is sociology a science - arguments

Kuhn

Paradigms - sociology could be a science if it adopted a single paradigm (set of rules to base research off of)

Karl popper

Falsification - sociology not a science but could be unable to be proven or falsified

Durkheim and Comte

Positivists - sociology is a science. Society follows clear patterns - social facts. Theories can be tested by testing social facts

Interpretivists

Sociology not a science - meanings based on experiences not external stimuli, consciousness sets sociology apart as natural sciences study unconscious

Keat and Ury

Realists - could be based on how science is defined

Sociology operates as an open system as not all variables can be controlled, natural sciences