Historical Beginnings of Sociology
(evolution and development)
This subject has developed in an attempt to understand the radical changes taking place in Europe and the problems arising out of them. Today sociology is considered an important subject both from the theoretical and practical point of view. In all the countries of the world, this science is gaining a leading position in comparison to other social sciences, a person is a curious creature due to his nature and due to this curious tendency, he has learned various types of social, economic and social sciences prevalent in his time from the very beginning. Trying to understand political problems. Various aspects of society have been mentioned in different ways in the ancient texts of India. For example, Vedic literature and Hindu scriptures (such as Upanishads, Mahabharata and Gita etc.) give a systematic description of many important social aspects like varna and caste system, joint family system, ashram system, various rites and credit system, which are important in today’s sociological sciences. not less than any of the parameters of the analyses. Aristotle’s book ‘Politics’, Plato’s ‘Republic’ and Kautilya’s ‘Arthashastra’ are such texts in which various aspects of society have been discussed.
Although the study of social aspects has a long tradition, the emergence and development of sociology as an institutional subject occurred in the 19th century when Auguste Comte first used the term ‘sociology’ in 1838 AD. He was of the view that there is no single subject which can study various aspects of society as a whole. To overcome this shortcoming, he created this new subject. Although the sociology of the nineteenth century has been considered as a positive science, whose influence was similar to the natural sciences, yet it was evolutionary due to the influence of the philosophy of history and biological theories. Along with this, studies related to the entire life and entire history of man were done, that is, its nature was encyclopedic. To understand a new science like sociology, it is necessary to study its origin and development.
The origin and development of sociology is due to the social conditions of Western Europe. The Industrial Revolution, the French Revolution and the Enlightenment played an important role in its development. These not only led to the development of a new method of economic activity (called capitalism) in Western societies, but they also had a profound effect on the social structure of these countries.
With the development of secular outlook, social mobility, increase in education and employment, migration from villages to cities, many social problems also started developing. The number of industrial laborers and agricultural laborers increased and they started being exploited in production work. A large number of Africans were enslaved in the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries to serve capitalism. Although slavery began to decline in the beginning of the nineteenth century, it is still practiced today in the form of bonded labor in many colonial countries. Sociology has developed as a result of the scholarly thinking about all these changes and problems.
In the 19th century, many intellectual and physical conditions helped the development of sociology, out of which four intellectual conditions have been considered important by T. B. Bottomore.
The following are the circumstances
(1) Political Philosophy,
(2) The philosophy of history,
(3) Biological theories of evolution and
(4) The movement for social and political reform. Two of these, the philosophy of history and the social survey (which began as a result of the movements), made important contributions in the beginning.
The philosophy of history as a distinct branch dates back to the eighteenth century, initiated by Abbe de Saint-Pierre and Giambattista Vieo. The general idea of progress which he tried to create seriously influenced the conception of history of man. The influence of philosophy of history is clearly visible in the works of Montesquieu and Voltaire in France, Herder in Germany and Scottish historians and philosophers such as Ferguson, Miller, Robertson, etc. can be seen.
The philosophy of history became a major intellectual influence in the early 19th century as a result of the writings of Hegel and Saint Simon. The works of Karl Marx and Auguste Comte developed from these two thinkers. The new concept of society, which is different from the notion of state, is the product of philosophical historians. The second important element helpful in the development of modern sociology can be called social survey, which had two main sources – first, the belief that the methods of natural science can be used in the study of social phenomena and human activities and second, the belief that Poverty is not nature or divine wrath but human effort.
