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Debates - Coggle Diagram

- - - - Comte
        -believed sociology should be studied scientifically, using observation and data to uncover the laws of society.
        -He saw sociology as the queen of sciences that could solve social problems through scientific understanding
      - Durkheim
        -He used statistical data to study social facts like suicide rates and believed social patterns could be observed and explained scientifically. He argued that society exists outside of individuals and shapes their behaviour objectively.
  - - - Atkinson
        -criticised Durkheim's study of suicide, claiming official statistics are social constructions. He argued we should look at how coroners interpret deaths, not assume that stats show objective facts
      - Douglas
        -Believed society should be understood through the meanings people attach to it, not just statistics. He said every case is unique, and sociology should uncover the personal and social meanings behind actions
      - Garfinkel (ethnomethodology- a theory that studies how people create and maintain social order)
        -Argued that society is created through everyday interactions and cannot be studied scientifically. He believed people are constantly making sense of the world, so trying to study society objectively misses the point.
  - - - Keats and Urry
        -suggested sociology can be scientific even if it studied open systems. They argued both natural sciences and sociology often deal with unobservable forces (like gravity or social class) and aim to explain causes.
      - Taylor
        -sociology can be scientific, but not in the same way as natural sciences. He believed that while sociologists deal with complex, open systems (unlike the controlled environments of physics or chemistry) they can still uncover underlying structures and causal mechanisms that shape social behaviour. Sociology is more like meteorology or seismology that can explain why things happen, but not predict when they will occur
  - - - Popper
        -Said science is defined by its ability to be falsified, theories must be open to being tested and proven wrong. He argued Marxism and psychoanalysis were unscientific because they couldn't be properly tested.
  - - - Kuhn
        -in addressing claims that sociology cannot be scientific because it does not have a dominant paradigm, Kuhn argued science doesn't progress gradually but through scientific revolutions, where old paradigms are replaced. He claimed sociology hasn't yet developed a single shared paradigm, so its pre-scientific
- - - - Comte
        -argued that sociology could and should be a science, uncovering social laws through objective, value-free research. He believed this would help improve society through rational, evidence-based policies
      - Durkheim
        -believed social facts could be studied scientifically and objectively, just like natural phenomena. He saw value freedom as essential to ensuring sociology was respected as a real science