Sociology & Science (AQA A Level Sociology): Revision Note

The nature of science

• In the 18th-century, Enlightenment thinkers believed science could uncover objective knowledge about the world and use it to improve human life

• 19th-century modernist sociologists like Comte, Durkheim, and Marx were inspired by science’s success in transforming society

• They aimed to create a science of society, believing that by adopting the methods of the natural sciences, sociology could make similar progress

• However, interpretivist sociologists and other critics argue that sociology cannot – and perhaps should not – try to model itself on the natural sciences

Positivist view of science

• Positivists believe it is both possible and desirable to apply the logic and methods of the natural sciences to the study of society

Karl Popper – falsification

• Popper, an influential philosopher of science, argues that science advances through hypotheses that can be disproven (falsified)

• Good scientific theories are

  • bold – they make big claims and precise predictions

  • falsifiable – they can be tested and proven wrong

• Science thrives in open or liberal societies that encourage criticism and debate

• Popper rejects the idea that science works by simply proving theories; instead, it eliminates false ones

Thomas Kuhn – paradigms

• Kuhn, a historian of science, argued that science operates within a paradigm – a shared framework of theories, methods, techniques and assumptions

• A paradigm acts as a worldview, guiding scientists by telling them:

  • what nature is like

  • which aspects are worth studying

  • what methods should be used

  • what kinds of questions to ask

  • what sort of answers to expect

• Scientists usually accept the paradigm without question, as working within it brings rewards like publications, funding, and career advancement

• Kuhn calls this 'normal' science, which involves solving the ‘puzzles’ set by the paradigm rather than creating anything radically new

Paradigm shifts

• Over time, anomalies can build up

• This can trigger a scientific revolution, where rival paradigms compete until one is accepted by the scientific community

• Once a new paradigm is established, normal science resumes under its framework

  • E.g. For centuries, the Ptolemaic (geocentric) model of the universe — Earth at the centre — guided astronomy; astronomers noticed planets sometimes moved in ways that didn’t fit the geocentric model; a rival paradigm emerged of the sun at the centre (heliocentric paradigm)

• Without a shared paradigm, a discipline cannot be considered 'normal science'

• Unlike Popper, who values falsifiability, Kuhn sees good scientific theories as:

  • conforming – working within the established paradigm’s core assumptions

  • solving puzzles – refining and applying existing ideas rather than challenging the whole framework

Russell Keat & John Urry – realism

• Keat and Urry are realists who distinguish between:

  • Open systems – variables can’t be controlled, making precise predictions impossible (e.g., sociology, meteorology)

    • E.g., in sociology, predicting crime rates is complex because many social factors interact

  • Closed systems – variables can be controlled and precise predictions can be made (e.g., chemistry, physics)

    • E.g., lab experiments in chemistry can predict outcomes exactly

• Realists reject the positivist view that science is only concerned with observable phenomena

• Science often studies unobservable phenomena; e.g., physicists cannot directly see subatomic particles, but their effects can be measured

Is sociology a science?

Positivist perspective

• Positivists believe sociology can be a science if it uses the logic and methods of the natural sciences

• They prefer macro (structural) explanations of society, such as functionalism and Marxism, which see social structures as social facts that exist outside individuals and shape their behaviour

Scientific approach

• Methods – positivists favour quantitative methods (e.g., official statistics, surveys) to achieve objectivity and reliability

• Aim – by analysing numerical data, they aim to discover cause-and-effect laws that determine human behaviour

• Researcher role – researchers should be detached and objective, avoiding bias from personal values or emotions

Positivism and suicide

• Durkheim (1897) studied suicide to show that sociology was a science to establish sociology's status as a scientific discipline

• Durkheim used official statistics to identify patterns in suicide rates (e.g., higher among Protestants than Catholics)

• He argued the difference was due to levels of integration and regulation in religious communities – Catholics were more integrated, so suicide rates were lower

• Durkheim claimed he had discovered a ‘real law’ linking social integration and regulation to suicide rates, as he treated suicide statistics as objective, social facts

Popper's perspective

• Popper argued that sociology is often unscientific because many theories cannot be tested or falsified

  • Theories like Marxism predict events (e.g., a revolution) that have not occurred, and when they don’t happen, explanations like 'false consciousness' make them impossible to disprove

  • Science works by creating hypotheses that can be proven wrong

• Popper believed sociology could be scientific if it produced testable hypotheses

  • E.g., Ford (1969) hypothesised that comprehensive schools would increase social class mixing

  • She was able to test and falsify this hypothesis through her empirical research

Interpretivist perspective

• Interpretivists reject the idea that sociology can be like the natural sciences because humans have consciousness and free will

  • People are active meaning-makers, not passive objects controlled by external forces

  • Sociology should focus on understanding meanings (verstehen) through qualitative methods

  • The aim is in-depth understanding, not discovering universal laws

Interpretivism and suicide

• Douglas (1967) argued we must uncover the meanings of suicide for individuals involved, not rely on statistics (which are socially constructed by coroners)

• He suggested using case studies to understand personal meanings

• Atkinson (1978) went further, claiming we can never know the 'real' rate of suicide—only how the living interpret deaths

• Taylor (1982) (opens in a new tab) argued that suicide statistics reflect social meanings rather than absolute truths

Kuhn's perspective

• Thomas Kuhn claimed sociology is not yet a science because it is pre-paradigmatic – there is no single agreed framework or paradigm

  • In natural sciences, there is agreement on what to study and how

  • In sociology, perspectives like Functionalism and Marxism disagree on basic assumptions (e.g., whether society is based on consensus or conflict)

  • Sociology would only become a science if these disagreements were resolved

Postmodernist perspective

• Postmodernists reject the idea of sociology as a science altogether

  • Science is just another meta-narrative (big story) claiming to explain reality

  • It is no more valid than other worldviews and is shaped by its relationship with capitalism, which has sometimes caused harm

  • Science often serves powerful interests and suppresses alternative viewpoints

  • All knowledge is socially constructed—there is no single 'truth'

Realist view

• Realists argue that sociology is a science, but it is an open science (studying an open system where variables cannot be fully controlled)

  • Both natural and social sciences aim to uncover underlying structures that cause events, even if they are unobservable

  • For example, 'social class' cannot be seen directly, but its effects on life chances can be measured

  • Marxism is scientific because it studies structures like capitalism

  • Understanding subjective meanings (as interpretivists do) can be scientific if it reveals causal mechanisms

• Unlike interpretivists, realists see little difference between natural science and sociology