It can be removed by These movements for social reform as a result of both these beliefs were directly related to the social conditions of Western Europe of the 18th and 19th centuries. Due to the interest in social change, attention was paid to historical and social movements. All the early thinkers associated with the development of sociology were influenced by the social, economic and political conditions or forces prevailing in Western Europe in the 19th century. This is the historical background from which sociology emerged.
many scholars; For example, Baldridge has described the then social, economic and political conditions which inspired the development of sociology. These conditions are as follows
(1) Rapid and revolutionary social change – Baldridge has rightly written, “The more rapid change that was taking place in the 19th century, did not happen at any other period in history. Three of these rapid social changes in this century were the main reasons
(i) Industrial Revolution – 1750 AD is considered to be the beginning year of Industrial Revolution in England. This revolution was completed in about a hundred years i.e. 1850 AD. This revolution introduced the use of large machines in the process of production of goods. These machines are the root sources of power; For example, they were powered by steam. Technology based on the use of machines in production started modern industries. Instead of land, industries became the main source of wealth. The old cottage industries collapsed. To work in factories and factories, laborers started coming and gathering. Hand artisans became unemployed and were forced to work in factories. Large quantities of raw materials began to be consumed for mass production. The expansion of the market also became necessary for the sale of manufactured goods. It became natural for the countries of Western Europe to seek international markets. Industrialization destroyed feudalism based on land income.
As a result of the mutual competition of the industrialists and the tendency to earn maximum profit, the condition of the workers in the factories became pathetic. 12 14 Hours It was natural that women and children were also employed in the mines because they were cheaper laborers than men. There was no provision of air and light. There were no rules for compensation even if the worker became ill in the business or in case of mutilation or death in an accident. The industrial cities had become a witness to the painful poverty that surrounds the prosperity. The old social values and traditions were no longer helpful in meeting the needs of the common people. New values and traditions were not fully developed.
(11) Urban Revolution – It is clear that industries started in the cities. Thus, rapid urbanization took place. Migration from villages to cities helped to spread the ideals and values of urban life to the towns and villages. The development of a social system based on formality got impetus. The increasingly complex division of labor and specialization also contributed to this urbanisation. The invention of the steam locomotive brought a new revolution in the field of transport. A network of railways began to be laid in every nation. This led to an unimaginable expansion of not only the transport but also the communication vehicle. Urbanization led to the decline of small agricultural communities.
(iii) Political ups and downs Although parliamentary power reached its zenith under Cromwell’s leadership in England only in the seventeenth century, when King Charles I was sentenced to death on 30 January 1649, French political The revolution (1789-1799) put the final stamp on the development of democracy. Earlier, the revolution in America (1783-1789) proved to be a necessary link in the development of a system of people’s participation on the basis of democracy, equality in politics, fraternity and freedom. The 19th century has gradually become the century of the development of the republican system. These revolutions affected human society on a global scale. Baldridge has rightly written that “The political ups and downs – which started in the last years of the 18th century by the French and American revolutions shook the society. These revolutions played the trumpeter of the process of destruction of monarchy and feudalism.”
(2) Confrontation with different cultures – The process of colonizing the countries of Europe – Spain, France, England, Portugal, Denmark – in America, Africa and Asia had started in the 16th century itself. In the 19th century, the empires established by these powers in different countries were at their peak. As a result, the people of Europe came into contact with societies which were completely different from them. He saw that in the world there are great variations of marriage, family, religion, ideals. In human societies social life has been successfully organized and structured on the basis of various ideals and values. These cultural contacts had two natural consequences – first, vast facts about human societies were gathered, on the basis of which it was easy to arrive at general conclusions about the structure and dynamics of human society. Second, experiences with different cultures made the inhabitants of Europe their
He also inspired to take a critical look at the society. Thus, social criticism gained legitimacy.
(3) Scientific Revolution – In the 19th century, the physical sciences achieved unprecedented achievements. In fact, this scientific revolution had started in the beginning of the 17th century itself. In the words of historian Edwin Dunbaugh, “The term (scientific revolution) refers to a change in attitude that occurred over 1600 years in the way of studying the natural world. It was burned that he dared to say that the universe is infinite. By 1700 AD Sir Isaac Newton, who was trying to find the laws of how the infinite universe operated, was considered to be Europe’s greatest Considered a respected person. Due to the inclusion of experiments and empirical research in the methods of study of the world, a phase started in the field of science which changed the form of society, social life from top to bottom. It was natural. that these scientific methods be used in social studies.In the 19th century it was emphasized that scientific approach and method should be used in understanding social structure and problems.
