Concepts Methods Sociology

7/27/2019 Concepts Methods Sociology

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The Concepts and Methods of SociologyAuthor(s): Franklin H. GiddingsSource: American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 10, No. 2 (Sep., 1904), pp. 161-176Published by: The University of Chicago PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2761943 .

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THE CONCEPTS AND METHODS OF SOCIOLOGY.'To SET forthn a brief aper he fundamentalonceptionsfanymodern ciences a difficultask. The difficultyncreases swe passfrom herelativelyimple ciences hathave to do withinorganicmatter,o the highly omplex ciences f life and ofmind. And when we come to the phenomena resented yaggregationsf livingbeings-phenomenaof the nteractionf

mindwithmnind,henomena f the concertedctivity f manyindividuals orking ut together common estinywe haveasubjectfor scientifictudy too many-sided,oo intricate, ordescriptionn a few comprehensivehrases, nd the scientificstudytself rrives t fundamentalonceptionsnly fter longand extensive rocess f elimination.Fundamental onceptionsinsuch field renecessarily eneral ruths, xpressing he rela-tions thatendlessfactsof detail bear to one another, r tounderlyingroupings, rocesses, r causes. A brief account,therefore,f thefundamentalonceptionsf sociology, nd ofthe methods vailablefor the scientifictudyof society,mustremorselesslyxclude hoseconcrete articularshat end to ourknowledge f collectiveife its pre-eminentlyeal its human-interest. It mustbe restrictedo conceptions hat are ele-mental, eneral, nd in a degree bstract.Conformingo thisnecessity, shallgroupthe fundamentalconceptionsf sociology n threedivisions, amely: first,on-ceptsof thesubject-matterf sociological tudy, hat s to say,ofsociety; econd, oncepts ertainingo the analysis nd classi-fication f social facts, nd incidentallyo the correspondingsubdivisionsf sociological cience; third, oncepts f thechiefprocesses entering nto social evolution, nd of the inferred

causes.The word" society has three egitimateignifications. he1An address delivered at the International Congress of Arts and Science,Departmentof Sociology, September, 904.

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I62 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGYfirst s that of the Latin wordsocietas,meaning companion-ship," " good-fellowship," pleasurable consorting ogether,"or meaning he individuals ollectively egarded hat consort.Examples of society n this original ense are afforded y thecomnminglingf familiar pirits t the tavernor the club, thecasual association f chance cquaintances t thesummer esort,the nunmberlessore formal functions" of "the season." Inthe second significationf the word, "society" is a group ofindividuals o-operatingor the achievement f any object ofcommon nterest r utility, s, for example, merchant uild,an industrial orporation, church, Congress fArts and Sci-ence. Finally, n thethird ignificationf the word,"society"is a group of individuals welling ogether nd sharingmanyinterests f life n common. A nestof ants,a savagehorde,confederationf barbarian ribes, hamletor village,a city-state, national tate, federal mpire-all theseare societieswithin he third nd comprehensiveefinitionf the term. Ascientificonception f societymust ie within he boundariesfixedby these threefamiliarmeanings, ut it must seize uponand make explicit heessential act,whatevert may be, that sa common lementnall social relations.At the present imewe find n sociological iterature wocompeting onceptionsf the essential ature f society. Theyare known respectivelys the organic and the psychologicalconception.

The organic onceptionssumes hat hegroupofindividualsdwelling nd working ogethers the true,or typical, ociety,and that it is as mucha unity, lthoughmade up of indi-viduals, s is theanimalor thevegetable ody, omposed f cellsand differentiatedntomutually ependentissuesand organs.Sketched n bold outlinesby HerbertSpencer n his essay onThe Social Orga-nismn i86o, theorganic onception as beenelaborated y Schaifflend Lilienfeld,nd is today accepted sthe working ypothesisf an able groupof French ociologists,whose workappearsin the proceedings f L'Institut nterna-tionalde Sociologie.The psychologicalonceptionssumesthat,whether r not



