Discuss the nature of sociology.

Nature of Sociology: Sociology has the following nutmeg;

(i) Sociology is an independent science: Sociology like any other discipline have its own area of study and not fully dependent on other discipline.

(ii) Sociology is a social science not a physical science: Social science focus on various aspect of human society while physical science deal with natural phenomena. Thus Sociology is a social science as it deals with man and his social activities.

(iii) Sociology is a categorical and not a normative discipline: Sociology is value free. It is only interested in ‘what is’ and not ‘what should be' or ‘ought to be’.

(iv) Sociology is pure science and not an applied science: As a Pure science it is only interested in acquisition of knowledge, it has nothing to do with application of that knowledge. We Physics is a pure science while engineering is its application.

(v) Sociology is relatively an abstract science and not a concrete science: It studies the society in an abstract (Theoretical not physical) way. Like, Sociology is not interested in particular families but in family as a social institution that exists in all societies.

(vi) Sociology is a generalizing science and not a particularizing science: Sociology is not interested in particular events rather it studies events in a general way. Example: History study French Revolution but Sociology will be interested in revolutions in general.

(vii) Sociology is a general science and not a special nodal science: Like Economy or Political Science, Sociology does not focus on only one aspect of human activity. As it has to deal with society it includes all aspects of human life in a general way.

(viii) Sociology is both a rational and an empirical science: It studies the social phenomena in scientific way. It is based on reason (logic), observation and experimentation.