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Classical sociology and values - Coggle Diagram
Classical sociology and values
Society- including sociologists - have values, beliefs and opinions
Some argue that it is both possible and desirable for sociologists to keep their subjective values out of their research
Others may argue that staying neutral is impossible, because sociologists are humans studying other humans
Some argue that it is desirable for sociologists to use their values to improve society
Values comprise culturally constructed goals, presented as legitimate objects for attainment to a diverse array of individuals in a society
early sociologists such as Comte and Durkheim believed sociology's job was to discover the truth about how society worked and to improve human life.
Sociologists would be able to say with scientific certainty what was best for society
Marx too saw himself as a scientist. He believed he had discovered the truth about society's future and the inevitability of a classless society.
Max Weber
Distinguishes between value judgements and facts. He argues that a value can neither be proved or disproved by the facts - that they belong to a different realms. However, he still sees and essential role for values in sociological research
Values as a guide to research - we can only select areas of study in terms of their value relevance to us.
Data Collection and Hypothesis Testing
Sociologists must be as objective as possible when actually collecting the facts. e.g not asking leading questions
Values In The Interpretation Of Data
Facts need to be set in a theoretical framework to understand their significance. This is influenced by the sociologists's values which must be stated explicitly
Values And The Sociologist As A Citizen
Scientists and sociologists are also citizens, they can't dodge the moral issues their work raises or the uses it is put to by hiding behind value freedom
Weber thus sees values as relevant when choosing what to research, when interpreting data and in the use the findings are put to - but they must be kept out of the actual process of gathering data
Sociology cannot tell us what values or goals we should hold
but it can tell us what means we should adopt if we want to achieve certain goals that we value, and the consequence of holding these values