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CONCEPTS AND METHODS OF SOCIOLOGY I63the organic onception e trueand of scientificmportance,tfailsto get to thebottom f things. It assumes that, ven ifsociety s an organism,here s necessarily ome interactionfindividual ith ndividual,r someform f activity ommon oall individualshat serves o bindthem ogether n helpful ndpleasurable elations, nd that this activity, nstead of beingmerely hysical, ike the cohesion f material ells, s a mentalphenomenon. t assumesthat all socialbonds may be resolvedintosomecommon ctivity r some interactivityf individualminds. It is, in short, view of society s a modeof mentalactivity.This sthepsychologicalonceptionngeneral erms. t takes,however, ourspecific ormsn attemptingo answertheques-tion: What definite odeofmental ction s the most elemen-tary orm fthesocial relation?According o the mostpretentiousf these nswers, ne thatdatesbackto Epicurus, nd lies at thebasis of all thecovenantor social-contractheories f politicalphilosophy, he psycho-logical originof society s found n a perception f theutilityof association. It assumesthatmen consciously nd purposelycreate ocial relations o escapetheills of a "state of nature"and to reap the rewards of co-operation.This rationalistictheory ffers true explanation f highly rtificial ormsofsocialorganizationn a civil,especiallyn industrial,tate,butit throwsno lightupon the natureof elemental, pontaneousco-operation.For thiswe must urn o theother hree oncep-tionsall of them, venture o think,modernized ormsofcertain ery ncientnotions.According o one of these, hemost elementaryocial factis seen ntheconstrainingower, he mpression,he contagiousinfluencehatan aggregation, mass,of living beingsexertsuponeach ndividualmind. Society s thusviewed s a phenom-enonclosely llied to suggestion nd hypnosis. This view ofsocietys mostfully etforthn thewritings f Durkheim ndLe Bon.A thirdconception,dentified ith the life-work f ourlamentedcolleague, Gabriel Tarde, assumes that impression,



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I64 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGYcontagion,nfluence,s forms f the interaction f mind withmind,maythemselves e accountedfor. It explains them asmodes of example nd imitation.All society s thus resolvedintoproducts f imitation.In strict sychologicalnalysis hese impression and " imi-tation" theoriesmustbe classed, think, s scientificallyevel-oped forms f the "sympathy"theories f society, hatmay betracedback through he iteraturef political hilosophyo veryearly days. They offerproximate xplanations f the greatsocial factsof resemblance,f mutuality,f solidarity;but dothey, eyond doubt, race oncertedctivity ack to its absoluteorigin? Aboveall, do they ccountnot onlyfor similarity,utalso forvariation, or the differentiationf communitiesntoleaders nd followers,or ompetitions wellas for ombination,for ibertys wellas for olidarity?The fourth onception,ut forth omeyears go by the pres-ent writer, houldbe classedas a developed orm f the nstincttheory, ating acktoAristotle'sphorismhatman s a politicalanimal. It assumes that the most elementary ormof socialrelationships discoveredn the verybeginning f mentalphe-nomena. In its simplest ormmental ctivitys a response fsensitivematter o a stimulus. Any givenstimulusmay happentobe felt y more hanone organism,t the same or at differenttimes. Two or moreorganismsmay respond o the samegivenstimulus simultaneouslyr at differentimes. They mayrespond o thesame given timulusn like or in unlikeways; inthe ameor ndifferentegrees;with ikeorwith nlike rompti-tude; with qual orwithunequalpersistence. haveattemptedto show thatin like response o the same givenstimuluswehave the beginning,he absolute rigin, f all concerted ctivitythe nceptionf every onceivableorm fco-operation;whilein unlikeresponse,nd in unequal response,we havethebegin-ningof all thoseprocesses f individuation,f differentiation,fcompetition, hich, n theirendlessly ariedrelations o com-bination,o co-operation,ring boutthe infiniteomplexityforganized ocial life.It is unnecessaryo argue that hisconceptionf societynot



