PERSPECTIVES OF SOCIOLOGY

INTRODUCTION
As individuals, we all know a great deal about ourselves and about the societies in which we live. We tend to think we have a good understanding of why we act as we do without needing Sociologists to tell us. To some degree, this may be true. Many of the things we do in our day to day life, we do because we understand the social requirements involved. Yet, there are definite boundaries to such self knowledge, and one of the main tasks of Sociology to show us what these are. The sociological perspectives allow us to see that many events that seem to concern only the individuals actually reflect larger issues. In this unit, the Sociological perspectives are explained.
The Sociological Perspective
Human interaction is the subject matter of sociology and both sociologist and the layperson look at the same reality. But they look at it in different ways. The sociological perspective looks beyond commonly accepted or officially defined goals of human behaviour. It recognizes that human behaviour can be interpreted at different levels, and that some motives of human behaviour are hidden, rather than conscious. The rise of modern sociology is especially marked by certain circumstances of western civilization that brought about a situation in which the accepted official and authoritative interpretations of societal and cultural goals were severely shaken. Sociology arose as a way of analyzing these tremendous reversals of the status quo.
Sociologists have also looked at life from the view of another segment of society. The segment consists of the marginal people, those who deviate from the officially “respectable” path – the prostitutes, beggars, drunkards, criminals among others. Sociologists search beyond the official explanation that such people are “deviates” and ask whether perhaps the “respectable” persons may play a part in forming the “deviates” way of life. The sociological perspective develops best in a cosmopolitan atmosphere. New ideas have always seemed to catch on first in the large cities where people were exposed to others who came from faraway places and who represented strange cultural customs. As our societies become more and more urban, we begin to appreciate other ways of thinking and acting, and we shed some of the provincial idea that “our way is the best way”. The open-mindedness that comes from maintaining a world view of human life is essential to sociology. Sociology could not exist in a society that claims the absolute “rightness” or “truth” of its values. Traditional societies have made this claim, and thus their citizen have had a static idea of what they are and to what they can aspire. In traditional societies, people have definite and permanent identities. But we live in modern societies, in which conflicting values are held and in which values change rapidly. We can, and frequently do, change jobs, social position, life styles, and friends.
So we look at the world from many points of view and this multiple perspective forces us to say, “This is true; but that is also true”. Truth becomes relative to time, place and circumstances. Only when values are relative can we appreciate the sociological perspective. This perspective can help alleviate the anxiety or “culture shock”.
Seeing the Broader Social Context
The sociological perspective stresses the sociological context in which people live. It examines how these contexts influence people’s live. At the center of the sociological perspective is the question of how people are influenced by their society. To find out why people do what they do, sociologists look at “social location”, the corner in life that people occupy because of where they are located in the society. Sociologists look at jobs, income, education, gender and race as being significant. For example, growing up as a male or a female influences not only our aspirations, but also how we feel about ourselves and how we relate with others.
Sociologist C. Wright Mills (1959) noted that the sociological perspective enables us to grasp the connection between history and biography. By history, Mills meant that each society is located in a broad stream of events. Because of this, each society has specific characteristics – e.g. role assignment by gender. By biography, Mills referred to the individual’s specific experiences in society. In short, then, people don’t do what they do because of inherited internal mechanisms, such as instincts. Rather, external influences (our experiences) become part of our thinking and motivations. The society in which we grow up and our particular corners in that society, lie at the centre of our behaviour.
The Contrasts or Characteristics of Sociological Perspective
The sociological perspective, which is at the heart of the discipline, has presented insight into social reality in the following contrasts which has also become its characteristics.
i. Seeing the General in the Particular
Peter Berger (1963) characterized the sociological perspective as “seeing the general in particular”. That is, sociology helps us see general patterns in the behaviour of particular individuals. Although every individual is unique, society acts differently on various categories of people. For example, children compared to adults, or women compared to men. Therefore, to think sociologically is to see that the kind of people we are shape our life experiences. The society has power and demonstrates this to affect our actions, thoughts, and feelings. Society attaches different meanings to different ages, therefore children differ from adults not just in biological maturity.
ii. Seeing the Strange in the Familiar
Using Sociological perspective amounts to seeing the strange in the familiar. Looking at life sociologically requires giving up the familiar idea that human behaviour is simply a matter of what people decide to do, in favour of the initial strange notion that we are creatures of society. Consider the seemingly personal matter of deciding to change one’s name, a practice that is becoming common in Nigeria. But are the names people adopt a matter of personal choice or are social forces at work? The reality of a multi-cultural society may be responsible for some newly adopted names.
iii. Seeing Individual in Social Context
Perhaps the most compelling evidence of how social forces affect human behaviour comes from the study of suicide. What could be a more personal “choice” than taking one’s own life? But Emile Durkheim, a pioneer of sociology, showed that social forces are at work even in an isolated act of self-destruction. From official records in and around his native France, Durkheim found some categories of people were more likely than others to take their own lives. Specifically, he found that men, Protestants, wealthy people and the unmarried each had much higher suicide rate than women, catholics, the poor and the married people. Durkheim explained the differences in terms of “social integration”. Categories of people with strong social tieshad low suicide rate while more individualistic people had high suicide rates. Some situations stimulate sociological insights for everyone. For example, social diversity prompts us to wonder why other people think and act differently than we do. As we interact with people from social background that initially seem strange, we grasp the power of society to shape our lives.
Benefits of the Sociological Perspective
Applying sociological perspective to our daily lives benefits us in four ways.
i. The sociological perspective helps us critically assess the truth of commonly held assumptions. We may realize through this perspective that ideas we have taken for granted are not, in fact, true.
ii. The sociological perspective helps us see the opportunities, and constraints in our lives. Sociological thinking leads me to see that, in the game of life, we have a say in how we play our cards, but it is society that deals us the hand. Also, the more we understand the game, the better players we will be.
iii. The sociological perspective empowers us to be active members of our society. The more we understand about how society operates, the more active citizens we become. Evaluating any aspect of social life depends on the ability to identify the social forces and assess their consequences.
iv. The sociological perspective helps us live in a culturally diverse world. Like people everywhere, we tend to view our way of life as “right”, “natural”, and “better”. But sociological perspective prompts us to think critically about all ways of life – including our own.


CONCLUSION
Although, both the Sociologists and lay person look at the same reality, they look at it in different ways. Sociologists look at life from another segment of society and the context in which people do what they do, the corner in life that they occupy as members of the society. Since things are not always what they seem, Sociological perspectives examine reality in its contrast to its ordinary form. By this, critical assessment is made of the truth of commonly held assumptions.
SUMMARY
In this unit, the Sociological perspectives were discussed. Attempts were made to present social reality beyond it mere appearance. Furthermore, the characteristics and benefits of sociological perspectives were presented. The unit therefore gave a penetrating approach to social interaction  beyond the day-to-day and taken-for-granted understanding of lay persons.