Classical Social Theory Investigation and Application

Humans often attempt to find a meaning for life and aspire to understand the world around them. Understanding is derived from a number of sources that include: faith, tradition, common sense, and science. All of these approaches, except science, have major flaws. Sociology is a science. It is a science as much as any of the so-called "natural" sciences. Sociology teaches us to look beyond the limits of common sense--that not everything one was led to believe is necessarily true. This contradiction often leads to culture shock. Culture shock is evidence contrary to previously held beliefs regarding a social group, place, or phenomena. Social thinkers, including sociologists, have long fought the validity of a reliance on a religious belief system or a social order maintained by tradition (e.g., "royalty"). Sociology has its roots strongly entrenched in empirical science and moral reform. It analyzes human social behavior from a socio-historic perspective. C. Wright Mills recognized that an individual's meaning of inner life is linked to external social events. A series of previous events all shape the formation of current events. In other words, human behavior and social reality is a product of historically linked events of behavior and phenomena. Mills (1959) used the termsociological imagination.The sociological imagination allows its possessor to understand individual events from the historical perspective. It allows us to comprehend individual biography and history and the relationship between the two within society. From this perspective, individuals come to realize that their problems are a result of the greater societal strain. For example, an individual may feel bad about him/herself after being laid off from work. But these feelings of self-remorse subside with the realization that the socio-economic structure in society has changed and consequently, a large number of people are losing their jobs through no fault of their own. When teaching theory, it is important to analyze the biography of social thinkers and provide a glimpse of the historic events occurring in conjunction with the theorist. In addition, it should be obvious that students need to be exposed to key concepts and contributions of each theorist. However, the most important goal to teaching social theory is, perhaps, demonstrating the relevance of such material to the students' daily lives. Teaching the relevance of sociology should be thefocusof the discipline. This goal can be attained by incorporating everyday events into the classroom (and textbooks). Some of the sources of relevance to students' every day lives include newspaper and magazine articles; recently released movies; the news; sports; arts and entertainment (especially television); campus activities; professors' first-hand accounts of behavior in different cultures; and pop culture. Classical Social Theory: Investigation and Applicationprovides an excellent overview of classical social theory with a concentration on sociological thought. This book reflects the convergence of social science, natural science, philosophy, and history into a collective body of classical discourse. Chapter One provides a brief overview of the many social, political, and philosophical antecedents that preceded the founding of sociology. The story of social theory is generally acknowledged as beginning with Machiavelli'sThe Prince,a book published in 1513, at the height of the Italian Renaissance.The Princewas a controversial book for its time, as it provided a realistic view of human actions and challenged the long-held belief in the Divine Rights of Kings. In 1517, Martin Luther challenged the Catholic Church by nailing his 95 Theses to the door of the cathedral in Wittenberg, Germany, lighting the fires of the Reformation and Protestantism. A review of the impact of the works of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau follDelaney, Tim is the author of 'Classical Social Theory Investigation and Application', published 2003 under ISBN 9780131109001 and ISBN 0131109006.