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CONCEPTS AND METHODS OF SOCIOLOGY I65only akes ccountof individualitys well as of mutuality, utthat lso it carriesour interpretationf solidarity arther ackthan the theories f impression nd of imitation, ince bothimpressionnd imitationmust be accountedfor in ultimatepsychologicalnalysis-as phenomena f reciprocal, r inter-stimulationnd response. Indeed, the very language thatTarde uses throughout is exposition acitly ssumes as much.Example s stimulus, he imitative ct is response o stimulus.The impression hat the crowd makes upon an individual sstimulus,nd the submission, bedience, r conformityf theindividuals response o stimulus. Moreover, heformationfthe crowd tselfhas to be accounted or,and it will be foundthat,n many ases, the formationf a crowd s nothingmorenor ess thanthe simultaneousike-responsef many ndividualsto some inciting vent, ircumstance,r suggestion. In short,impression,mitation,nd conformityre specificmodes,but notby anymeans heprimaryr simplestmodes, f stimulationndresponse; and some of the most mportant henomena f con-certed ctioncan be explainedonlyas springing irectly romprimary ike-responses,efore either mitation r impressionhasenterednto heprocess.This conceptionmeetsone further cientificest. It offersa simple nd consistent iewof the relation etween ocial lifeand the material niverse. It assumesthatthe originalcausesofsocietyieinthematerialnvironment,hichmaybe regardedas an infinitelyifferentiatedroupof stimuli f like-response,and thereforef collective ction; whilethe products f pastsocial life,constitutinghehistorical radition, ecome n theirturn econdarytimuli,rsecondary auses, nthe socialprocess.A mere momentaryike-response y any number f indi-viduals s thebeginningfsocialphenomena,ut tdoes not con-stitute society. Beforesociety an exist theremust be con-tinuous xposure o likeinfluences,nd repeated eaction ponthem. Whenthishappens, he ndividualshuspersistentlyct-ing n ikewaysbecome hemselves entallyndpracticallylike.But likeness s notidentity.The degrees f resemblancer ofdifferencenthemanner fresponseo common timulimanifest



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i66 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGYthemselvess distinguishableypes f mindand of characternthe aggregateof individuals;while the differingegreesofpromptitudend persistencyn responsehave as their conse-quencea differentiationf the aggregate nto leaders and fol-lowers, those that assume initiative nd responsibility,ndthosethathabituallyook for guidance. These differencesndresemblances ave subjectiveconsequences. Differing ndi-vidualsbecome ware of their ifferences,esemblingndividualsbecomeaware of theirresemblances,nd the consciousness fkind so engendered ecomesthenceforth potentfactor nfurtherocialevolution.Summarizing ur analysis o thispoint,we maysaythatweconceive f society s any pluralnumber f sentient reaturesmore r lesscontinuouslyubjected o common timuli,o differ-ing stimuli, nd to inter-stimulation,nd respondingheretonlike behavior, oncertedctivity, r co-operation,s well as inunlike, r competitive,ctivity;and becoming herefore, ithdeveloping ntelligence,oherent hrough dominating on-sciousness f kind,whilealwayssufficientlyonscious f differ-enceto insure measure f individualiberty.

Whichof thesevarious onceptionsftheultimate ature fthe social relation hall in the long run prevailmust dependupona certain itnesso accountforall thephenomenaf sociallife n thesimplesterms. That fitnessan be determinednlythroughhe furthervolution f socialtheory.Butwhatever hefinallyccepted iew maybe,there re cer-tainclassificationsf social facts hatmay be accepted s amongtheelementaryotions fanysociologicalystem.Andfirst here re types r kindsof societies. The broadestgroupings orrespond o the familiardemarkationsmade byNaturalHistory. There are animal societies nd human oci-eties; and the human ocieties re further ivided nto theeth-nic-or communities f kindred, nd the civil-or communitiescomposed f individuals hatdwelland work togetherwithoutregard o their lood-relationships.Moresignificantor he ociologist, owever,s a classification