(4) Climax of secularism – It was only in the first half of the 19th century that secularization reached its climax. This process was initiated in the Renaissance in Italy, which lasted from 1350 to 1550. This process was also strengthened by the political literary events that took place in Europe from 1715 to 1789 AD. In fact, in Europe these 75 years are called the ‘Age of Reason’. For centuries Europe had been influenced or governed by religion (the organized church). Every sphere of honor’s life was influenced by religion. to say anything against religious texts or priests
It was considered to be propaganda of superstition, whose punishment was to be burnt alive by tying it to a pole. The king was also considered to be the son of a god, who had the divine rights of the ruler. Under these circumstances there was nothing for the common man in this world except persecution, they were born there to atone for their sins. So he could only imagine getting some happiness in the other world after his death. The process of Renaissance started in Italy, Protestant rebellion and scientific achievements freed man from the shackles of religion. All these powers instilled faith in secularism in the mind of the common man. Secularism does not mean ‘opposition to religion’ or ‘neutrality to religion’ or ‘secularism’.
It means that the world is real. Human life is very rewarding. He can improve his material condition by his hard work. Religion is a method of worship and gratitude towards God and it should be confined to that only. It is his duty to make progress in his business. By earning money from him, he can live in this world with opulence and happiness. This is his absolute right. He can make additions, amendments and changes in his social, political and economic system judiciously. Not only is he capable of promoting this worldly life, but it is his moral duty to do so.
Religion should be kept beyond these matters. Social, economic and political activities are secular activities, not religious activities. This secularism emphasized the ideals of equality, efficiency and order for the governance. Established ideals like humanism, equality, fundamental rights of the individual and free social mobility for the social structure. Thus, many such religious injunctions that were against the study of society disappeared by the first half of the 19th century. This paved the way for the scientific study of society. (5) Social problems and their scientific study – Industrialization gave rise to many problems. We would like to quote Baldridge again as he wrote in a very precise commentary on the problems of 19th century European society, “
Social conditions became particularly difficult in the 19th century as the Industrial Revolution and rapid urbanization led to very deplorable conditions. Child labor, agonizing shoplifting, common disputes, horrific housing conditions, the disastrous consequences of centuries of war had all become part of the social scene. “It was natural that the attention of the thinking intellectuals would go towards this. They started thinking scientifically on these problems. Their scientific explanation and solution became the focus of their curiosity. This gave impetus to the idea of restructuring society. For example, Marx At the root of these problems was the exploitation of the proletariat by the affluent class and suggested its solution in the proletarian revolution itself. Studies also proved the importance of social survey. (6) Many social reform movements – Many social reform movements emerged in such times. Social messages and ‘Mukti Vahini’ were religious movements that were working for social reform. The emergence of major labor unions, which were committed to protecting the interests of workers and improving working conditions.
Political parties emerged which were formed on the basis of new-consciousness based thought-philosophy. The French socialist thinker Saint Simon suggested that the administration of industry and government should be synonymous with the aim of serving the maximum interests of all.
Be fulfilled. Charles Fourier started the movement that the state should be abolished, instead society should be formed in small ideal settlements (phalanges) and every person should get the right to do the work for which he is most suitable. Is .
In England, Robert Owen (1771-1858) established an ideal factory, which was to be administered by the workers themselves. Owen believed that happy and healthy Amik would produce more. But other industrialists did not follow the oven. Anyway, his above experiment failed. Nevertheless, these movements made a strong point in the direction of social change. (7) Reform by social legislation – England was the most victim of the above problems. Therefore, it is to his credit that he also took the initiative to control the situation through social legislations. Parliament became factory-control and a platform for social reform. In 1802, the first Factory Act was passed, by which some government industries were prohibited from working for more than 12 hours a day for children below the age of nine years. Later in 1832, 1842, 1847 and 1855, efforts were made to improve the working conditions of the workers by passing the Factory Act. These legislations became the norm for other countries as well.
