means constructing abstract interpretations of events using a series of logically related statements that explain a wide variety of empirical or ‘factual’ situations. A theory about social media, for example, would be concerned with identifying how information and communications technology (ICT or just IT) has developed over time and what were the prerequisites for their success. In the best sociology, factual research and explanatory theories are closely related. We can only develop valid theoretical explanations if we can test them through empirical research; sociological theories should not be mere speculation. Contrary to popular belief, the facts do not speak for themselves; they need to be interpreted, and interpretation takes place within a set of underlying theoretical assumptions. Many sociologists work primarily on factual research projects, but unless they are guided by some knowledge of theory their work is unlikely to explain satisfactorily the complexity they find. This is true even of research carried out with strictly practical objectives.
Many people see themselves as essentially practical, ‘down to earth’ folks and are suspicious of theorists and theories which appear far removed from their daily life. Yet all practical decisions make some theoretical assumptions. The manager of a business may have no regard for ‘theory’, but she might also believe that her employees are motivated by monetary reward and that the promise of this leads them to work hard. This is a simple underlying theoretical interpretation of human behaviour which the manager takes for granted without realizing or acknowledging it. An alternative view is that most people work in order to make a decent life for their families and monetary reward is merely a means to that less individualistic end. Once we begin to look for satisfactory interpretations of human actions we have to become interested in theories.
Without some kind of theoretical approach, we do not even know what to look for when beginning a study or when interpreting our results at the end of the research process. Theoretical thinking must also tackle general problems of how social life can and should be studied in the first place. Should sociological methods be modelled on the natural sciences? How should we think of human consciousness, social action and social institutions? How can sociologists avoid introducing personal bias into their research? Should they even try? There are no easy answers to such questions, which have been answered in different ways since the emergence of sociology in the nineteenth century.
For thousands of years, attempts to understand human behaviour relied on ways of thinking passed down from generation to generation. Before the rise of modern sciences, ‘folkways’ – traditional knowledge and practices passed down through generations – held sway in most communities, and these persisted well into the twentieth century. One example is people’s understanding of their health or illness. Older people, with a good knowledge of a community’s folkways, provided advice on how to prevent illness and cure diseases. Reflecting on his American childhood in Lawrence County, Kentucky, Cratis Williams gives us a flavour of the Appalachian culture of the time (Williams 2003: 397–8):
A plaque of lead suspended on a string around a child’s neck warded off colds and kept witches away while the child was sleeping. Children plagued by nightmares could wear these lead charms to assure themselves of sweet sleep and pleasant dreams, for nightmares were caused by witches and evil creatures that could not operate in the presence of lead. Adults given to snoring and nightmares sought relief by smelling a dirty sock as they went to sleep.
Today very few people advocate such measures or hold similar beliefs. Instead, a more scientific approach to health and illness means that children are vaccinated against previously common diseases and taught that nightmares are normal and generally harmless. Pharmacies do not routinely sell smelly socks to cure snoring either. The origins of systematic studies of social life lie in a series of sweeping changes ushered in by the French Revolution of 1789 and the mid-eighteenth-century Industrial Revolution in Europe. These events shattered older, traditional ways of life, and the founders of sociology sought to understand how such radical changes had come about. But, in doing so, they also developed more systematic, scientific ways of looking at the social and natural worlds which challenged conventional religious beliefs.
The next section looks at the key ideas of some early thinkers, who, until quite recently, went unchallenged as the key ‘founders’ of sociology. There is no doubt that these early sociologists played an important part in developing a sociological perspective and in establishing sociology as a legitimate academic discipline. However, their focus was on the development of the modern world, what sociologists call modernity, insofar as this refers primarily to Europe and North America. Over the last twenty-five years or so, a movement known as postcolonialism has challenged the accepted account of modernity and the origins of sociology (Bhambra 2014). There are numerous elements in this challenge, which are discussed in chapter 3, ‘Theories and Perspectives’, but two in particular should be borne in mind as you read through the rest of this section.
First, postcolonial scholars argue that sociology has generally not taken enough account of the devastating impact of colonialism on countries in the Global South. Not only did this involve exploitation at the time, but the legacy of colonialism continues to blight these countries long after they achieved independence. Second, the lack of Global South perspectives in the formation and development of sociology led to the discipline adopting a fundamentally Eurocentric position that was, and still is, focused primarily on the industrialized countries of the Global North (Connell 2018). Opening up sociology to more studies by scholars in the Global South is one way in which this situation can begin to be addressed. We have included something of the continuing engagement between sociology and postcolonialism at various points throughout this volume.
The book’s chapters also introduce ‘classic studies’ in specific areas of sociology. These are pieces of research, theories or novel methods that have had a large influence on the subject. However, these are our selections, and there are many more that could have been chosen. Classic studies boxes incorporate a brief critical commentary which points readers towards the limitations of these studies. With these necessary qualifications, we now turn to the established West European founders of sociology.
The process of industrialization is discussed in chapter 4, ‘Globalization and Social Change’, and chapter 13, ‘Cities and Urban Life’. Some of the damaging consequences of industrialization are outlined in chapter 5, ‘The Environment’.
Auguste Comte
No single individual can found a whole field of study, and there were many contributors to early sociological thinking. However, particular prominence is usually given to Auguste Comte (1798–1857), who invented the word ‘sociology’ around 1840. Comte had originally used the term ‘social physics’ to describe the new subject, but some of his intellectual rivals were also using that term. To distinguish his own approach from theirs he coined the term ‘sociology’ – the systematic study of the social world.
Comte’s thinking reflected the turbulent events of his age. He wanted to create a science of society that would discover the ‘laws’ of the social world, just as natural science had discovered laws in the natural world. He recognized that each scientific discipline has its own subject matter, but Comte thought that a similar logic and scientific method would apply to them all. Uncovering the laws that govern human societies could help us to shape our own destiny and improve the welfare of everyone.
Comte wanted sociology to become a ‘positive science’ that would use the same rigorous methods as astronomy, physics and chemistry. Positivism is a doctrine which says that science should be concerned only with observable entities that are known directly to experience. On