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CONCEPTS AND METHODS OF SOCIOLOGY I67basedon psychologicalharacteristics. he fundamentalivi-sionnowis intoinstinctivend rational ocieties. The bands,swarms, locks, nd herds n which nimals iveand co-operate,areheldtogether y instinctnd notbyrational omprehensionof theutility f association. Their like-responseo stimulus,their mitative cts, the frequent ppearance mong them ofimpressionnd submission,re all purelynstinctivehenomena.Not so are the social relations f humanbeings. There is nohuman ommunityn which nstinctiveike-responseo stimula-tion snotcomplicatedysomedegree f rational omprehensionoftheutilityfassociation.The combinations,owever, f instinct nd reason are ofmanygradations;and theparticular ombination ound n anygiven ommunityeterminestsmodesoflike-responseo stimu-lusand itsconsciousness fkind establishes for t a dominantmodeof therelation fmind o mind, r, as Tardewould havephrased t, of inter-mentalctivity. This dominantmode ofinter-mentalctivityinclusive of like-responsend the con-sciousnessof kind is the chief social bond of the givencommunity,nd it affords he best distinguishing ark for aclassificationf anysociety n psychologicalrounds. So dis-criminated,hekinds f rational r human ocieties re eight, sfollows:i. There is a homogeneous ommunity f blood-relatives,composed f individuals hatfromnfancy ave beenexposed oa common nvironmentnd to like circumstances,nd who,therefore,yheredityndexperiencerealike. Always onsciousof themselvess kindred, heirchiefsocial bond is sympathy.The kindor typeof society, herefore,hat s representedy agroup fkindredmaybe calledtheSympathetic.

2. Thereis a community ade up of like spirits, atheredperhaps fromwidelydistantpoints, and perhaps originallystrangers, ut drawntogether y theircommonresponse o abelief r dogma,or to an opportunityorpleasure r improve-ment. Suchis thereligious olony, ikethe" Mayflower band,or theLatter-Day aints; such is thepartisan olitical olony,liketheMissouri nd the New Englandsettlementsn Kansas;



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i68 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGYand such s thecommunisticrotherhood,ike caria. Similarityof nature nd agreementn ideas constitutehe social bond, ndthekind of society o created s thereforeppropriatelyalledthe Congenial.3. There is a community f miscellaneous nd sometimeslawless lements, rawn ogether y economic pportunitythefrontier ettlement,he cattle range, the miningcamp. Thenewcomer nters his communityn uninvited ut unhinderedprobationer,nd remains n it on sufferance.A general ppro-bation of qualitiesand conduct s practicallyhe only socialbond. This typeof society, herefore, venture o call theApprobational.The three ypes f society husfarnamed re simple, pon-taneously ormed roups.The firstwoarehomogeneous,nd arefoundusuallyin relativelysolated environments. he thirdis heterogeneous,nd has a transitoryxistencewhere excep-tional economic pportunitiesre discovered n theconfinesfestablished ivilizations.Societiesof theremaining ive ypes re in a measure rti-ficial, n part createdby reflectionby consciousplanning.They are usually ompound, roducts f conquest r of federa-tion, nd,withfew fany exceptions,hey re ofheterogeneouscomposition. They are found n the relatively ountifulnddifferentiatednvironments.4. A communityf the fourth ype consists of elementswidelyunequal n ability: thestrong nd theweak,thebraveand the timorous, xploiters nd the exploitedlike enoughconquerorsnd conquered. The social bondsofthiscommunityare despoticpowerand a fear-inspiredbedience. The socialtype s theDespotic.5. In any communityf thefifthypearbitrary ower hasbeenestablishedong enough o have identifiedtselfwithtradi-tion and religion. Accepted s divinely ight, t has becomeauthority.Reverence orauthoritys the socialbond,and thesocialtype s, therefore,he Authoritative.6. Societyof thesixthtypearisesin populations hat, ikethe Italian cities t theirworstestate,have sufferedisintegra-