( 8 ) Plenty of intellectual creation – Intellectual development was also abundant in the 19th century. New ideas and philosophies arose in all spheres of society. It seemed as if in the 19th century different ideological camps were making their own claims that according to them there could be welfare of man and society. In the field of politics, conservatism, liberalism, nationalism, socialism and Marxism developed as strong thought philosophies. In the field of sociology also, many schools of thought emerged, such as developmentalism, progressivism, realism, technological decisionism, economic decisionism, socialism, sociologicalism etc. Along with classicalism, Romanticism, Realism, Pragmatism, Impressionism developed in the field of art and literature. It was also natural for this type of intellectual creativity to develop in this century, because the means of transport and communication had tied the world into a single unit, as if the whole world had become a major market for the industries of Western Europe. Be . Nationalism had developed and its dominance over other streams of politics had increased. 1848 AD is the year of a new turning point in European society. State revolutions took place in many European countries this year, which proved that plain liberalism could not solve the problems. Only a strong central government and revolutionary ideology can solve the problems.
Other important changes also took place in the field of industry in the second half of the 19th century. Industrialization was no longer the monopoly of England, but it had now spread throughout Europe and America. The United States of America had grown rapidly into a world power. Small industrialists or traders were starting to disappear in front of big industries and monopolistic organizations. The continuous achievements of science had made the dream of the Enlightenment almost possible that eventually human society would attain perfection.
Dunbaugh rightly wrote, “Just as the Renaissance had the worship of the past, the 18th century was the worship of logic, so was the later years of the 19th century the worship of science.” In Inbaugh’s own words, we The analysis of the social and economic conditions of the 19th century can be concluded. He wrote that “the 19th century was the golden age of Europe. Like the 5th century BC in Greece and the Renaissance in Italy, so too the capitalist society had reached its maturity, which was both producing and reaping cultural crops.” “The intellectual context of the development of sociology (the Enlightenment) and social, economic and political forces (mainly the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution) resulted in the development of ideologies such as secularism, humanism, individualism, liberalism, nationalism, socialism, Marxism, which developed human rights. affected every sphere of social life.
From them also developed a new social philosophy whose goal was to make possible the development of all the powers inherent in man and to make his life on this earth enjoyable. It is this philosophy which has played an important role in the development of sociology and that is why this social philosophy has been called the cornerstone of the development of sociology. The above contemporary conditions gave rise to thinkers like St. Simon of France, Karl Marx of Germany, who presented the outline of a new social science. August Comte named this new science, while Spencer and Durkheim distinguished it. Bothmore says that in this way the pre-history of sociology is related to that period of hundred years which is from about 1740 AD to 1850 AD.
He developed the following sociology in the 19th century.
Three features have also been mentioned
(1) it was encyclopaedic, (2) it was evolutionary and (3) it was positive. The interest of early scholars in social reform has also played an important role in the development of sociology. Due to rapid industrialization from 1880 to 1920, interest in the study of social change developed and by the beginning of the 20th century it had attained the status of a science. As a result of the close relationship between social reform and social research, empirical research was encouraged and policy makers started looking to sociologists to solve problems, which led to practical research.
Harry M. Johnson is of the view that today sociology is certainly a science, although it is slightly behind other sciences. It has the following characteristics of science
(1) Sociology is empirical, because it is based on logical thinking.
(2) It is theoretical, because in this rules are made on the basis of causal relationship of events.
(3) It is cumulative, that is, sociological theories are formed on the basis of one on the other.
(4) It is non-ethical i.e. the task of the sociologist is to explain the facts, not to tell them good or bad. After France, the study of sociology in America first started from Yale University in 1876 AD and most of the development of this subject has happened in America itself. American sociologists are Sumner, Ross, Sorokin, Ogovern and Nimkoff, MacIver and Page, Young, Lundberg, Zimmerman, Parsons, Merton, Kingsley Davis etc. Today, although sociology is one of the most popular subjects in France, America, England and Germany, yet there is hardly any country in the world in which sociology is not being studied. The development of sociology in India as a separate and institutional subject took place in 1919, while the Department of Sociology was formed under the chairmanship of Patrick Guddis in Bombay University.
