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improved, their major goal was to understand how society actually operates.

The key to distinguishing between understanding what society ought to be and what society is lies in the development of a scientific approach to knowing. During the medieval period in Europe, people's view of humanity was heavily shaped by religion. Society was widely held to be an expression of God's will - at least insofar as human beings, under the guidance of the church, were capable of fulfilling a divine plan. Gradually, however, science - based on identifying facts through systematic observation was growing in importance. Through the efforts of early scientists such as the Polish astronomer Copernicus (1473-1543), the Italian astronomer and physicist Galileo (1564—1642), and the English physicist and mathematician Sir Isaac Newton (1642—1727) a scientific understanding of the natural world emerged. More than a century after Newton, sociology was established as the scientific approach to the study of society.

Reflecting on the origins of scientific sociology, Auguste Comte (1851-1854) suggested that organized efforts to understand the world tend to become increasingly scientific as they move through three stages of development. Comte's «law of the three stages» includes approaches he described as theological, metaphysical, and scientific. In the study of society, the earliest, theological stage is based on understanding society as a reflection of supernatural forces such as the will of God. The belief in a divine plan for human society dominated the ancient world and most of the feudal period of European history.

During the final centuries of the feudal era in Europe, the theological approach to society gradually gave way to what Comte termed the metaphysical stage, in which abstract forces (such as «nature») were believed to confer basic characteristics on society. A metaphysical approach to understanding society is found in the writings of the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), who suggested that society was a reflection of an innately

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selfish human nature. Notice that both the theological and the metaphysical approaches did not focus attention on society itself, but on other factors social thinkers believed shaped society — God's will in the theological view and human nature in the metaphysical.

The last few centuries have seen the dawning of what Comte characterized as the final, scientific stage in the humanity's long quest to understand society. Comte believed that a scientific approach focuses attention directly on society instead of external forces that, in earlier eras, were believed to be the cause of social patterns. The scientific approach is based on the assertion that society, like the physical world, operates according to its own internal forces and patterns. To Comte the goal was nothing less than a gradual understanding of all the laws of social life. This approach is often called positivism, which may be defined as the assertion that science, rather than any other type of human understanding, is the path to knowledge.

As sociology became established as an academic discipline in the United States at the beginning of this century, early sociologists such as Lester Ward (18411913) were strongly influenced by Comte's ideas. Today as well, many sociologists share Comte's belief that science is a crucial element of sociology. But other sociologists do not agree that science can be applied to the social world in the same way it is applied to the physical world. These sociologists point out that the causes of human behaviour are often more complex than the causes of events in the natural world. In other words, human beings are more than physical objects; they are creatures with considerable imagination and spontaneity whose behaviour can never be fully explained in terms of any scientific «laws of society».

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II.Answer the following questions:

1.Who is regarded a father of sociology?

2.What scholars were deeply concerned with social

life?

3.What hindered the development of science?

4.What is the essence of Comte's law?

5.What is the basis of theological stage?

6.What is the essence of metaphysical stage?

7.Where is this approach mainly found?

8- What is the scientific approach based on?

9.How may positivism be defined?

10.When did sociology become established as an academic discipline?

11.Is there complete agreement among sociologists on treating science?

12.Whose viewpoint would you support?

III.Complete the following sentences:

1.Auguste Comte is widely regarded as ... .

2.Prior to the birth of sociology, philosophers and theologians were primarily concerned with ... .

3.The major goal of the pioneering sociologists Comte and Durkheim was to ... .

4.In the medieval period people's view of humanity was shaped by ... .

5.Scientific understanding of the natural world is connected with such names as ... .

6.Comte's «law of the three stages» includes ... .

7.Theological stage is based on ... .

8.At the metaphysical stage abstract forces were believed to ... .

9.Scientific approach focuses attention on ... .

10.Today many sociologists share Comte's belief that...

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IV. Divide the text into logical parts and make up an outline of the text.

V. Speak on:

1)Auguste Comte as «the father of sociology».

