How Far Can Sociological Thinking Enhance Our Understanding of Ourselves - Essay Example

Sociological Thinking Introduction Giddens and Sutton pp.5-8) define sociology as the study of human life scientifically as well as social groups including the societies, which when added make up the world. It should be regarded as a scientific study meaning that the research must be objective and use sound methods while it is the study of human life and their experiences including that of social groups. The breadth of sociology is further increased as it studies the behaviour of whole societies and the world within an undefined and continuous period. Sociologists always believe that a number of beliefs held by human beings in any particular society about other people, on others and even on the world are based on preconceptions and not facts. With a clear analysis of any society or the world at large, we often find ourselves with the question as to how far can sociological thinking enhance our understanding of ourselves, others, and the world in which we live in. Sociological thinking is a form of thinking critically that entails assessment of ideas, statements and information in an objective manner. It involves such activities such as the definition of problems, looking beyond the superficial meaning and implications of ideas, questioning assumptions, logically and systematically analysing evidence as well as the recognition of biases that may be involved in sociological thinking. Mills (2001, pp.10-12) argues that individual problems are usually rooted in social or public issues and affairs and whatever happens in the outside world of a person is beyond his control and the relationship between the outside world and the individual experiences is what is referred to as sociological imagination. Thereafter, sociological thinking comes in to help prevent us from having automatic reactions on issues and arguments, the formation of reasonable solutions to the problems that may be encountered and developing a tolerant attitude on any form of uncertainty or ambiguity that may be encountered. It therefore involves asking questions and questioning the answers that are given and requires taking a closer look at our social world and surroundings. Usually when we take a closer look at things, they are not necessarily, what they seem and the subject of sociology is usually people and what they do in groups, organizations or societies to imply that they are on subject matters that are familiar to everyone. The question of how far sociological thinking can enhance our understanding of ourselves, others and the world we live in can be answered by properly understanding the fact that most of our understanding of the social world is always individualized and limited to personal experiences and preconceived notions. From such a premise, we easily conclude that sociology looks beyond the commonly accepted understanding of human social action that may be different from usual understandings in the cause of daily lives. Sociological Thinking Sociology involves a systematic and scientific study of human behaviour, the social groups and the society at large and sociologists are supposed to apply sociological thinking to look at the institutional and structural forces to shape human’s daily lives, behaviours and social values. Sociology hinges on factors that show that people are social by nature and live most of their lives in social groups and the interaction between the individual and the group influences one another. In effecting sociological thinking, it is important that we appreciate that recurrent social patterns, ordered behaviour and common understandings amongst other factors among humans characterize the particular group and are important in giving it its features. Sociological thinking requires that we understand the society and we develop sociological imagination, which simply refers to the quality of the mind that provides an understanding of ourselves within the context of the society. The sociological imagination and thinking helps the individual understand the connection between him and the society we live in, as well as the relationship between individuals amongst themselves in terms of characters and behaviour in relation to the societal phenomena. It is therefore essential that we look at the events that have shaped the values and beliefs of the society as well as the life experiences of an individual within the society in question. Fulcher and Scott (2011) stresses that sociological imagination helps us know that the different forms of social inequalities and diversity in culture should be appreciated both sociologically and in the usual way of thinking. The sociological thinking helps us in placing the individual in the larger context in the society and reminds us that as individuals, we are products of the society and the society can be changed by our acts. Bauman and May (2001, pp.170-175) give three strategies of thinking sociologically that have helped shape sociology and its study in the present world and these are scientism, hermeneutic and pragmatism and these shape sociological knowledge. According to them, the replication of the scientific enterprise in that sociology should be looked at a distinct science related and coordinated with other sciences and individual ideas and beliefs must be studied in an objective and detached manner (Bauman and May, 2001, p.171). Reflection and modification according to Bauman and May means that human beings think about the world and change it according to their thoughts through a process known as hermeneutics (Bauman and May, 2001, p.172). The demonstration effect as Bauman and May also know put forward as pragmatism mainly associated with sociologists involved in sociological thinking on the extent of how we understand our society. Bruce (2002) develops the secularization theory to show how sociological thinking may help us understand ourselves, the individuals around us and how religion is likely to change different facets of our daily lives. He argues that secularization includes the social process whereby religious institutions, their thinking and consciousness lose their social significance thus diminishing the role of religion. This occurs majorly due the rationalization on how the society is organized, fragmentation of the society and the decline of the community. The implication of this theory is that when we think about a society through the lens of sociological thinking, we can deduce that secularization may change how we understand our society and how it affects. Sociological thinking can only be achieved through an integrated approach to sociology that draws on theories and ideas to analyse human behaviour in the society. Through an integrated approach, we are able to have an eclectic