This subject has developed in an attempt to understand the radical changes taking place in Europe and the problems arising out of them. Today sociology is considered an important subject both from the theoretical and practical point of view. In all the countries of the world, this science is gaining a leading position in comparison to other social sciences, a person is a curious creature due to his nature and due to this curious tendency, he has learned various types of social, economic and social sciences prevalent in his time from the very beginning. Trying to understand political problems. Various aspects of society have been mentioned in different ways in the ancient texts of India. For example, Vedic literature and Hindu scriptures (such as Upanishads, Mahabharata and Gita etc.) give a systematic description of many important social aspects like varna and caste system, joint family system, ashram system, various rites and credit system, which are important in today’s sociological sciences. not less than any of the parameters of the analyses. Aristotle’s book ‘Politics’, Plato’s ‘Republic’ and Kautilya’s ‘Arthashastra’ are such texts in which various aspects of society have been discussed.
Although the study of social aspects has a long tradition, the emergence and development of sociology as an institutional subject occurred in the 19th century when Auguste Comte first used the term ‘sociology’ in 1838 AD. He was of the view that there is no single subject which can study various aspects of society as a whole. To overcome this shortcoming, he created this new subject. Although the sociology of the nineteenth century has been considered as a positive science, whose influence was similar to the natural sciences, yet it was evolutionary due to the influence of the philosophy of history and biological theories. Along with this, studies related to the entire life and entire history of man were done, that is, its nature was encyclopedic. To understand a new science like sociology, it is necessary to study its origin and development.
The origin and development of sociology is due to the social conditions of Western Europe. The Industrial Revolution, the French Revolution and the Enlightenment played an important role in its development. These not only led to the development of a new method of economic activity (called capitalism) in Western societies, but they also had a profound effect on the social structure of these countries. With the development of secular outlook, social mobility, increase in education and employment, migration from villages to cities, many social problems also started developing. The number of industrial laborers and agricultural laborers increased and they started being exploited in production work. A large number of Africans were enslaved in the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries to serve capitalism. Although slavery began to decline in the beginning of the nineteenth century, it is still practiced today in the form of bonded labor in many colonial countries. All these changes and problems are the result of thinking by the scholars.
As a result, sociology has developed.
In the 19th century, many intellectual and physical conditions helped the development of sociology, out of which four intellectual conditions have been considered important by T. B. Bottomore.
The following are the circumstances
(1) Political Philosophy,
(2) The philosophy of history,
(3) Biological theories of evolution and
(4) The movement for social and political reform. Two of these, the philosophy of history and the social survey (which began as a result of the movements), made important contributions in the beginning.
The philosophy of history as a distinct branch dates back to the eighteenth century, initiated by Abbe de Saint-Pierre and Giambattista Vieo. The general idea of progress which he tried to create seriously influenced the conception of history of man. The influence of philosophy of history is clearly visible in the works of Montesquieu and Voltaire in France, Herder in Germany and Scottish historians and philosophers such as Ferguson, Miller, Robertson, etc. can be seen.
The philosophy of history became a major intellectual influence in the early 19th century as a result of the writings of Hegel and Saint Simon. The works of Karl Marx and Auguste Comte developed from these two thinkers. The new concept of society, which is different from the notion of state, is the product of philosophical historians. The second important element helpful in the development of modern sociology can be called social survey, which had two main sources – first, the belief that the methods of natural science can be used in the study of social phenomena and human activities and second, the belief that Poverty is not nature or divine wrath but it can be removed by human effort. These movements for social reform as a result of both these beliefs were directly related to the social conditions of Western Europe of the 18th and 19th centuries. Due to the interest in social change, attention was paid to historical and social movements. All the early thinkers associated with the development of sociology were influenced by the social, economic and political conditions or forces prevailing in Western Europe in the 19th century. This is the historical background from which sociology emerged.