2)His law of the three stages of development.

3)Further development of sociology.

VI. Read the text and entitle it:

Auguste Comte was born in southern France, grew up in a conservative family in the wake of the French Revolution, and spent most of the life in Paris. The dramatic social changes that were taking place around him stimulated his interest in society. From the Greek and

Latin words meaning «the study of society», he derived the word sociology.

The foundation of Comte's work was an attempt to apply scientific methods to the study of society and to the practical task of social reform. In his own lifetime, scientific thinking was becoming more sophisticated and influential than ever before, increasing human knowledge about the physical world. Why not, Comte reasoned, apply the same scientific methods to understanding the social world? In Comte's view, sociology should attempt to determine the laws that govern human social behaviour, in much the same way that natural laws govern the operation of the physical world. Comte's sociological study was concerned with what he called social statics — how society maintains itself as a cohesive system of many interrelated parts — and social dynamics — how society changes in an orderly way according to specific social laws.

Few sociologists today would agree that society operates according to absolute and invariable laws; yet most sociologists accept the idea that the study should be concerned with both social stability and social change. Most sociologists also agree that sociology should be based, as much as possible, on scientific methods.

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VII. Read the text once more and find the answers to the following questions:

1.What does the word «sociology» mean?

2.What was the foundation of Comte's work?

3.What was his sociological study concerned with?

4.What should sociology be based on?

VIII. Summarize the contents of the text in 6 sentences.

WORD STUDY

I. Find in the text «The Origins of Sociology» English equivalents for:

намного моложе; точно так же; глубоко

интересоваться; другими словами; главным образом; по крайней мере; постепенно; однако; благодаря усилиям;

научный подход; отражение; древний мир;

непосредственно; вместо; согласно; находиться под сильным влия¬нием; посредством.

II.Find in the text synonyms for:

sources, for instance, to comprise, to call, to be considered as, latest, to be founded on, question, main, significance, works, in the same way, middle age, to be interested in, before, pattern, of course, chief objective, really, people, thanks to the efforts, to appear, to offer, to involve, reason, purpose, to determine, road, also.

III.Find in the text sentences with the wordcombinations - «to be concerned with, to be interested in, to be influenced by» — and translate them into Russian.

IV. Make up your own sentences with:

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to be concerned with to be interested in to be influenced by

V. Answer the following questions:

1.What are you mainly interested in?

2.What are you deeply concerned with in your sociological research?

3.What is your friend greatly interested in?

4.What sociological ideas are you influenced by?

VI. Ask your partner similar questions in order to ascertain his interests and ideas.

VII.Look through the text on A. Comte and say what he was particularly concerned with.

VIII. Complete the following sentences:

1.The Greek philosophers and theologians were deeply concerned with ... .

2.Emile Durkheim was greatly interested in ... .

3.Pioneering sociologists were much influenced by ... .

4.Natural scientists of the medieval era were greatly influenced by ... .

5.Thomas Hobbes was particularly concerned with ... .

6.Modern sociologists are deeply interested in ... .

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UNIT IV

I. Read and translate the text:

Sociological Theory

The discipline of sociology involves more than a distinctive point of view. The sociological perspective illuminates new facts in countless familiar situations; but linking specific observations together in a meaningful way involves another element of the discipline, theory. In the simplest terms, a theory is an explanation of the relationship between two or more specific facts. To illustrate the use of theory in sociology, recall Emile

Durkheim's study of suicide. Durkheim attempted to explain why some categories of people (males, Protestants, the wealthy, and the unmarried) have higher suicide rates that do others (females, Catholics, the poor, and the married). To do so, he linked one set of facts - suicide rates

— to another set of facts — the level of social integration characteristic of these various categories of people. Through systematic comparisons, Durkheim was able to develop a theory of suicide, namely, that people with low social integration are more prone to take their own lives.

