This document discusses definitions of key sociological concepts and different perspectives on the scope and subject matter of sociology. It outlines two schools of thought on sociology - the formal school and synthetic school. The formal school, advocated by scholars like Simmel, emphasized studying abstract forms of social relationships independently from other social sciences. The synthetic school, advocated by Durkheim and Hobhouse, viewed sociology as a synthesis of social sciences that should study concrete social life and relations between different parts of society. The document also discusses criticisms of the formal school and branches of sociology beyond those initially mentioned.

1. DEFINITION OF SOCIETY
According to Ward “Sociology is science of society”. George Simmel opines that it is a
subject which studies human inter-relationship. Giddins is of the view that “Sociology is
scientific study of society”. Max Weber has viewed sociologyas “Science which attempts
imperative understanding of social actions”. Sorokin is of the opinion that sociology is a
study first of all the relationship and correlations between various classes... second between
the social and non social aspects of life and third it studies general characteristics common
to all classes of society. Ogburn has said that, “Sociology is concerned with the study of
social life and its relations to the factors of culture, natural environment, heredity and group.
Scope of sociology
There are two schools of thought with different viewpoints regarding scope and subject
matter of sociology- formal school and synthetic school. According to formal school
sociology was conceived to be a social science with a specifically defined field. This school
had George Simmel, Ferdinand Tonnies, Alfred Vierkandt and Leopord Von Wiese as its
main advocates. On the other hand the synthetic school with Durkheim, Hobhouse and
Sorokin advocated a synthesis in form of coordination among all social sciences.
Formal School of Sociology
Formal school argued in favor of giving sociology a definite subject matter to make it a
distinct discipline. It emphasized upon the study of forms of social relationships and regarded
sociology as independent. According to Simmel sociology is a specific social science which
describes, classifies, analyses and delineates the forms of social relationships or in other
words social interactions should be classified into various forms or types and
analysed.Simmel argued that social interactions have various forms. He carried out studies of
such formal relationships as cooperation, competition, sub and super ordinate relationships
and so forth. He said however diverse the interests are that give rise to these sociations; the
forms in which the interests are realized may yet be identical. He emphasized on the process
of abstraction of these forms from human relationship which are common to diverse
situations.Vierkandt maintained that sociology should be concerned with ultimate forms of
mental or psychic relationship which knit the people together in a society. According to Von
Wiese there are two kinds of fundamental social processes in human society. Firstly the
associative process concerning contact, approach, adaptation etc and secondly disassociate
processes like competition and conflict. Apart from these two processes a mixed form of the
associative and disassociative also exists. Each of these processes has sub-classes which in
totality give approximately 650forms of human relationships. Sociology should confine itself
to the discovery of the fundamental force of change and persistence and should abstain from
a historical study of concrete societies. Tonnies divided societies into two categories namely
Gemeinschaft (community) and Gesellschaft (association) on the basis of degree of intimacy

2. among the members of the society. He has on the basis of forms of relationship tried to
differentiate between community and society.Max Weber also makes out a definite field for
sociology. According to him the aim of sociology is to interpret or understand social
behaviour.But social behavior does not cover the whole field of human relations. Indeed not
all human interactions are social. Sociology is concerned with the analysis and classification
of types of social relationships.
Criticism of formal School
Formal schoolhas been criticized onthe issue that it has emphasized on merely abstract forms
and neglected the concrete contents of social life. Abstract forms separated from concrete
relations cannot be studied. Ginsberg says that a study of social relationships would remain
barren if it is conducted in the abstract without the full knowledge of the terms to which in
concrete life they relate. Sociology doesn't alone study the forms of social relationship.
Political science, International law also studies forms of social relationship. The conception
of pure sociology is not practical as no social science can be studied in isolation from other
social sciences.
Synthetic School of Sociology
Synthetic school wanted sociology to be synthesis of the social sciences and thus wanted to
widen the scope of sociology. According to Durkheim, sociologyhas three principal divisions'
namely-Social morphology, social physiology and general sociology. Social morphology is
concerned with geographical or territorial basis of life of people such as population, its size,
density and distribution etc.This can be done at two levels -analysis of size and quality of
population which affects the quality of social relationship and social groups. Secondly the
study of social structure or description of the main forms of social groups and institutions
with their classification. Social physiology deals with the genesis and nature of various social
institutions namely religion, morals, law and economic institutions etc.In general sociology
the main aim is to formulate general social laws. Attempt is made to find out if there are links
among various institutions which would be treated independently in social physiology and in
the course to discover general social laws.Hobhouse perceived sociology as a science which
has the whole social life of man as its sphere. Its relations with the other social sciences are
considered to be one of mutual exchange and mutual stimulation. Karl Mannheim's divides
sociology into two main sections-systematic and general sociology and historical sociology.
Systematic sociology describes one by one the main factors of living together as far as they
may be found in every kind of society. The historical sociology deals with the historical
variety and actuality of the general forms of society. It falls into two sections-comparative
sociology and social dynamics. Comparative sociology deals mainly with the historical
variations of the same phenomenon and tries to find by comparison general features as
separated from industrial features. Social dynamics deals with the interrelations between the
various social factors and institutions in a certain given society for example in a primitive
society. Ginsberg has summed up the chief functions of sociology as it seeks to provide a

