Sociology 101

Protestant Asceticism

The lifestyle promoted by Protestantism that emphasizes hard work and frugality as a means of expressing one's faith.

Luther's 'The Calling'

A religious duty seen as a contribution to society, emphasizing disciplined work

Calvin's Predestination

The belief that God has already determined who will be saved, influencing followers to view wealth as a sign of divine favor.

Baxter's Contribution

Provided the moral justification for diligent work towards capital accumulation and warned against laziness.

Spirit of Capitalism

An attitude that promotes making money for its own sake, distinct from religious motives.

Social Facts

External factors influencing individuals' actions and thoughts within a society.

Mechanical Solidarity

Social cohesion based on common beliefs and values, typical of traditional societies.

Organic Solidarity

Social cohesion based on economic interdependence and individual specialization, characteristic of modern societies.

Anomic Suicide

Suicide resulting from a lack of social regulation and norms.

Egoistic Suicide

Suicide that occurs when an individual feels disconnected from society.

Altruistic Suicide

Suicide due to excessive integration into a group, prioritizing the group's wellbeing over one’s own.

Eros (in Freud's Theory)

The life instinct, associated with self-preservation, love, and social bonding.

Thanatos (in Freud's Theory)

The death instinct, characterized by aggression and a drive towards destruction.

The Superego

Psychological components that threaten the ego with punishment in the form of guilt when aggressive impulses emerge

Oceanic Feeling

A sense of being part of something greater than oneself, often experienced in childhood.

Pleasure Principle

The instinctual drive to seek personal pleasure and avoid pain, fundamental to human motivation.

Protestant Reformation

Shift in religious practice influencing economic attitudes and leading to the rise of individualism and capitalism in Western society.

Innerworldly Asceticism

Living simply whole focusing on world work, avoiding indulgence

Sola Fide

The doctrine that faith alone is sufficient for salvation, emphasizing belief over works in Protestant theology.

Signs of Election

Indicators of one's status as a chosen person by God, often linked to moral behavior and spiritual experiences in Protestant thought.

Frugality and wealth accumulation

Encouraged by Puritan ethics, promoting saving and investment to achieve economic success and demonstrate virtue

Rationalization

The process of organizing and structuring labor in a way that maximizes efficiency and productivity, often emphasizing logic and reason in decision-making.

Iron Cage

A metaphor coined by Max Weber to describe the increased rationalization in modern society that traps individuals in a system of efficiency, control, and bureaucracy, limiting personal freedom.

Laws, religious beliefs, or languages which shape individual behavior and societal norms.

Examples of social facts

The external world, the human body, and relationships with others

3 souces of human suffering

The body brings physical limitations

Why is the body a source of suffering?

The external world brings natural disasters

Why is the external world a source of suffering?

Social relationships can bring conflict with others

Why is social relationships a source of suffering?

Repression

Suppressing desires to conform to societal expectations

Sublimation

Redirects instinctual desires into socially acceptable activities, such as art or work, helping individuals navigate the demands of civilization

Neurosis and frustration

Caused by the tension between personal desires and societal constraints

Repressive law

Associated with mechanical solidarity, focuses on punishment for violations of collective norms and maintaining social order.

Restitutive Law

Associated with organic solidarity, aims to restore social equilibrium through compensation rather than punishment to repair social order

Basis of Organic Solidarity

Economic interdependence

Anomie

State of normlessness, lack of behavioral expectations

Basis of mechanical solidarity

Similarities and likeness of society

What suicides are more prevalent in modern societies

Egoistic and Anomic suicide

Collective consciousness

Shared beliefs, values, and norms that bind a society together

Civilization

The main source of human unhappiness

Communist Belief

According to Freud, this fallacious belief about human nature fundamentally misunderstands psychological reality by assuming humans naturally cooperative and can easily overcome their aggressive impulse

Cultural super-ego

The collective psychological mechanism that is the primary way civilization controls human aggression on a social level, creating a moral regulatory system for society

Repression of Human instincts

The fundamental cost of social cohesion and collective progress in civilization

Guilt and Punishment

An emotional consequence of the tension between the individual’s desires and the demands of society, especially when it comes to perceived moral transgression

Infantile helplessness

source of religious sentiments

Religious attitudes and beliefs

Collective neurosis that helps humans cope with existential anxieties

Reality Principle

Psychological mechanism represents the recognition that impulses must be satisfied in realistic ways

Ego, Super Ego, Id

Three parts of the psyche

Moral itch

Working hard, accumulating wealth and giving back to the community to feel good

Luther

Developed a calling to labor as the only way to please God

Calvin

Taught predestination leading to wealth accumulation as a sign of being within the grace of God (elected)

Baxter

still wants you to work really hard despite wealth level

social solidarity

 how cohesive and united a society is.

Permanence

‘Stable’ rate of suicide for social groups/collectives.

Two types of love

Sensual and Aim-inhibited love

Sensual Love

reproductive love

Aim-inhabited love

love without the expectation of returns