comprehension of the society as this appreciates both strengths and weaknesses of each approach building on them for a better understanding. Sociological thinking through different perspectives or approaches helps in the appreciation of dynamics of any given society, for example, the understanding of root causes of wars and conflicts such as in Rwanda or the former Yugoslavia. Therefore, for a stronger and viable approach in understanding ourselves, others or the society we live in, it is important that we incorporate different approaches to develop strong sociological thinking as well as sociological imagination. Sociological thinking helps us to see the important relationship between personal problems, which only affects an individual for example the problem of being alcoholic and societal problems, which affect problems that occur within the entire society such as alcoholism. Therefore, sociologists and sociological thinkers will be required to study the patterns of behaviour of human beings in order to make conclusions on any issue that affects both the individual and the society in the daily running of its affairs. Using the above example, we can argue that as much as alcoholism may have adverse effects on the alcoholic, sociology will look at the larger impact of socialism in the larger society. The sociological thinker will focus on values and attitudes that concern the consumption of alcohol, its use and abuse to see how it can solve the problem concerned. The world has been continuously undergoing change and the understanding of these changes is important in the development of the sociological understanding of the world the dynamics and occurrences that occur amongst or around us. Globalization has played a major role in improving interconnectedness of people and other essentials aimed at improving efficiency and this includes reshaping most facets of daily social lives. The mere recognition that we live in one global society is an important step in sociological thinking and the development of social imaginations that is the understanding of the society in one wider social context. This also helps us appreciate the cultural misconceptions and stereotypes about individuals in the society and helps us accentuate diversity as well as challenge ways of handling matters. Sociological thinking also helps us recognize diversity amongst us in the society that requires that the society does not look at complex social issues under the criteria of right or wrong, black or white or good or evil but evaluate values, different points of views and different ways of lives. Thus, sociological thinking recognizes the importance of diversity in understanding the human society and their social interactions, which are normally affected by such variables as age, sex, race and social class. The appreciation of social diversity changes the misconceptions and stereotypes about various categories of people and their ways of social life in their daily endeavours in the society. Sociological thinking also requires that we do not merely look at matters on the surface to find out the roles of human beings in a society, but also analyse the assumptions and personal experience challenges in the person. It also demands that we look beyond assumptions by the mind or how the media portrays anything as well as the effect of trends and contemporary occurrences such as changes in technology and its use in the society. This will play a critical role in shaping and defining the society as well as helping in the analysis of lies, distortions and fantasies that might have been calculated to serve certain interests in the society. The feminist theory of sociological thinking studies, analyses, and explains social phenomena from a perspective focused on the basis of gender and emphasizes the importance of gender in understanding the society and its social relationships (Abbott, Wallace and Tyler, 2005, p.3).  The argument in this kind of sociological thinking is that gender is usually incorporated in the basic structure of the society and plays a major role in helping the society achieve its potential. This theory will help us in enhancing individuals as it enables us understand the historical insubordination of women as well as the analysis of differential power and exploitation of women based on their gender. Such may be through such issues such as inequalities in terms of gender, poverty amongst females as compared to their male counterparts, domestic abuse, sexual harassment and sexual violence. Similarly, previous research has found that most of the differences between men and women are based on human nature implying that men and women are different from each other biologically, but the values, ideals, beliefs and ways of lives may determine how the biological features are played out. This means that there are variations in the behaviour of men as compared to that of the women and behaviour cannot be attributed to biology or human nature alone but also to the society that we live in. Conclusion Sociological thinking plays an important role in enhancing our understanding of ourselves, others, and the world in which we live. This is because it can be applied in the sociological interpretation of ideas and events since in every society or place, whenever people view something they are bound to make assumptions that may blur the interpretation of different phenomena. How we view or conceptualize something usually incorporates assumptions on how it should be or act and at times human beings change the assumptions in line with their beliefs and values to have a favourable outcome. For example, violence may be used to attain different objectives such as terrorism or to secure freedom and self-rule and depending on the person it is directed to, it may either inflict pain or justify the act itself. Sociologically thinking comes in handy in such instances, as it is the individuals that make up the society that determine how they understand themselves. In conclusion, it is important to note that understanding ourselves, fellow human beings and the society will require the integration of the different aspects sociological thinking in order to come up with the desired results that reflect the society or the world we live in. References Abbott, P., Wallace, C., & Tyler, M. (2005). An introduction to sociology: feminist perspectives. London [etc.], Routledge. Bauman, Z., & May, T. (2001). Thinking sociologically. Oxford, UK, Blackwell Publishers. Bruce, S. (2000). Sociology: a very short introduction. Oxford, Oxford University Press. Fulcher, J., & Scott, J. (2011). Sociology. Oxford [u.a.], Oxford Univ. Press. Giddens, A., & Sutton, P. W. (2013). Sociology. Cambridge [u.a.], Polity Press. Mills, C. W. (2001). Sociological imagination. Oxford, Oxford University Press. Read More