Deck 2: B: Classical Social Theories

Question 1

What does Durkheim suggest about social organization as it relates to suicide?

Answer 1

Durkheim investigated his assertion that the degree of social integration (i.e. ,the extent to which individuals feel connected to each other in social networks)and the degree of social regulation (i.e. ,the extent to which individual desires,behaviours,and emotions are regulated by society)are important causes of a society's suicide rate.He argued that societies with levels of integration or regulation that are too high or too low will suffer from higher suicide rates.As such,any social organization that increases a person's healthy connection to others (e.g. ,marriage,family,organized religion)will decrease the likelihood of suicide.

Question 2

Explain social Darwinism.Is social Darwinism consistent or inconsistent with the sociological imagination? Why?

Answer 2

Social Darwinism is the application of the principles of biological evolution to human societies,a functionalist approach that suggests that societies evolve because there is a reason for the changes (i.e. ,the need to survive).It helps to explain why some in society are doing well and others are not.Some are simply more evolved or better adapted than others.And since this is a natural process,many believe that nature should be allowed to take its course and that to interfere would only make matters worse.
This approach is inconsistent with the sociological imagination because it denies an appreciation of inherited social disadvantage and outright discrimination.

Question 3

Using George Herbert-Mead's concepts of the I and the Me,create a real-life scenario or provide a real-life example of how the self is developed through the interaction of the I and the Me.

Answer 3

According to Mead,the self is developed through social interaction.It is made up of two components: the I and the Me.The I represents the individual's response to the actions of others and the Me controls the response of the I.The individual personality (i.e. ,the self)then emerges with the combination of the I and the Me.
Examples/scenarios will vary by student.

Question 4

According to Marx,how do the relations of production in a capitalist system lead to exploitation,and inescapable inequality?

Question 5

According to Rousseau,what is the relationship between the social contract and the need for government?

Question 6

Create a scenario or give an example that demonstrates how the self is created through Charles Horton Cooley's concept of the looking glass.Using the same experience or scenario,explain how a positive self-concept or a negative self-concept could be created.

Question 7

Discuss the importance of the conservative reaction to classical theory.

Question 8

How did Enlightenment thinking challenge the power structure in place during that time?

Question 9

Define and explain what is meant by social facts.Give one example.

Question 10

What does verstehen refer to,and what is its relation to the sociological imagination?

Question 11

Identify the two distinct components of Montesquieu's contribution to sociological theory.

Question 12

Durkheim would argue that in today's modern society,we are living in a state of organic solidarity.What does he mean by this,and do you agree? Why or why not?

Question 13

Explain Marx's concept of ideology and discuss how the demographics of Canada's social,political,and economic elite support Marx's ideas of the role of the dominant ideology in society.

Question 14

Describe what Durkheim meant by anomie and discuss its relation to suicide.Give an example from modern life.

Question 15

What is the relation between the collective conscience and social facts in Durkheim's theory?