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Differences between micro and macro theories in sociology
Durkheim views on social solidarity
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Micro and macro level studies each have their own benefits and drawbacks. Macrosociology is an approach which emphasizes the analysis of social systems and populations on a large scale. Macrosociology includes families, individuals, and other basic aspects of society, but always does so in relation to a larger system of which they’re part. Human populations are considered a society to the degree that is politically independent and its members participate in a broad range of activities. Macrosociology deals with broad trends that can be applied to the smaller features of one society. In contrast, macrosociology deals with issues such as national distress/war, poverty, and environmental deprivation while microsociology analyses issues such as …show more content…
When Durkheim analyzed the data, he found that suicide rates differed amongst groups of people with different religious affiliations. For an example, the data showed that Protestants were more likely to commit suicide than Catholics. To explain this, Durkheim developed the concept of social solidarity. Social solidarity is described as the social ties that bind a group of people together such as location, religion or political status. Though plenty have disagreed with his theory and conclusions, Durkheim’s work introduced the importance of theory in sociological study. Grand theories, otherwise described as macro-level, are attempts to explain large scale relationships and answer fundamental questions such as why societies form and change. Theories such as these tend to be abstract and can be difficult, if not impossible, to test experimentally. As stated before, micro-level theories are at the other end of the scale and cover very specific relationships between small groups and individuals. Micro-level theories are dependent on their context and are much more concrete or stabilized, meaning that these types of theories are more scientifically
This essay will describe Emile Durkheim’s concepts of social integration and social/moral regulation and will explain how Durkheim connects them to suicide. It will then utilize those concepts to analyze the social effects of the Buffalo Creek flood, as described in the book “Everything In Its Path�, by Kai T. Erikson, showing other consequences besides higher suicide rates.
Furthermore, Weber and Durkheim both agree on the use of statistics, however, the interpretation of those statistics is entirely different. Weber argues that, “Statistical uniformities constitute understandable types of action, and thus constitute sociological generalizations, only when they can be regarded as manifestations of the understandable subjective meaning of a course of social action.” (Weber, Basic Sociological Terms, 3). Weber sees statistical data as deriving from individual actions that are grouped together. These groups can form generalizations, which then transform into ideal types that can be compared and used to understand subjective meaningful actions that occurred within those statistics. Durkheim, as seen in ‘Suicide’, uses statistics to analyze social facts (Durkheim, Suicide,
There are many definitions to theory. According to Akers (2009) “theories are tentative answers to the commonly asked questions about events and behavior” (Akers, (2009, p. 1). Theory is a set of interconnect statements that explain how two or more things are related in two casual fashions, based upon a confirmed hypotheses and established multiple times by disconnected groups of researchers.
Society, in simplest terms, is defined as a group of people who share a defined territory and a culture. In sociology, we take that definition a little further by arguing that society is also the social structure and interactions of that group of people. Social structure is the relatively enduring patterns of behavior and relationships within a society, not only between its members, but also with social institutions. According to those definitions, society seems a fairly concrete concept to comprehend. However, there are sociologists whom have their own theories about society in the aspects of the relationship between social classes, and class conflict. The German philosopher, economist and theorist Karl Marx has a fragmented and rather disconsolate view on society; while French functionalist and theorist Emile Durkheim looks at society more scientifically and wholesomely. Despite these profound differences of outlook, however, Marx and Durkheim were both centrally concerned with the emergence of modern capitalism, and in particular with the rise of the modern system of the division ...
There are many views and perspectives of sociology that help us to better understand how social forces, social institutions, and social structures impact someone’s life, as well as help us to develop a sociological imagination. Social forces and social institutions played a major role in events such as the Holocaust and the Great Depression, and still continue to play a role in everyday life today. It is important that we understand how these factors contributed to these events so we can understand why these events occurred.
Durkheim was concerned with studying and observing the ways in which society functioned. His work began with the idea of the collective conscious, which are the general emotions and opinions that are shared by a society and which shape likeminded ideas as to how the society will operate (Desfor Edles and Appelrouth 2010:100-01). Durkheim thus suggested that the collective ideas shared by a community are what keeps injustices from continuing or what allows them to remain.
