In the last lecture we looked at Durkheim’s ideas on the weakening of the collective conscience through modernity—the division of labor, weakening of primary groups and general social change. As we saw, this left the individual without much moral guidance. As Durkheim was concerned with moral behavior and social justice he naturally turned to the…
Tag: sociology
Religion as ritual – 60 Second Adventures in Religion (2/4)
Sixty second adventures in religion. Number two, religion as ritual. Isidore Auguste Marie Francois Xavier Comte was a French philosopher and one of the founders of sociology – who preferred to be known as ‘Auguste.’ He believed that society went through three stages – first, that primitive people thought things they didn’t understand were down…
SOCIOLOGY – Max Weber
Max Weber is one of the philosophers best able to explain to us the peculiar economic system we live within called capitalism. Born Erfurt in Germany in 1864, Weber grew up to see his country convulsed by the dramatic changes of the Industrial Revolution. Cities were exploding in size. Vast companies were forming. A new…
Religion: Crash Course Sociology #39
Religion might not seem like something a sociologist can study. After all, religion is about personal beliefs, right? So, sociology won’t give you any answers about the existence of God, or how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. But sociology can help you think about religion as a social institution. In…