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Is Sociology a Science? Does sociology embody the critical characteristics to justify its classification as a science and is such a classification acceptable? Since the beginning of the study of sociology in the 19th century, this has been a fundamental conflict within the field of sociology. Opinion is generally divided into two camps; those who believe that Sociology should be considered as equal in stature to the Natural Sciences and those who disagree. Sociology, according to Ackroyd and Hughes is the "... social science that is concerned with the explanation of human behavior." A Science, according to the Oxford dictionary is a branch of knowledge conducted on objective principles involving the systemized observation of and experiment with phenomenon. (This definition is usually accorded exclusively to the natural sciences, for example Physics) The main proponents of this argument are the positivists. Many of the founding fathers of Sociology subscribed to this school of...

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