Question

Discuss the different aspects of the term ‘society’. How is it different from your common sense of understanding?

Answer 1

The different aspects of the term ‘society’ have been made by early sociologists like Auguste Comte, Karl Marx, and Herbert Spencer. They classified the societies into two broad groups:

(i) Pre-modern societies such as hunters and gatherers, pastoral and agrarian, and non-industrial civilisations.

(ii) Modern societies such as industrial societies.

Sociology studies society on the basis of some rules and principles that depend on concepts, data, and methods. On the other hand, our common sense understanding of society depends on our naturalistic or individualistic understanding.

Common sense knowledge does not question its own origins but Sociology has both the systematic and questioning approach that is derived from a broader tradition of scientific investigation.

In our common sense understanding of society, the aspect of the term ‘society’ is very limited which is quite different from that of sociology.