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What is distinctive about sociological thinking?
Member rating: No Rating | Words: | Submitted: Wed Feb 22 2006
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What is distinctive about sociological thinking? The study of human behaviour is not unique to sociology. So, what makes sociology distinctive is not what is studied but how it is studied. Most of us will be familiar with 'common sense' answers to social questions and may rely on a number of non-sociological ways of thinking. For Example: Biological arguments - gender Psychological arguments - suicide Moralistic arguments - poverty These viewpoints derive from: Individualistic assumptions that don't recognise the importance of wider social forces. Naturalistic assumptions that don't recognise that behaviour is primarily social (learned) not biological (innate). Examples of sociological explanation Marriage Naturalistic explanation: It is only natural that a man and woman should live together for life because they fall in love and want to raise children. Sociological explanation: Monogamy (one woman and one man) is only one form of mating. Mating patterns depend on a variety of economic and social factors. Marriage is a...
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