Some flaws exist in Durkheim’s thought. One minor flaw is that Durkheim failed to collect his own data, using outside sources collected by others. Furthermore, Durkheim has been criticized for his failure to take individual into account properly. This can be seen in a flaw in his legendary sociological work, Suicide. Many have criticized Durkheim for trying to explain micro events using macro statistics; however, Van Poppel and Day (1996) state that this isn’t a fallacy, but rather an empirical mistake as how suicides were described by Protestants and Catholics were described differently, which Durkheim failed to account
Emile Durkheim is another sociologist who used Herbert Spencer’s theory to explain the change in society. He believed that society is a very intricate system of interrelated and interdependent parts that work together to maintain stability (Durkheim 1893). This ensures that the social world is held together by shared values and languages. He wrote the Division of Labor.
In discussing the similarities between Marx, Weber and Durkheim, it is important to understand what social order and social change are. Social order is the systems of social structures (relations, values and practice etc.) that maintain and enforce certain patterns of behaviour. Whereas, social change refers to an alteration in the social order of a society, examples of such alterations can be changes in nature, social institutions, behaviours and/or social relations. (Bratton and Denham 2014) Throughout time, religion has always been a hot topic of controversy, whether it is based on being a part of the same religion, to having different religious views on life and how to live life. This is due in large to the ever changing views on religion and the way it can be practised. Religion can be viewed in both aspects of social order and social change because it is part of a system, however, alterations are frequently made. The three sociologists Marx, Weber and Durkheim have all expressed their views on religion with respect to society. Webers’ views show the effects
After reviewing the article titles given for this first assignment, I believe they indicate that Sociology, generally speaking, is not only a study of diversity or commonality in traits among people; it is also a science about factors in a person’s life and how these factors culminate responses. Interestingly enough, its topics of concern seem to be directly determined by current and common events of the world. Through the invention and expansion of new ideas, popular trends and fashions through time, Sociology adapts to responsibly to service the very subjects of interest it studies; for, even the slightest change of a person’s daily experience can have an insurmountable impact on attitude, personal growth, family dynamics and basic group behavior.
Emile Durkheim, regarded as the father of sociology, worked roughly during the same period of time as Tylor and Frazer. However, despite their timely similarities, Durkheim claims that humanity will not outgrow religion. Durkheim differs from Tylor and Frazer because he considers religion and science to have separate purposes for humanity. For this reason, he affirms that science will not be the force through which religion becomes outgrown. To explain, Durkheim suggests that unlike science, “[r]eligion’s true purpose is not intellectual, but social” (Pals: Nine Theories, 102). The social function of religion manifests itself as it “serves as the carrier of social sentiments providing symbols and rituals that enable people to express the deep
There are many differences between macro and micro-level theories. Micro-level focuses on individuals and their interactions. For example the relationship between adult children and their parents, or the effect of negative attitudes on older people. Some criticize on micro-level theories becuase they focus on what older people do rather than on social conditionsand policies that cuase them to act the way they do. Macro-level focuses more upon social structure, social processes and problems, and their interrelationships. For example the effects of industrialization on older people's status, or how gender and income affect older people's well being. This approach tends to minimize people's ability to act and overcome the limits of social structures. Both micro and macro-leve theories can take one of three perspectives which include: interpretive perspective, normative, and conflict.
He further sees the social life if labour depends on the religious belief, practice, norm, cults and beliefs. An additional illustration of Durkheim’s functional approach is his discussion of criminality. According to Durkheim, mechanical solidarity is mostly noticeable in the primitive societies comprising of primitive method of work such as hunter and shepherd (Durkheim, 1933). He calls this as solidarity mechanical on the reasons of repetition of same work and totally controlled by the chief. The society tends to repeat the same roles which are easily recognizable between the individuals (Durkheim, 1933). Moreover, this does not seem to change over
A topic area which all three sociologists Marx, Durkheim and Weber argued and discussed in different views, was social inequality and social structure, all there sociologists had their own theories on what they would class social inequality and social structure as. Paul Watts (2007) speaks about his thoughts on social inequality, as a rise to a plethora of ways, including how we understand and explain the relationship between individuals and their social settings. An example cou...
Talcott Parsons have some of the same views of sociology as Durkheim, he believed that social life is categorized by social cooperation. Parsons also believed that commitment to common values maintains or...