3. classification of types and forms of social relationships especially of those which have come
to be defined institutions and associations. It tries to determine the relation between different
parts of factors of social life for example the economic and political, the moral and the legal,
the intellectual and the social elements. It endeavors to disentangle the fundamental
conditions of social change and persistence and to discover sociological principles governing
social life.
Conclusion
Thus on the basis of viewpoints of different sociologists we can get a general outline of the
scope of sociology. Firstly the analysis of various institutions, associations and social groups
which are results of social relationships of individuals should be the concern of sociology.
Secondly the links among different parts of societyshould be studied. This objective is dealt
with justice by functionalist school of sociology and Marxist school also gives importance to
this viewpoint. Thus social structure should be given adequate importance in subject matter
of sociology. Thirdly sociology addresses itself to the factors which contribute to social
stability and social change. Fourthly sociology should also explain the trend of the changing
pattern and the aftermath of the changes in the society.
Other branches of sociology
Sociology is a very varied social science that studies many aspects of society. Besides the
previously mentioned, these are some of the other important topics of study:
Rural sociology: it studies societies in rural areas.
Urban sociology: it studies societies in cities and other urban areas.
Sociology of demography: studies the distribution of human populations.
Economic sociology: it studies economic phenomena.
Sociology of culture: it studies the meaning of culture inside a specific society.
Why is it important to study sociology?
Now that you know about the different branches of sociology, you may be asking yourself
why it's important to learn about this field.
To begin with, it is highly important to understand an individual's behavior and how the
individual interacts with the rest of societyaccording to different factors, which can be
applied in many fields such as Anthropology, Advertising, Politics, Geography,
Economy,Philosophy, Law and even Criminology.
Relationshipof sociologyto other sciences
Sociology is mainly related to other Social sciences, so let's take a look at the most
important:

4. Political science: They are very closelyrelated, as one could not live without the
other, as every single social problem that can be detected has a political cause behind it.
Knowing about sociology in politics is highly important when understanding how a certain
government's societyworks and what their necessities are.
History: It is clear that all societies have grown in a certain manner due to past events
lived by a certain collective. The importance of their relationship resides on how to analyse
a society's present and future while knowing causes and consequences of past events and
can give us some insight on how a certain society will develop.
Economics: The relationships between people highly affect the study of economical
activity, as different societies will have different consumption, distribution and exchange
habit and how they relate with economic institutions.
Psychology: Some even say that psychology and sociology are so related that they
are in fact the same science. Obviously they both study human behavior although one
studies psychological processes (that can be triggered by social circumstances), whereas the
other studies the behavior of certain societies (which can be influenced by an individual's
emotions or personal behavior).
Anthropology: Both sciences study human behavior, this is clear. While one studies
biological and cultural development, cultural anthropology will highly depend on
sociological characteristics.
Unit 2
Definitionof SOCIETY
plural
societies
1. 1: companionship or association with one's fellows: friendly or intimate
intercourse:company
2. a voluntary association of individuals for common ends; especially: an organized group
working together or periodically meeting because of common interests, beliefs, or
profession
3. an enduring and cooperating socialgroup whose members have developed organized
patterns of relationships through interaction with one another b:a community, nation, or
broad grouping of people having common traditions, institutions, and collective activities
and interests
4. part of a community that is a unit distinguishable by particular aims or standards of living
or conduct: a social circle or a group of social circles having a clearly marked identity
literary societyb:a part of the community that sets itself apart as a leisure class and that
regards itself as the arbiter of fashion and manners
5. a natural group of plants usually of a single species or habit within an association

