Herbert spencer - Essay Example

Herbert Spencer Concern on Sociological Analysis Herbert Spencer Concern on Sociological Analysis Sociology entails studying, origin, development, the organization and how human societies function (Duncan, 2013). Thus, concerns more on the science of fundamental laws of social institutions and relationships. Herbert spencer raised concern on how various sociologists interact in a society in which they perform sociological analysis. Spencer views individuals as the source of social phenomena and their motives forms the key to comprehend the entire society.

Spencer emphasized on the fundamental sources of preconception that stems from the inadequacy of the objects in the social sciences. Greater emphasis is on how sociologists who by the virtual of being members of society, examines data from a certain vantage point in their sociological analysis (Spencer, 1994). For example, sociologists analyzing the world wars I and II on the grounds of their native countries would face multiple objective and subjective difficulties. Spencer based his analysis on problems associated with data uncertainty.

The problem arises on the difficulty in measurement of subjective states of the actors and in correspondence to the investigators suspending own subjective position while examining that of others. Additionally, spencer raised concern on sociologists allowing public passions, fads, and moods to determine the area of investigation in the society. In addition, another objective concern raised by spencer is the sociologists’ cherished hypothesis. In this case, the sociologist may opt to pursue the cherished hypothesis neglecting the most significant problems in the society (Spencer, 1994).

The other concern raised by Spencer is the problem of personal interests and organizational interests that influence whatever that is significantly important. In most cases, the major governmental bureaucracies and those involved tend to find and construe data in a manner that support the sociologist’s interest. Thus, in the sociologist analysis of the world wars some tend to base themselves on what is significantly relevant to their personal interests (Duncan, 2013).The issue of sociologists allowing the visible phenomena to occupy most of their attention creates another point of concern by Spencer.

He argued that, by the visible phenomena occupying the attention, there is creation of bias in data collection leading to paying more concern to the less important phenomena. The other objective problem raised by spencer stems on that the observer inhabits a place in the society thereby will tend to perceive the world in the view of the dictates of own position (Spencer, 1994). Thus, depending on social progresses when making observations varying results may emerge thus creating a notion that one cannot judge social change through inspection of a small portion of society.

Spencer’s concerns are timely and relevant even in the current world, and the view for mitigating the objective difficulties seems valid. Thus, social sciences must rely and base their argument on multiple data sources, gathered from different times and by different sociologists. Spencer argues that investigators can never suspend own emotions to understand emotions of those under investigation; thus, he claims that the social science will always have bias (Spencer, 1994). Emotional state of investigators can directly affect the estimations of importance, probability and the relevance of different events.

In most of Spencer’s arguments, he outlined that through study of purely abstract sciences like mathematics and logic, sociologists would be more alert on the necessity of the relation. Thus, through analysis of various sociological situations one would be more alert on causal forces thereby being in a position to overcome objective difficulties. The move would thereby bridge what Spencer took as emotional influence on the collection of sociological data (Duncan, 2013).ReferencesDuncan, D. (2013).

 The life and letters of Herbert Spencer. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Spencer, H. (1994). Spencer: Political Writings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.