many scholars; For example, Baldridge has described the then social, economic and political conditions which inspired the development of sociology. These conditions are as follows
(1) Rapid and revolutionary social change – Baldridge has rightly written, “The more rapid change that was taking place in the 19th century, did not happen at any other period in history. Three of these rapid social changes in this century were the main reasons
(i) Industrial Revolution – 1750 AD is considered to be the beginning year of Industrial Revolution in England. This revolution was completed in about a hundred years i.e. 1850 AD. This revolution introduced the use of large machines in the process of production of goods. These machines are the root sources of power; For example, they were powered by steam. Technology based on the use of machines in production started modern industries. Instead of land, industries became the main source of wealth. The old cottage industries collapsed. To work in factories and factories, laborers started coming and gathering. Hand artisans became unemployed and were forced to work in factories. Large quantities of raw materials began to be consumed for mass production. The expansion of the market also became necessary for the sale of manufactured goods. It became natural for the countries of Western Europe to seek international markets. Industrialization destroyed feudalism based on land income. As a result of the mutual competition of the industrialists and the tendency to earn maximum profit, the condition of the workers in the factories became pathetic. 12 14 Hours It was natural that women and children were also employed in the mines because they were cheaper laborers than men. There was no provision of air and light. There were no rules for compensation even if the worker became ill in the business or in case of mutilation or death in an accident. The industrial cities had become a witness to the painful poverty that surrounds the prosperity. The old social values and traditions were no longer helpful in meeting the needs of the common people. New values and traditions were not fully developed.
(11) Urban Revolution – It is clear that industries started in the cities. Thus, rapid urbanization took place. Migration from villages to cities helped to spread the ideals and values of urban life to the towns and villages. The development of a social system based on formality got impetus. The increasingly complex division of labor and specialization also contributed to this urbanisation. The invention of the steam locomotive made a difference in the field of transport.
I brought a new revolution. A network of railways began to be laid in every nation. This led to an unimaginable expansion of not only the transport but also the communication vehicle. Urbanization led to the decline of small agricultural communities.
(iii) Political ups and downs Although parliamentary power reached its zenith under Cromwell’s leadership in England only in the seventeenth century, when King Charles I was sentenced to death on 30 January 1649, French political The revolution (1789-1799) put the final stamp on the development of democracy. Earlier, the revolution in America (1783-1789) proved to be a necessary link in the development of a system of people’s participation on the basis of democracy, equality in politics, fraternity and freedom. The 19th century has gradually become the century of the development of the republican system. These revolutions affected human society on a global scale. Baldridge has rightly written that “The political ups and downs – which started in the last years of the 18th century by the French and American revolutions shook the society. These revolutions played the trumpeter of the process of destruction of monarchy and feudalism.”
(2) Confrontation with different cultures – The process of colonizing the countries of Europe – Spain, France, England, Portugal, Denmark – in America, Africa and Asia had started in the 16th century itself. In the 19th century, the empires established by these powers in different countries were at their peak. As a result, the people of Europe came into contact with societies which were completely different from them. He saw that in the world there are great variations of marriage, family, religion, ideals. In human societies social life has been successfully organized and structured on the basis of various ideals and values. These cultural contacts had two natural consequences – first, vast facts about human societies were gathered, on the basis of which it was easy to arrive at general conclusions about the structure and dynamics of human society. Second, experiences with different cultures inspired the inhabitants of Europe to take a critical look at their own societies as well. Thus, social criticism gained legitimacy.
(3) Scientific Revolution – In the 19th century, the physical sciences achieved unprecedented achievements. In fact, this scientific revolution had started in the beginning of the 17th century itself. In the words of historian Edwin Dunbaugh, “The term (scientific revolution) refers to a change in attitude that occurred over 1600 years in the way of studying the natural world. It was burned that he dared to say that the universe is infinite. By 1700 AD Sir Isaac Newton, who was trying to find the laws of how the infinite universe operated, was considered to be Europe’s greatest Considered a respected person. Due to the inclusion of experiments and empirical research in the methods of study of the world, a phase started in the field of science which changed the form of society, social life from top to bottom. It was natural. that these scientific methods be used in social studies.In the 19th century it was emphasized that scientific approach and method should be used in understanding social structure and problems.
