Sociology: Modernity, The Enlightenment, Comte, and Martineau

Vocabulary flashcards covering the historical concepts of modernity, the Enlightenment, Auguste Comte's positivism, Harriet Martineau's methodology of morals and manners, and sociological argumentation.

Modernity

A historical period (approx. 1600s until after WWII, or continuing into the present) and a collection of ideas, attitudes, and institutional norms that transformed Western societies, characterized by continuous social change, new possibilities, and the belief in progress.

Rise of Individualism

An increasing emphasis on individuals as independent actors capable of making choices and shaping their own lives, shifting social roles from inherited to chosen.

Agency

The capacity to make decisions and act.

Rise of the Modern State

The development of the state as a major institution organizing society, accompanied by the emergence of civil society and increasing recognition of individual rights.

Civil society

The sphere of social life and voluntary relationships outside direct state control.

Rationalization of Markets, Capitalism, and Industry

The transformation of economic activity through industrialization, technological development, competition, and efficiency.

Rationalization

The increasing organization of activities around systematic procedures and efficiency.

Division of labour

Separating work into specialized tasks.

Alienation

Disconnection or estrangement from work and the production process.

Urbanization

The increasing concentration of people in cities.

European Expansion, Colonization, and War

European expansion into other territories through exploration, conquest, colonization, and exploitation, frequently justified by ideas of Western superiority.

Eurocentrism

Treating European experiences and values as the central or superior standard.

White supremacy

Systems of power that privilege white-dominated societies and maintain racialized exploitation and control.

Progress

The idea that societies can improve or develop over time.

The Enlightenment

An intellectual and political movement during the 17th and 18th centuries emphasizing human reason, scientific investigation, autonomy, and the potential for progress.

Rationality

Using systematic, methodical procedures to achieve a particular goal, asking the core question: 'How do we do it?'

Science

A rational procedure for gaining factual knowledge about the world, asking the core question: 'What does the evidence show?'

Reason

Critical analysis of what is true and what is right, asking the core question: 'Is it true, and is it right?'

Moral adequacy

Evaluating whether actions or developments are ethically justified and contribute to human well-being, asking the core question: 'Should we do it?'

Emancipation

Gaining freedom from conditions that restrict or dominate people, such as power, ignorance, and nature.

Empiricism

The idea that knowledge should be grounded in experience, observation, and evidence.

Universalism

The idea that certain principles, truths, or capacities are applicable to all people, rather than being limited to one group or society.

Auguste Comte

An early sociological thinker (1798–1857) who believed society operates like an organism and can be studied scientifically to discover invariant laws governing order and change.

Positivism

An approach to sociological research based on the assumption that objective truths about society exist and can be discovered through logical, systematic scientific investigation.

Social statics

Forces that maintain social order and stability, focusing on what holds society together.

Social dynamics

Forces that produce social change, focusing on how societies develop and transform.

Theological Stage

The first stage in Comte's Law of Three Stages, where phenomena are explained through supernatural or religious forces.

Metaphysical Stage

The second stage in Comte's Law of Three Stages, where phenomena are explained through abstract principles or forces rather than directly through supernatural beings.

Positive Stage

The third stage in Comte's Law of Three Stages, where phenomena are explained through scientific investigation, observation, and the discovery of laws.

Positive philosophy

Comte's scientific approach to understanding social order and change.

Social physics

Comte's idea that society could be investigated through scientific laws.

Invariant laws

Laws assumed to operate consistently across circumstances.

Social organism

The comparison of society to an organism with interconnected parts.

Social interdependence

The reliance of people and social groups upon one another.

Objective truth

Knowledge considered independent of individual preferences or opinions.

Harriet Martineau

An early sociologist, writer, and social critic (1802–1876), recognized as the first woman sociologist, who analyzed society through systematic observation and critical evaluation.

Morals

Cultural values, beliefs, ideals, and principles that people say a society values.

Manners

Actual social interactions, practices, observable behaviour, and institutions within a society.

The Observer

The researcher investigating society.

The Observed

The people, institutions, objects, records, and practices being studied.

The Traveller

In Martineau's approach, an observer who enters a society and systematically investigates its morals, manners, institutions, and social relationships while guarding against personal bias.

Qualitative research

Investigating meanings, experiences, and social practices.

Systematic observation

Collecting observations through an organized and consistent process.

Social records

Documents, objects, or institutional evidence revealing social practices.

Index of popular morals

Observable evidence that indicates what a society values.

Research bias

When assumptions or preferences influence observations or conclusions.

Overgeneralization

Drawing conclusions about an entire society from insufficient evidence.

Sympathetic observation

Attempting to understand the people being studied without imposing one's own prejudices.

Critical evaluation

Assessing social institutions and practices against relevant principles and evidence.

Anomaly

A contradiction between a society's stated moral principles and its actual social practices or institutional arrangements.

Constructive criticism

Critically examining an argument, institution, or social practice to identify problems and possibilities for improvement.

Argumentation

Presenting a conclusion supported by reasons and evidence.

Premise

A statement used to support a conclusion.

Conclusion

The claim that follows from the premises.