Het belang van sociologie

Samenvatting

The Importance of Sociology. (Transcription of a retirement lecture delivered 10 Oct 1997 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.) Distinguishing phylogenetic, psychogenetic, and sociogenetic human learning processes, sociology is defined as the study of sociogenetic processes that can provide a context for the findings of other, more specialized, disciplines. Following Auguste Comte, an analytic distinction is made between social dynamics -- ie, the processes that account for the long-term sociogenesis of any given social situation -- and social statics -- ie, the processes that account for the recurrence of similar situations. This difference is illustrated with examples of classic works by Stanley Milgram, W. Lloyd Warner and Paul S. Lunt, Ruth Benedict, and Norbert Elias, by whom Goudsblom was influenced. It is concluded that any adequate sociology must recognize the necessarily complementary nature of social dynamics and social statics. Adapted from the source document.