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Sociological Perspectives

“If one is led to see oneself as a certain type of person?
Does the availability of a classification, a label, a word or a phrase,
Open certain possibilities, or perhaps close off others?”
(Hacking 2004: 285)
 
What this line of questioning opens up is the possibility that who we (and others) are is an effect of what we know ourselves (and others) to be. Hence sociological perspective helps us gain a better understanding of ourselves and our social world.  It enables us to see how behaviour is largely shaped by the groups to which we associate with and the society in which we live that exists. Thus when we talk about “society” or “the social world” as if it were something real and alive, what we are actually referring to is our particular perception of the range and scope of the relationship that exists, for example in our society we can look at a scantly clad dirty individual and assume by first perception that they are a “coke head” or a “bum” when if someone else with a different perspective would see them as one who may be home less or an orphan, how does one tell if they are objective or not? Peter Berger argued that, “Things are not what they seem” it promotes understanding and tolerance by enabling each of us to look beyond our personal experiences.
Social perspective allows us to get beyond myths as guides to social reality.  Myths are popular, but false notions that may be used, either intentionally or unintentionally, to perpetuate certain beliefs or theories, even in the light of conclusive evidence to the contrary.
In this way, sociology may be viewed as a humanistic discipline, dedicated to improving the human condition. 

 
 

Major Sociological Perspectives
|Perspective |Analysis Level |Nature of Society |
|Functionalist |Macrolevel |Society is composed of interrelated parts that work together to...