To provide another illustration, how might we explain the sociological observation that college science courses in the United States typically contain more men than women? One theoretical approach would suggest that the sciences are more attractive to males than to females; perhaps males simply have a greater innate interest in science. Another possibility is that American society encourages males to develop an interest in science while simultaneously discouraging this interest in females. A third theoretical approach might suggest that the educational system has some formal or informal policy that limits the enrollment of women in science courses.

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As this example suggests, there may be more than one theoretical explanation for any particular issue. Therefore, the ability to link facts together into a meaningful theory does not in itself mean that theory is correct. In order to evaluate contrasting theories, sociologists make use of various methods of scientific research.

As sociologists use these scientific methods to gather more and more information, they are able to confirm some theories while rejecting or modifying others. In the early decades of this century, several sociologists interested in the rapid growth of cities developed theories that linked city living to distinctive patterns of human behaviour such as pronounced impersonality and even mental illness. However, research completed during subsequent decades has found that living in a large city does not necessarily result in social isolation, nor does it diminish mental health. Within any discipline therefore, theory is never static, because sociologists are continually carrying out research, sociological theory is always being refined.

II. Answer the following questions:

1.What is meant by theory?

2.What did E. Durkheim base his research on?

3.What is the essence of his suicide theory?

4.What sociological observation was made among college science students?

5.What do sociologists make use of to evaluate contrasting theories?

6.Is a theory static or changeable within any discipline?

7.Do you agree with the point that men are more prone to science study?

III. Agree or disagree with the following:

1.The sociological perspective illuminates new facts in unfamiliar situations.

2.A theory is the explanation of the relationship between two or more specific facts.

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3.It is possible to develop a rational theory through systematic observations and comparisons.

4.The ability to link facts together into a meaningful theory means that the theory is correct.

5.To evaluate contrasting theories sociologists make use of various methods of research.

6.Within any discipline theory is never static.

V.Divide the text into logical parts and make up a plan of the text.

VI. Speak on the text.

VII. Contradict the following statements:

1.People with low social integration are less prone to suicides.

2.Sciences are more attractive to males than to females.

3.Living in a large city results in social isolation.

VII.Translate the text in writing:

Social Change and the Development of

Sociology

The gradual development of scientific thought in Europe was one important foundation of sociology. But something more was involved: revolutionary change in European society itself. The increasing importance of science is but one dimension of the modernization of Europe. Social change, of course, is continuous but European societies experienced particularly rapid transformations during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In the midst of intense social change that often reached crisis proportions, people were less likely to take society for granted. Indeed, as the social ground shook under their feet, they focused more and more on society, which stimulated the

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emergence of the sociological perspective.

Three dimensions of social change occurred in that era, each truly revolutionary in its own right. First, various technological innovations in eighteenth-century Europe led to the appearance of factories, initially in England. This new way of producing material goods soon gave rise to an industrial economy. Second, factories located within cities drew millions of people from the countryside, where agriculture had been the traditional livelihood. As a result, the growth of industry was accompanied by the explosive growth of cities. Third, the development of the economy and the growth of cities were linked to changes in political ideas.

While sociology is thus European in its origins, the new discipline did not take hold everywhere in Europe during the nineteenth century. On the contrary, the development of sociology was stimulated by most in precisely those societies that had experienced the greatest social changes during the preceding centuries. In France, Germany, and

England - where social transformations had been truly revolutionary - sociology was flowering by the end of the nineteenth century. Conversely, in societies touched less by these momentous events — including Portugal, Spain, Italy and Eastern Europe - there was little development of sociological awareness.

Many of the crucial ideas within the discipline of sociology also owed their development to rapid social change, largely because many, if not most, early sociologists found the drastic social changes deeply disturbing. Auguste Comte, a social conservative, feared that people were being overpowered by change and were losing the support of traditional social institutions, including the family and religion, as well as the local community. Strongly disagreeing with «modernists», who claimed that society was simply an expression of individual self-interest Comte believed that traditional social bonds were basic units of society.

In sum, the birth of sociology, its scientific method of