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CONCEPTS AND METHODS OF SOCIOLOGY I69tionof a pre-existingocial order. Unscrupulous dventurerscome forward nd create relations f personalallegiancebymeans fbribery,atronage,ndpreferment.ntriguend con-spiracyrethe social bonds. The socialtype s the Conspirital.7. Societyof the seventh ype is deliberatelyreatedbyagreement.The utility f associationhas beenperceived, nda compact f co-operations entered ntofor the promotion fthe general welfare. Such was the Achaean League. Suchwas theLeague of the roquois. Such was the confederationfAmerican ommonwealthsn I778. The socialbond s a cove-nantor contract. The social type s the Contractual.8. Society f theeighth ype xistswhere population ol-lectively esponds o certain reat deals, hat,by united fforts,it strives o realize. Comprehensionf mind by mind,confi-dence,fidelity,nd an altruistic pirit f social service, re thesocialbonds. The socialtype s the dealistic.Of thesevarieties fsociety hehigher, ompoundommuni-ties, or commonwealths,ay,and usuallydo, include xamplesofthe owertypes, mongtheir omponentroups.All of these ight ypes, nd the nstinctiveype xhibited yanimalbands, have beenobservedfrom he earliest imesandhavesuggested o socialphilosopherss manydifferentheoriesof thenature fsociety. Thus inthetotemisticore ofsavagerywe find endless suggestionsof an instinct heory. In themythologiesftriballyrganized arbarians efindympathy,rnatural-brotherhood,heories,which later on are borrowed,adapted, nd generalized y the greathumanitarianeligions,like Buddhism ndChristianity. uggestedbysocieties f con-genial pirits e havethe onsciousness-of-kindheories,oiced ntheproverbhat birds fa featherlockogether,"nthesayingof Empedocles hat"like desires ike," n theword of Ecclesi-asticusthat "all flesh onsortethccording o kind, nd a manwillcleave ohis like." Fromapprobationalocieties ave comeournatural-justiceheories. Fromdespotic ocietieshave comeour political-sovereigntyheories hat"mightmakesright," nthesenseof creatingaw and order. Fromauthoritativeoci-eties have come theories f the divinerightof kings; from



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I70 THE AMIERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGYconspirital ocietieshave come Machiavellian heoriesof theinevitablenessf intrigue nd conspiracy;and from societieslong used to deliberativessemblies, o charters f liberty ndbillsofrights, ave come he social-covenantr contract heoriesof Hobbes, Locke,and Rousseau. Finally,from ocieties hathave attained heheights f civilization ave come the Utopiantheories, romPlato untilnow.

Whatever hekindor type fthesociety,here re found nit fourgreatclassesor groupings f facts.Every ociety resupposes certain umberfconcreteivingindividuals. The basis of every ociety, herefore,s a popula-tion. EverySocial Population ffersorobservationhenomenaof aggregation,r distributionf density;phenomena f com-position, y age,sex,andrace; andphenomenafamalgamationor unity.The social life,however, s we have seen, s a phenomenonof mind, nd the variedmodesthatthe common ctivity ndinterplay f mindsassume, present he second great class ofsocial facts. These factsof the Social Mind,as we may callthem, nclude hephenomenaf stimulationndresponsentheirgeneric orms; phenomenaf resemblancesnd differences,hatis to say,oftypes;phenomena f the consciousnessf kind, ndphenomena f concertedolition.The commonmental ctivity, akinghabitualforms, reatespermanentocial relationships,hatis to say, a more or lesscomplexSocial Organization. In thiswe meetthethirdgreatclass of social facts. Two generalformsmay be observed. Inone form,ndividuals well togethern groupsthat,by coales-cence and federation, ompose the great compound ocieties.These groupscollectively ay be called thesocial composition.In the otherform,ndividuals,with moreor less disregard fresidence,ombinen associations o achieve pecificnds. Suchassociations ollectivelyepresenthe ocialdivision f labor, ndthereforemay be called the social constitution. n its entiretyand in its subdivisions he social organization s of one or



