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Sociology & Common Sense

Sociology and other social sciences focus on the study of certain aspects of human behaviour. Yet human behaviour is something with which we all have experience and about which we have at least a bit of knowledge. In our daily lives, we rely on common sense to get us through many unfamiliar situations. However, this knowledge while sometimes accurate is not always reliable because it rests on commonly held beliefs rather than systematic analysis of facts. Sociology IAS coaching in Chandigarh.

Common sense is knowledge and awareness that is held communally (shared by majority of people). It does not depend on specialist education and in some respects states the obvious. Sociology is study of society and of people and their behavior. Positivists claim that it produces scientific knowledge.

Many people argue that sociology merely state the obvious by reporting what common sense already tells us. In other words, sociology is criticized for being merely common sense and stating the obvious but in more detail than what we already know. Many sociologists have responded that common sense is wrong and obvious truths are not so obvious.

Common sense ideas and explanations represent a form of social perspective since they claim to represent the things that everyone knows about the social world and / or human behavior. These ideas are not necessarily incorrect but they seem to be different from sociological forms of knowledge.

Differences between sociology and common sense:

  1. Common sense views are based on people’s immediate and often limited experiences. This leads to a distorted view of reality. Hence common sense knowledge is statement of the obvious which is simply based of assumption.

Sociological views are based on rigorous research and therefore evidence based. This can either be based on large scale quantitative research or in-depth qualitative research. Sociology knowledge is, therefore, the product of theory development and testing.

  1. Common sense views tend to reflect social traditions and conventions and therefore tend to reinforce the status quo and resist social change.

Conflict approaches in sociology raise serious questions about the status quo and call for social change.

  1. Common sense views tend to be historically and culturally specific and are often based on stereotypical images.

Interactionist / social action theories recognize that social life is socially constructed and relative to time and place. It actively challenges stereotypes.

  1. Common sense views lack validity and reliability.

Sociological knowledge has relatively greater reliability and validity. Sociological views based on quantitative data are high in reliability and those based on qualitative data are high in validity.

Whether sociological knowledge is superior to common sense forms is a matter of debate. Some postmodernists would claim that sociological knowledge is not superior to common sense knowledge. This is because they claim that there is no such thing as the truth and therefore all knowledge is uncertain. Sociologists of course stand up for sociology over common sense. Sociology is more important than common sense as it is evidence based and challenges common sense views of the world and enhances human life and freedom. Giddens claims that sociological knowledge often becomes common sense knowledge.

Most sociologists describe common sense in very negative terms. They see it as biased, subjective and incomplete. Common sense is shown to be not only wrong but also contradictory. E.g. out of sight out of mind and absence makes the heart grow fonder. But there are also many cases in sociological writings where beliefs long held as factual have proven to be wrong or unsubstantiated. On most important issues in sociology there are two or more theories and statements often contradicting each other.

Common sense – knowledge and understanding of social life – must be correct some of the time otherwise people who are not sociologists could not survive. Some people possess more valid and empirical knowledge than others and this knowledge is indispensable for social life. As sociology becomes a profession, practitioners have more time to study individuals, groups and societies thereby having more advantages over most other people. However, there are instances where people have profound understanding of the social world gained through careful, repeated and varying observations of the world. Common sense is often wrong but that does not prove that all common sense wrong.

Like other social scientists, sociologists do not accept something as fact because ‘everyone knows it’. Instead, each piece of information must be tested and recorded, then analyzed in relationship to other data. However, this method is also partial and limited.

Sometimes sociological findings confirm the common sense view; sometimes they do not. The only way to test common sense assumptions about society is to do it scientifically. Sociology relies on scientific studies in order to describe and understand a social environment. At times, the findings of sociologists may seem like common sense because they deal with facets of everyday life.

This does not mean that there is no place for intuition or common sense in sociology. These approaches are rich sources of insights. But they can provide only hunches. The hunch must be tested by the methods of science.

Syllabus for Sociology IAS

PAPER – I

FUNDAMENTALS OF SOCIOLOGY

  1. Sociology – The Discipline:

(a) Modernity and social changes in Europe and emergence of sociology.

(b) Scope of the subject and comparison with other social sciences.

(c) Sociology and common sense.

  1. Sociology as Science:

(a) Science, scientific method and critique.

(b) Major theoretical strands of research methodology.

(c) Positivism and its critique.

(d) Fact value and objectivity.

(e) Non- positivist methodologies.

  1. Research Methods and Analysis:

(a) Qualitative and quantitative methods.

(b) Techniques of data collection.

(c) Variables, sampling, hypothesis, reliability and validity.

  1. Sociological Thinkers:

(a) Karl Marx- Historical materialism, mode of production, alienation, class struggle.

(b) Emile Durkheim- Division of labour, social fact, suicide, religion and society.

(c) Max Weber- Social action, ideal types, authority, bureaucracy, protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism.

