work for the suicide
cases in Pakistan.
Applying the sociological perspective
People should develop the ability to understand their own lives in terms of larger social forces. This is called
sociological imagination, a concept given by C. Wright Mills. Sociologicalimagination is the strategies that
can help you sort out the multiple circumstances that could be responsible for your social experiences, your
life choices, and your life chances. Therefore, think sociologically, which implies to cultivating the
sociological imagination.
It is easy to apply sociological perspective when we encounter people who differ from us because they
remind us that society shapes individual lives. Also anintroduction to sociology is an invitation to learn a
new way of looking at familiar patterns of social life.
sociology is a distinctive point of view called “the sociological perspective”. Thus sociology offers a
perspective, a view of the world. For example: why do human lives seem to follow certain predictable
pattern? The truth is that:
• Our lives do not unfold according to sheer chance,
• Nor do we decide for ourselves how to live, acting on what is called ‘free will’.
We make many important decisions everyday, of course, but always within the larger arena called “society”.
The essential wisdom ofsociology is that:
Our social world guides our actions and life choices just as the seasons influence our activities and
clothing.
This is sociological perspective. Perspective means a view or an outlook or an approach or an imagination (of the world). Hence sociological perspective means an approach to understanding human behavior by placing it within its broader social context.
People live in a society. Society is a group of people who share a culture and a territory. People’s behavior
is influenced by their society.To find out why people do what they do, sociologists look at social location, where people are located in a particular society.
For human beings the existence of society is essential. It is essential:
• For the survival of human child at birth; and also
• For social experience – for purposes of ‘nurturance’.
The human child is so helpless at the time of birth that without the help of other members of society
(family for example) the mere survival is at stake. Then the other important aspect is to ‘nurture’ this
human being into a ‘social being’ i.e.a participating member of the society. For developing the child into a
regular participating ‘social being’ the role of society is crucial. The cases of isolated children (Anna,
Isabelle, and Genie) provide evidence to the fact thatwithout the interaction with members of society the
natural potentials are lost and the child may not becomea normal ‘social being’. Each society nurtures the
child into a ‘social being’ within its own societal perspective.
Seeing the general in the particular:
Peter Burger (1963) described the sociological perspective as seeing the general in the particular.It means
identifying general patterns in the behavior of particular people. Although every individual is unique, a
society shapes the lives of its members. People in the USA are much more likely to expect love to figure in
marriage than, say, people living in a traditional village in rural Pakistan. Nevertheless, every society acts
differently on various categories of people (children compared to adults; women compared to men, rich
compared to poor).
General categories to which we belong shape our experiences. Children are different from adults, more
than just biological maturity. Society attaches meaning to age, so that we experience distinct stages in our
lives i.e. childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, late adulthood, and old age. In fact all these stages with
respect to the lines of demarcation (years as cutting points) are determined by society. What is the position
of a particular age category in the society and what are the roles and responsibilitiesassigned to members of
that age group are all determined by that society. Therefore age is social construction.
Children are often considered as dependent, whereas adults as responsible. What about the old? What is the cutting age point for this group and what are the society’s expectations about this group in Pakistani rural society? Are these expectations in Pakistani rural society different from Pakistani urban society? [Give some
thought to this issue.]
Although societies define the stages of life differently, yet there are differences by social class within
the same society. Here a particular social class may be considered as a sub-society in itself and may have
their own distinct definition of stages of life. For example concept of ‘childhood’ may be different in the
lower class than what one finds in the middle class of Pakistani society. In the lower class, child shoulders
the adult responsibilities much earlier (starts at aroundage 10 years) than a child from the middle or upper
class. In the lower class there is a “hurried childhood” and that is how we come across the concept of
“child labor”. This concept of “child labor” is not only associated with the lower class within the national
boundaries but also internationally with the low-income countries compared with the high-income
countries.
Gender is also a social construction
Male and female is a biological distinction but there are different role expectations attached to these two
categories of human beings in different societies. Societies give them different work and different family
responsibilities. The advantages and opportunities available to us differ by gender. Not going into the
rationale of such differences, for the present one could simply say that it is the society that determines the
image of a gender. Further to the societal variationsin gender outlooks, one could see gender differences
by social class in the same society.
Society affects what we do
To see the power of society to shape individual choices, consider the number of children women have. In
the US the average woman has slightly fewer than two children during her lifetime. In Pakistan it is four, in
India about three, in South Africa about four, in Saudi Arabia about six, and in Niger about seven. Why
these striking differences? Society has much todo with decisions women and men make about
childbearing.
Another illustration of power of society to shape evenour most private choices comes from the study of
suicide. What could be a more personal choice than taking one’s own life? Emile Durkheim showed that
social forces are at work even in the apparently isolatedcase of self-destruction. One has to look into such
individual decisions in social context. You may look at the social forces that are at work for the suicide
cases in Pakistan.
Applying the sociological perspective
People should develop the ability to understand their own lives in terms of larger social forces. This is called
sociological imagination, a concept given by C. Wright Mills. Sociologicalimagination is the strategies that
can help you sort out the multiple circumstances that could be responsible for your social experiences, your
life choices, and your life chances. Therefore, think sociologically, which implies to cultivating the
sociological imagination.
It is easy to apply sociological perspective when we encounter people who differ from us because they
remind us that society shapes individual lives. Also anintroduction to sociology is an invitation to learn a
new way of looking at familiar patterns of social life.
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