Significant Sociologists

Auguste Comte

• (1798-1857) French Philosopher• Considered the founder of sociology• Coined the term ‘sociology’• Philosophy of Positivism- a belief

that the world can best be understood through scientific inquiry

Harriet Martineau

• (1802-1876)• British Sociologist• Translated and condensed Comte’s

work• Studied/researched effects of

Industrial Revolution and capitalism in USA and UK on women, children and others marginalized in society

• Advocated for racial and gender equality

Herbert Spencer

• British Social Theorist(1820-1903)• Evolutionary perspective on social order

and change• Society has independent parts that work to

ensure the stability of the whole• ‘Social Darwinism’• Equated natural selection with progress• Used to justify the “superiority” of the

white race after the US Civil War

Emile Durkheim

• French sociologist (1858-1917)– Viewed people as the product of their

social environment– Society holds together because its

members identify with their society as a whole and want it to survive.

– Contributed the idea that societies are built on ‘social facts’ (patterned ways of acting, thinking, and feeling that exist outside any one individual)

• Saw social change as a strain on society leading to the breakdown in traditional organization, values, and authority

• Lead to an increase in ‘anomie’- a condition in which social control becomes ineffective as a result of the shared loss of values and a sense of purpose in society

• Founder of funtionalist theoretical tradition• Famous study on suicide

Karl Marx

• Karl Marx (1818-83) Germany– Industrial Revolution – why did a few have so

much wealth while most had so little?– Uneven distribution of wealth was a norm in

society: capitalists vs. working class– Class conflict – struggle between rich and poor-

necessary to bring about change– Society’s problems would not be alleviated

until power was redistributed among the people.

Max Weber

• Max Weber (1864-1920) Germany– Many facets of power in society, not just

economic as Marx had emphasized– Government bureaucracies could relieve

many social problems– Society could be reformed and improved– Sociological research should be ‘values

free’– Very influential early sociologist– Sociological immagination

George Herbert Mead

• (1863-1931) USA• Sociologist and social psychologist• One of the best known members of

the Chicago School• Founder of the symbolic

interaction perspective