(d) Talcolt Parsons- Social system, pattern variables.

(e) Robert K. Merton- Latent and manifest functions, conformity and deviance, reference groups.

(f) Mead – Self and identity.

  1. Stratification and Mobility:

(a) Concepts- equality, inequality, hierarchy, exclusion, poverty and deprivation.

(b) Theories of social stratification- Structural functionalist theory, Marxist theory, Weberian theory.

(c) Dimensions – Social stratification of class, status groups, gender, ethnicity and race.

(d) Social mobility- open and closed systems, types of mobility, sources and causes of mobility.

  1. Works and Economic Life:

(a) Social organization of work in different types of society- slave society, feudal society, industrial /capitalist society.

(b) Formal and informal organization of work.

(c) Labour and society.

  1. Politics and Society:

(a) Sociological theories of power.

(b) Power elite, bureaucracy, pressure groups, and political parties.

(c) Nation, state, citizenship, democracy, civil society, ideology.

(d) Protest, agitation, social movements, collective action, revolution.

  1. Religion and Society:

(a) Sociological theories of religion.

(b) Types of religious practices: animism, monism, pluralism, sects, cults.

(c) Religion in modern society: religion and science, secularization, religious revivalism, fundamentalism.

  1. Systems of Kinship:

(a) Family, household, marriage.

(b) Types and forms of family.

(c) Lineage and descent.

(d) Patriarchy and sexual division of labour.

(e) Contemporary trends.

  1. Social Change in Modern Society:

(a) Sociological theories of social change.

(b) Development and dependency.

(c) Agents of social change.

(d) Education and social change.

(e) Science, technology and social change.

PAPER – II

INDIAN SOCIETY : STRUCTURE AND CHANGE

  1. Introducing Indian Society:

(i) Perspectives on the study of Indian society:

(a) Indology (GS. Ghurye).

(b) Structural functionalism (M N Srinivas).

(c) Marxist sociology (A R Desai).

(ii) Impact of colonial rule on Indian society :

(a) Social background of Indian nationalism.

(b) Modernization of Indian tradition.

(c) Protests and movements during the colonial period.

(d) Social reforms.

  1. Social Structure:

(i) Rural and Agrarian Social Structure:

(a) The idea of Indian village and village studies.

(b) Agrarian social structure – evolution of land tenure system, land reforms.

(ii) Caste System:

(a) Perspectives on the study of caste systems: GS Ghurye, M N Srinivas, Louis Dumont, Andre Beteille.

(b) Features of caste system.

(c) Untouchability – forms and perspectives.

(iii) Tribal communities in India:

(a) Definitional problems.

(b) Geographical spread.

(c) Colonial policies and tribes.

(d) Issues of integration and autonomy.

(iv) Social Classes in India:

(a) Agrarian class structure.

(b) Industrial class structure.

(c) Middle classes in India.

(v) Systems of Kinship in India:

(a) Lineage and descent in India.

(b) Types of kinship systems.

(c) Family and marriage in India.

(d) Household dimensions of the family.

(e) Patriarchy, entitlements and sexual division of labour.

(vi) Religion and Society:

(a) Religious communities in India.

(b) Problems of religious minorities.

  1. Social Changes in India:

(i) Visions of Social Change in India:

(a) Idea of development planning and mixed economy.

(b) Constitution, law and social change.

(c) Education and social change.

(ii) Rural and Agrarian transformation in India:

(a) Programmes of rural development, Community Development Programme, cooperatives, poverty alleviation schemes.

(b) Green revolution and social change.

(c) Changing modes of production in Indian agriculture .

(d) Problems of rural labour, bondage, migration.

(iii) Industrialization and Urbanisation in India:

(a) Evolution of modern industry in India.

(b) Growth of urban settlements in India.

(c) Working class: structure, growth, class mobilization.

(d) Informal sector, child labour.

(e) Slums and deprivation in urban areas.

(iv) Politics and Society:

(a) Nation, democracy and citizenship.

(b) Political parties, pressure groups, social and political elite.

(c) Regionalism and decentralization of power.

(d) Secularization.

(v) Social Movements in Modern India:

(a) Peasants and farmers movements.

(b) Women’s movement.

(c) Backward classes & Dalit movement.

(d) Environmental movements.

(e) Ethnicity and Identity movements.

(vi) Population Dynamics:

(a) Population size, growth, composition and distribution.

(b) Components of population growth: birth, death, migration.

(c) Population policy and family planning.

(d) Emerging issues: ageing, sex ratios, child and infant mortality, reproductive health.

(vii) Challenges of Social Transformation:

(a) Crisis of development: displacement, environmental problems and sustainability.

(b) Poverty, deprivation and inequalities.

(c) Violence against women.

(d) Caste conflicts.

(e) Ethnic conflicts, communalism, religious revivalism.

(f) Illiteracy and disparities in education.