(4) Climax of secularism – It was only in the first half of the 19th century that secularization reached its climax. This process was initiated in the Renaissance in Italy, which lasted from 1350 to 1550. This process was also strengthened by the political literary events that took place in Europe from 1715 to 1789 AD. In fact, in Europe these 75 years are called the ‘Age of Reason’. For centuries Europe had been influenced or governed by religion (the organized church). Every sphere of honor’s life was influenced by religion. to say anything against religious texts or priests
It was considered to be propaganda of superstition, whose punishment was to be burnt alive by tying it to a pole. The king was also considered to be the son of a god, who had the divine rights of the ruler. Under these circumstances there was nothing for the common man in this world except persecution, they were born there to atone for their sins. So he could only imagine getting some happiness in the other world after his death. The process of Renaissance started in Italy, Protestant rebellion and scientific achievements freed man from the shackles of religion. All these powers instilled faith in secularism in the mind of the common man. Secularism does not mean ‘opposition to religion’ or ‘neutrality to religion’ or ‘secularism’.
It means that the world is real. Human life is very rewarding. He can improve his material condition by his hard work. Religion is a method of worship and gratitude towards God and it should be confined to that only. It is his duty to make progress in his business. By earning money from him, he can live in this world with opulence and happiness. This is his absolute right. He can make additions, amendments and changes in his social, political and economic system judiciously. In enhancing this cosmic life, not only
He is capable but it is his moral duty to do so. Religion should be kept beyond these matters. Social, economic and political activities are secular activities, not religious activities. This secularism emphasized the ideals of equality, efficiency and order for the governance. Established ideals like humanism, equality, fundamental rights of the individual and free social mobility for the social structure. Thus, many such religious injunctions that were against the study of society disappeared by the first half of the 19th century. This paved the way for the scientific study of society.
(5) Social problems and their scientific study – Industrialization gave rise to many problems. We would like to quote Baldridge again because he has written in a very accurate commentary on the problems of 19th century European society, “Social conditions became particularly difficult in the 19th century because the Industrial Revolution and rapid urbanization caused great suffering. Child labor, painful shoplifting, common disputes, horrific housing conditions, the disastrous consequences of centuries of war had all become a part of the social scene. He started thinking on these problems from a scientific point of view. Their scientific explanation and diagnosis became the focus of their curiosity. This gave impetus to the idea of social restructuring. For example, Marx pointed out the exploitation of the proletariat by the bourgeoisie at the root of these problems and suggested its solution in the proletarian revolution itself. Durkheim suggested a way out of these problems in the development of professional codes of conduct and the formation of professional unions. The study of these problems also proved the importance of social survey. (6) Many social reform movements – Many social reform movements emerged in such times. Social messages and ‘Mukti Vahini’ were such religious movements which were working for social reform. Major labor unions emerged, which were committed to safeguarding the interests of workers and improving working conditions. New political parties emerged which were formed on the basis of ideology based on new consciousness. The French socialist thinker Saint Simon suggested that the administration of industry and government should be synonymous with the aim of serving the maximum interests of all.
Be fulfilled. Charles Fourier started the movement that the state should be abolished, instead society should be formed in small ideal settlements (phalanges) and every person should get the right to do the work for which he is most suitable. Is .
In England, Robert Owen (1771-1858) established an ideal factory, which was to be administered by the workers themselves. Owen believed that happy and healthy Amik would produce more. But other industrialists did not follow the oven. Anyway, his above experiment failed. Nevertheless, these movements made a strong point in the direction of social change. (7) Reform by social legislation – England was the most victim of the above problems. Therefore, it is to his credit that he also took the initiative to control the situation through social legislations. Parliament became factory-control and a platform for social reform. In 1802, the first Factory Act was passed, by which some government industries were prohibited from working for more than 12 hours a day for children below the age of nine years. Later in 1832, 1842, 1847 and 1855, efforts were made to improve the working conditions of the workers by passing the Factory Act. These legislations became the norm for other countries as well. ( 8 ) Plenty of intellectual creation – Intellectual development was also abundant in the 19th century. New ideas and philosophies arose in all spheres of society. It seemed as if in the 19th century different ideological camps were making their own claims that according to them there could be welfare of man and society. In the field of politics, conservatism, liberalism, nationalism, socialism and Marxism developed as strong thought philosophies.
