1 Introduction to sociology

SOCIOLOGY OF TECHNOLOGY

INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY

BY PHILOMINA P. OFORI

COURSE OBJECTIVES

To introduce some of the founding fathers of Sociology

Explain the Philosophy of Technology Understand Social Construction of Technology

Know Technological Determinism Explain Stratification

By Philomina Pomaah Ofori 2

COURSE OBJECTIVES cont..

• Examine Technology and the Media• To understand the Technology of Control

• Study Technology and Gender• The Humanities in a Technological Society


HUMANITY AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL THOUGHT AND THEORY

• Human beings have always reflected upon their lives and have sought ways to live peacefully

• This can be said to constitute human beings’ attempt to reflect upon the human experience

• Theorizing and thinking emerge within a social framework and at a given time By Philomina Pomaah Ofori 4

SOCIAL THOUGHT CONT.• To understand our study, we need to study the intellectual, social and cultural environment within which they did their thinking.

• From this thinking and reflection is what we term as Social Thought

• Social thought began as soon as human societies emergedBy Philomina Pomaah Ofori 5

EUROPE BEFORE THE GREAT TRANSFORMATION

• They were basically traditional• Agriculture• Superstitious• Highly religious• Illiterate• Conservative • Communal and simple societies


EUROPE BEFORE THE GREAT TRANSFORMATION cont..

• Cottage industries• Little division of labour• Land was owned by few landlords [feudal lords]

There was:• Peace• Harmony • Social order


EUROPE BEFORE THE GREAT TRANSFORMATION cont..

• The Fourteenth Century – Europeans began to develop new ideas

• Questioning their societies• Eighteenth through to the nineteenth centuries societies began to experience rapid social change

• It had positive and negative consequences

• The negative effects compelled scholars to start thinking


THE DISCIPLINE’S ORIGIN• The Scientific Revolution- 16th Century

- A belief in science began to replace traditional forms of authority

• The Political/Democratic Revolution – 18th Century

- More democratic values and standards were being adoptedBy Philomina Pomaah Ofori 9

THE DISCIPLINE’S ORIGIN cont.

• The Economic/Industrial Revolution- 19th century

-Industrialism and capitalism were changing economic patterns


MAJOR FACTORS THAT ACCOUNTED FOR THE EMERGENCE OF

SOCIOLOGYENLIGHTENMENT:The enlightenment was a period of change of thoughts and intellectual developmentIdeas related in social life were overthrown and replaced with newThe views and observations constituted the development of sociologyApplication of the scientific method


ENLIGHTENMENT cont…

• It brought to bear that people could comprehend and control the universe by means of reason and empirical research.

• Physical world was dominated by natural laws likewise the social world

• Reject the beliefs of traditional authorityBy Philomina Pomaah Ofori 12

THE FRENCH POLITICAL REVOLUTION OF 1789 – 1799

- Some Europeans questioned the idea that their leaders ruled by divine right

- Prior to this period, European kings and leaders were viewed as having a God-given right to rule

- In the 17th century France was the most powerful nation in Europe.


THE FRENCH POLITICAL REVOLUTION cont…

• It affected people beyond France • It spread throughout Western EuropeThere was anxiety:• Technology – power driven machines• The growing awareness of the masses• The intellectual – rise in literature and philosophy


THE FRENCH POLITICAL REVOLUTION OF 1789 – 1799 cont…

- France was unified and wealthy - It became the centre of aristocratic culture which made it the leading centre of learning and philosophy

- Although the political revolutions were positive there were also negatives effects

• social anarchy, social disorder and disintegration


THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AND THE EMERGENCE OF THE CAPITALIST SYSTEM OF PRODUCTION

• New ideas came up and as a result, technology was created which enable Europeans to industrialize their societies

• People left their homes to go and work for hours

• Factories were owned by few individuals who employed the majority By Philomina Pomaah Ofori 16

CITY GROWTH AND URBANIZATION

• With urbanization the city grew• Land was not the only source of wealth creation

• Those who had no lands became the factory hand

Problems –unemployment, poverty, overcrowding, lack of accommodation etc.


THE RISE OF SOCIALIST IDEAS

•Socialist Idea - A political theory or system in which the means of production and distribution are controlled by the people and operated according to equity and fairness rather than market principles•The capitalist system brought about various social thinkers like Karl Marx•To him capitalism system was inhuman- An economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and distribution of goods, characterized by a free competitive market and motivation by profit.


THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION- 16TH CENTURY

RELIGIOUS CHANGE• Earlier religion was used to interpret everything

• Later religiosity and religion was determined by political, industrial revolutions and urbanization

• Religion lost its influence in society because of social disorder


THE GROWTH OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Scientific and technological progress

• Social thinkers wanted to emulate scientific methods to be able to give scientific status to the discipline.


WHAT IS SOCIOLOGY?

It is translated from its Greek and Latin origins, and it means the study of society- It is the scientific and humanistic study of society- The systematic study of human societies, with special emphasis on social groups in modern industrialized systems.- Is the scientific study of society, which is interested in the study of social relationship between people in group context.

FOUNDING FATHERS OF SOCIOLOGY

• Auguste Comte, French, 1798-1857; key concepts:

Social static and social dynamic, the three stages • Karl Marx, German, (1818-1883), key concepts:

Class conflict, alienation, historical materialism • Emile Durkheim, French, 1858-1917; key concept: Social fact, structures and functions of the society


FOUNDERS cont.. • Max Weber, German, 1864-1920; key concepts:

social action; subjective meanings, rationalization • Herbert Spencer, British, 1820-1903; key concept: social Darwinism, evolution

• Harriet Martineau, British, 1802-1876; active

advocate of abolition of slavery and gender issues


HENRI DE SAINT SIMON 1760-1825

• From a Noble Family• Aristocrats like Saint Simon did not do any work

• Renounced his noble titles with the outbreak of the French Revolution

• Turned to scientific self-education • Surrounded himself with scientists and artists


HENRI DE SAINT SIMON cont..

• Took Comte as secretary in 1817• Saint-Simon was the mentor to Auguste Comte

• He appreciated the new phase of industrialism and due to this he wanted to offer his ideas.

• He thought each individual was unique and has a specific set of skills and abilities hence the need for each person to work


HENRI DE SAINT SIMON cont..

•Human knowledge and society passed through three stages

•envisioned the transformation•Supported technological growth and industrialization

•He believed that all societies would unite, forming a world wide community

•He felt science should be introduced to the masses


THE THREE GROUPS OF PEOPLE

- Intellectually developed – Scientists

- Emotionally developed – Poets and Artists

- More Motor-oriented – Workers and organizers


ISIDORE AUGUSTE MARIE FRANCOIS-XAVIER COMTE 1798-1857

• Born in Montepellier, France on 19th January 1798

• Parents were middle class people• He was clever but did not receive any college education

• Dismissed from Ecole Polytechnique for rebelliousness and political ideas.


AUGUSTE COMTE cont..

• Simon recognized his intellectual abilities

• But parted company 1824 because Comte claimed He was not acknowledging him enough

• A French Social Philosopher


AUGUSTE COMTE cont..

• First to regard himself as a sociologist

• Social Physics - sociology in 1839

• His view of positivism was developed to combat the negative and destructive philosophy of the enlightenmentBy Philomina Pomaah Ofori 30

AUGUSTE COMTE cont..• He transformed many of Simon’s ideas into his new discipline sociology

• It was impossible to return to the middle age

• Called for the reconstruction of moral community

• Replace disorder with order• The new order was necessary for complex industrial society


AUGUSTE COMTE cont..• He suggested that the study of society should be divided into:-

• Social static – the existing social structures that deal with order, stability, and social organization

• Social dynamics – those processes of social life that induce-social change

• He emphasized that the study of society must be scientific


THE LAW OF THREE STAGES

- Theological stage

- Metaphysical stage

- Positivism (Scientific) stage


THE THEOLOGICAL STAGE- Supernatural- Use their imagination - Paganism- Various concepts of God- Source of nature is interpreted as powerful force that must be honoured

- Few questions were asked about their belief

- Faith in the unseen world of superstition


SUB DIVISION OF THEOLOGICAL STAGE

• Fetishism – supernatural powers resided in fetishes or mystical qualities attributed to inanimate objects

• Polytheism – many gods /fetishes created confusion

• Assigned objects supernatural powers and started worshipping them as gods

• Monotheism –there belief in one god


THE METAPHYSICAL STAGE• Investigation stage• Elite asked questions about reality and sought understanding of universal right

• Rationalism started• More educated and less traditional • seek evidence before making theological judgement

• Reasonable thinking and analysis • Age of reason.


THE POSITIVISM STAGE• Scientific way of thinking• Observation and classification of facts marked the stage

• View things rationally• Methods to refine thinking • Empirical evidence and experimentation are used to solve problems

• The appropriate stage for industrial society


THANK YOU!


Documents

1 Introduction to sociology