Origins Of Sociology Essay

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“Sociology is the study of human social life, groups and societies. It is a dazzling and compelling enterprise, as its subject matter is our own behaviour as social beings” (Giddens, 1997). One of the founding thinkers of sociology was Max Weber, along with Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim. In this essay I will be talking about the origins of sociology as it is known today and I will be focusing on this from the point of view of weber. I will mainly be discussing his views on Calvinism, rationalisation and the structures of authority and linking them to the origins of sociology and how it grew from there. Sociology originated from the industrial revolution which took place during the nineteenth century. Although Weber, along with Marx and Durkheim,…show more content…
His discussion of authority relations also show us what is happening in today’s world. Weber set out three types of authority; traditional, rational-legal and charismatic authority. Traditional authority goes on the belief in the sanctity of tradition. An example of this tradition is the British royal family or the Catholic Church here in Ireland. These are institutions that are accepted by people with much thought. Rational authority rests on belief of the laws of our society such as you can’t kill another person. “This type of authority is often seen as legitimate I bureaucratic systems, which enables impersonal, specific and formal structures of modern companies” (admin, 2012). Charismatic authority is when one person can charm a legion of followers. A lot of this rests on how that individual is perceived. Examples of this throughout modern history can be seen in the charisma of Adolf Hitler, Martin Luther King and Ghandi to name just a few. This is the type of authority that could be useful in a social care setting. In certain social care setting such as residential care, traditional and rational authority may not work in your favour so a type of charismatic authority might work when trying to build a relationship with your
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