5. b: the progeny of a pair of insects when constituting a social unit (such as a hive of bees)
broadly: an interdependent system of organisms or biological
Definitionof COMMUNITY
plural
communities
1. 1:a unified body of individuals: such asa:state,commonwealth
b:the people with common interests living in a particular area;broadly: the area itself the
problems of a large community
c:an interacting population of various kinds of individuals (such as species) in a common
location
d:a group of people with a common characteristic or interest living together within a larger
societya community of retiredpersons a monastic community
e:a group linked by a common policy
f:a body of persons or nations having a common history or common social, economic, and
political interests the international community
g a body of persons of common and especially professional interests scattered through a
larger societythe academic community the scientific community
Definitionof FAMILY
plural
families
1 a group of individuals living under one roof and usually under one head:household
a group of persons of common ancestry clan
2.a people or group of peoples regarded as deriving from a common stock race
3 a group of people united by certain convictions or a common affiliation fellowship
b the staff of a high official (such as the President)
c a group of related languages descended from a single ancestral language
5a the basic unit in society traditionally consisting of two parents rearing their children; also
any of various social units differing from but regarded as equivalent to the traditional family
a single-parent family spouse and children want to spend more time with my family
Definitionof CULTURE
1. cultivation,tillageWe ought to blame the culture, not the soil. — Alexander Pope
2. the act of developing the intellectual and moral faculties especially by education
3. a .enlightenment and excellence of taste acquired by intellectual and aesthetic training
b acquaintance with and taste in fine arts, humanities, and broad aspects of science as
distinguished from vocational and technical skills a person of culture
4. a the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the
capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations

6. b the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social
group;also the characteristic features of everyday existence (such as diversions or a way of
life) shared by people in a place or time popular culture Southern culture
c the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or
organization a corporate culture focused on the bottom line
d the set of values,covnentions, or social practices associated with a particular field,
activity, or societal characteristic studying the effect of computers on print cultureChanging
the culture of materialism will take time … — Peggy O'Mara
5. the act or process of cultivating living material (such as bacteria or viruses) in prepared
nutrient media;a product of such cultivation
The main points of differences between society and community are the following:
1) Society is a web of social relationships. It includes every relationship which established
among the people. This social relationship may be direct or India organised or unorganized,
conscious or unconscious. But community consists group of individuals.
2) A definite geographical area is not necessary for society. It is universal and pervasive;
but, a definite geographical area is essential for a community.
3) Community Sentiment or a sense of "we feeling" is not essential in a society; community
sentiment is indispensable for a community. There can be no community in the absence of
community sentiment.
4) Society is wider; there can be more than one community in a society. Community smaller
than society. There cannot be more that one societyin a community.
5) Society is abstract. It is a network of social relationships which cannot see or touched. On
the other hand, community is concrete. It is a group of people living in a particular area. We
can see this group and locate its existence.
6) In a community, common interests and common objectives are necessary. People in a
community live together for achievement of common interests and common objectives. On
the other hand, common interests and common objectives are not necessary in society.
7) Society involves both like-ness and difference. Both common and diverse interests are
present in society. But, likeness is more important than difference in community.
The main difference between the two societies as under:
Rural societywas one which has not industrialized, whereas present day urban society is
highly urbanized and industrialized.

7. Sl
No.
Rural Society(Pre-industrial Society) Urban Society(Industrial Society)
1. Life in the societywas very simple and
reflectedin the way of living, dressing, food
habits, shelter and manners etc.
Life in the city is not simple but very
complex and complicated.
2. The people in the society had homogeneity
and thus enjoyed more or less the same social
status.
The people in the city belong to
different castes, creeds, religions and
cultures, thus do not enjoy the same
social status.
3. In the rural society there was very little scope
for occupational mobility
In cities there are many occupations, so
occupational mobility is as well as
frequent.
4. Here the family played a very significant and
predominant role. Its hold was very strong.
In the cities hold of families is not
strong, and many functions which the
families used to perform have been
taken away by other institutions and
associations.
5. In villages there is no fast change and as such
no necessity for social adaptability.
In the cities there must be fast mobility
and adaptability to suit ever changing
fast life.
6. In the rural society culture was very deep-
rooted. Everyone loved culture and cultural
heritage above everything else.
In the cities it is different to find pure
culture.
7. In a rural societythere is no division of
labour.
In an urban community there is always
division of labour and specialisation in
job allotment.
8. Rural societydid not give due and proper
respect to the womenfolk.
In urban communities women enjoys
comparatively high social status.
9. In this society people loved nature and natural
bounties. They were religious minded and
afraid of gods and goddesses.
In cities, people have no time to stand
and gaze at the nature. They are not
religious minded but more materialistic.
10. There were very few chances of providing
employment and incentives to the unemployed
by the society.
The cities provide both incentive and
employment to the people and thus
frustrated villages find solace in the
cities which respects ability and judges
their worth.