issues and debates

Comte

sociology is a science, explains how things relate to each other, possible to discover laws that control + shape behaviour.

• laws of coexistance - relationships in society

• laws of succession - laws which govern societal change

Durkheim

criticizes comte - failed to study sociology as a science

• believed sociology was a science because you can study social facts E.G.: suicide statistics

Weber

sociology is not a science - subjected as it used verstechen. its to subjective to be a science

popper

sociology is not falsifiable as ideas are to abstract falsified so it cannot be a science

Kuhn

sociology does not have a shared set of values ‘paradigm’ so it will never pass the pre science where there is a central paradigm so it can never be a science

Weber

can be value free once research process has been chosen, values need to be explicitly stated

• guide to research - /

• data collection - X

• interpretation - /

• as a citizen - cannot dodge the moral issues caused by research and hide with value freedom

Durkheim

aims to see sociology as a science so it just be objective which means it must be value free

mydral and boulder

domaine assumptions (individuel assomptions on world) impossible to detach from selfs so cannot be value free

Gomm

carried out by real people with real conflicts in society (eg feminism) so values must be used. Value free research is undesirable