In the field of sociology also, many schools of thought emerged, such as developmentalism, progressivism, realism, technological decisionism, economic decisionism, socialism, sociologicalism etc. Along with classicalism, Romanticism, Realism, Pragmatism, Impressionism developed in the field of art and literature. It was also natural for this type of intellectual creativity to develop in this century, because the means of transport and communication had tied the world into a single unit, as if the whole world had become a major market for the industries of Western Europe. Be . Nationalism had developed and its dominance over other streams of politics had increased. 1848 AD is the year of a new turning point in European society. State revolutions took place in many European countries this year, which proved that plain liberalism could not solve the problems. Only a strong central government and revolutionary ideology can solve the problems.
Other important changes also took place in the field of industry in the second half of the 19th century. Industrialization was no longer the monopoly of England, but it had now spread throughout Europe and America.
A. The United States of America had grown rapidly into a world power. Small industrialists or traders were starting to disappear in front of big industries and monopolistic organizations. The continuous achievements of science had made the dream of the Enlightenment almost possible that eventually human society would attain perfection.
Dunbaugh rightly wrote, “Just as the Renaissance had the worship of the past, the 18th century was the worship of logic, so was the later years of the 19th century the worship of science.” In Inbaugh’s own words, we The analysis of the social and economic conditions of the 19th century can be concluded. He wrote that “the 19th century was the golden age of Europe. Like the 5th century BC in Greece and the Renaissance in Italy, so too the capitalist society had reached its maturity, which was both producing and reaping cultural crops.” “The intellectual context of the development of sociology (the Enlightenment) and social, economic and political forces (mainly the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution) resulted in the development of ideologies such as secularism, humanism, individualism, liberalism, nationalism, socialism, Marxism, which developed human rights. affected every sphere of social life. From them also developed a new social philosophy whose goal was to make possible the development of all the powers inherent in man and to make his life on this earth enjoyable. It is this philosophy which has played an important role in the development of sociology and that is why this social philosophy has been called the cornerstone of the development of sociology. The above contemporary conditions gave rise to thinkers like St. Simon of France, Karl Marx of Germany, who presented the outline of a new social science. August Comte named this new science, while Spencer and Durkheim distinguished it. Bothmore says that in this way the pre-history of sociology is related to that period of hundred years which is from about 1740 AD to 1850 AD.
He also mentions the following three features of sociology developed in the 19th century
(1) it was encyclopaedic, (2) it was evolutionary and (3) it was positive. The interest of early scholars in social reform has also played an important role in the development of sociology. Due to rapid industrialization from 1880 to 1920, interest in the study of social change developed and by the beginning of the 20th century it had attained the status of a science. As a result of the close relationship between social reform and social research, empirical research was encouraged and policy makers started looking to sociologists to solve problems, which led to practical research.
Harry M. Johnson is of the view that today sociology is certainly a science, although it is slightly behind other sciences. It has the following characteristics of science
(1) Sociology is empirical, because it is based on logical thinking.
(2) It is theoretical, because in this rules are made on the basis of causal relationship of events.
(3) It is cumulative, that is, sociological theories are formed on the basis of one on the other.
(4) It is non-ethical i.e. the task of the sociologist is to explain the facts, not to tell them good or bad. After France, the study of sociology in America first started from Yale University in 1876 AD and most of the development of this subject has happened in America itself. American sociologists are Sumner, Ross, Sorokin, Ogovern and Nimkoff, MacIver and Page, Young, Lundberg, Zimmerman, Parsons, Merton, Kingsley Davis etc. Today, although sociology is one of the most popular subjects in France, America, England and Germany, yet there is hardly any country in the world in which sociology is not being studied. The development of sociology in India as a separate and institutional subject took place in 1919, while the Department of Sociology was formed under the chairmanship of Patrick Guddis in Bombay University.