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CONCEPTS AND METHODS OF SOCIOLOGY I7'another ype, ccording s it is on thewhole coercive, r on thewhole iberal,ncharacter.The fourthlass of socialfactspertains o the greatend, tothe ttainmentf which he ocial organizations a means. Thatend s theSocial WAelfare.he socialwelfares seen n its mostgeneral ormncertain ublicutilities,ncludingecurity,usticeand liberty, aterial rosperity,nd popular ulture. It is seenfinallyn the type of personalityhat the social life creates,andwhichmustbe studied s vitality,mentality, orality,ndsociality.Not every society individually onsidered survives longenough o pass throughll thepossible tagesofsocial evolution,butsocietyn theaggregate,nd in historic ontinuity,isplaysto us fourdistinguishabletagesof evolutionarydvance. Thereis, first,he stageof ZoogenicAssociation,n which hemutualaid and protectionracticed y animalbandsplays n enormouslyimportantart nthedifferentiationf species nd in thesurvivalof thosebest ndowedwith ntelligencend sympathy.There s,next, he stageofAnthropogenic ssociation,n which, hroughunnumberedges, the creature hat was destinedto becomemanwas acquiring hedistinctlyuman ttributes f languageand reason. There is, later on, the stage of EthnogenicAsso-ciation, wherein s evolved that complex tribal organizationcharacteristicf savageandbarbarianife. Finally, here s thestageof Civic or DemogenicAssociation,nwhichgreatpeoplesoutgrow ribalorganization,nd create political rganizationbased on common nterests,rrespectivef blood-relationships.These categoriesof social fact have established ertainnatural subdivisionsn social science. Correspondingo thehistorical rderwe have,first, tudies n animalsociology;sec-ond, tudies fprimitiveuman ulture;third, he great ciencesof ethnographynd ethnology,nvestigatingribally rganizedmankind; and, fourth, istory, he narrative nd descriptiveaccountof the evolution f civil society. Correspondingo thefourgreatdivisions f phenomenan contemporaneousocietywe have, first, emography,r thestudy f social populations;second, ocial psychology,ndthe culture-studiesf comparative



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172 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGYphilology, omparativert,comparative eligion,nd the historyof sciencet ll of whichare investigationsf the social mind;third, hepolitical ciences, evoted o a study f social organiza-tion; and, fourth,uch sciences f the social welfare s politicaleconomynd ethics, he scientifictudy f education,tudies fpauperism,ndcriminology.

Such beingour conceptionsf the nature f society, nd oftheproper nalysis nd classificationf social facts, et us passonto examine ur conceptsf thegreatprocesses f social evolu-tion, ndofthecauses n operation.We accept heevolutionistointofview,and regard ll thetransformationshatoccur within ny social groupas a phaseof thatceaseless quilibrationf energy aking lace throughoutthe universe. Everyfinite ggregate f matters in contact rcommunication ithotherfinite ggregates,no two of whichare equally chargedwith energy. From the aggregatemorehighly harged, nergys givenoff o aggregateshat re under-charged,nd in thisprocess hestrong bsorbs, r disintegrates,ortransforms,heweak. Every ocialgroup, nimalorhuman,since imebegan,has been nceaseless trugglewith ts materialenvironmentnd withother ocialgroups. Whateverhas hap-penedto it orwithint is most ntelligiblyccounted or fweviewtheprocess s oneofequilibrationf energies, etweenhegroup and its environment,r betwen group and group,orbetween nequal ndconflictinglements ithin hegroup tself.The modesthatthis equilibrationssumes re many.Thereis, first,heexternal quilibrationf thesocietywithitssurroundings.This givesriseto theprocesses fmigration,inwhich opulationsmove from lacetoplace, n searchofnewfoodsupplies. Social groups re thusbroughtntoconflict ithone another,nd the activities fmilitarismre engendered.There is, next, processof combined xternal nd internalequilibration. Migration s its chiefmanifestation,ut themigrations not now one of entirepopulations rganizedforwarand conquest. It is one of individuals r families,movingfrom and to land in searchof economic pportunityr of reli-



