Social Theories essays

Social Theories essays Sociology has been defined s the scientific study of human interaction and, as such, is accepted as a scientific activity (Leming 1997). Social science aims at discovering and explaining observed events of and in nature by means of a framework that can be tested. The goal of sociology is, therefore, to produce a body of knowledge that will provide a body of knowledge that will provide not only an understanding of the causal processes influencing human behavior but also enable sociologists to predict social behaviors (Leming). As a science, it pursues observable and provable regularities and explains these regularities by means of a set of observable and provable propositions or statements of relationship (Leming). The very effectiveness or success of sociology lies precisely in the explanatory and predictive power of this body of knowledge derived from The basic components or elements of a theory are a conceptual scheme, a set of propositions that states the relationships between variables, and a context for verification (Leming). The conceptual scheme consists of ideas that possess abstract properties not yet immediately verifiable by direct sensory observation. It also has a system of interrelated statements of relationships between variables, which seam the parts of the concept together. The conceptual scheme and the statements of relationships are joined together and organized under a paradigm (Leming). A paradigm is the basic image of a particular subject matter within a science and serves as context for the verification (Leming 1997). It defines what should be studied and asked, how the questions should be posed and the rules to observe in interpreting the answers that will be obtained. It is the broadest unit of consensus within a science, which subsumes, defines and inter-relates the examples and/or variables, theories, methods, and instruments within it (Leming)...