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CONCEPTS AND METHODS OF SOCIOLOGY 173giousor political iberty,nd its consequences that exceedingheterogeneityf the demoticcompositionwhich is seen, forexample,n thepopulationf the UnitedStates.There are, thirdly,he processesof internal quilibration.First mongthese s thedifferentiationf the mindof thepopu-lation, onsequent ponsome degree f unlikenessnd inequalityin the responses f differingndividuals o the common timulito which ll are subjected. This is followed y thesegregationof resembling roductsnto types nd classes. Secondly, hereis an evolution f the consciousness f kind, with increasingattentiono meansof communicationnd association. Thirdly,theres a struggle etweentrong ndividuals nd weak,betweenleadersand followers, etween trong nd weak classes. Thisequilibration ay akeoneofthree ossible orms: i) the sub-jugation ndperhaps heenslavementf theweak by thestrong;(2) economic xploitation; 3) the uplifting f the weak bythestrong hrough ducation, ustice,and economic id. Themoral dvance fsocietys a progress romquilibrationhroughsubjugation nd exploitation o equilibrationhrough plifting,and it depends pon thebroadeningnd deepening f the con-sciousness f kind.A fourth haseof internal quilibrationppears n thestrug-gle amongdifferingroups f the ike-mindedn the community.Some elements f thepopulationre sympatheticallymotional,orare alike nbeliefs rdogmas. Others re alike ntellectually,rationally: they attain agreement hrough deliberation. Inevery ommunityhereasoningnd theunreasoninglementsreinperpetual onflict.To theextent hat hecommunitys controlled y ts deliber-ative element,t exhibits policy-a more or less consistentattempt onsciouslymade to control ts destiny. In thehistoryof human ocietyherehave been threegreatgroupsof policies,namely: (I) policies funificationattempts to makeall mem-bersof thecommunitylike in type, n belief, nd in conduct;(2) policies of liberty-attemptso give wide scope to indi-vidual nitiative; 3) policiesof equality- attempts o preventthe disintegrationf society hrough n excess of individual



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174 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGYliberty. The struggle f conflictingnterestsn thecommunity,which hese hreemodesofpolicy epresent,s yet nother ormof internalquilibration.To the extent hata policy f equality s adopted, hecom-munity s democratic.Political equality, quality beforethelaw, and someapproach owardequality f economic pportu-nity, re the essential lements f democracy.No sooner isdemocracyvolved hanwe see a struggle etween he forces hatmake forabsolutist,nd those hatmake for iberal, emocracy.Either themajority s permittedo ruleat will,or it is com-pelledto leave inviolate ertain ights f theminoritynd ofindividuals.The outcome f all equilibration,xternal nd internal,s acertain elation f the ndividual o thesocialorganization. Inlowtypes fsocietyhe ndividualiterallyelongs o thevarioussocialgroups nwhichhis lot is cast. He belongs o themforlife. To leave them s to become an outcast. He may notleavehis clan,his guild,his caste,his church, r his state. Insuperiorypes fsocietywe discover high degree f individualmobility ombinedwith marvelous owerto concentratenor-mousnumbers f individualsn moments f emergency,ponanyworkneeding o be done. The individualmay go freelyfrom tateto state,from arish o parish, n searchof his besteconomicopportunity.He may sever connectionwith hischurch o join another, r none at all. He may be a directortoday na dozencorporations,ndtomorrowna dozendifferentones. The goal of socialevolutions a complex, lexible,iberalorganization,ermittinghe utmost ibertynd mobilityo theindividual,withoutmpairingheefficiencyf organizations awhole.

On themethods f sociology emnarkt thistimemustneces-sarilybe brief.Dealing as we do withhighly oncretematerials,we placeourmainreliance ponsystematicnduction. The experimentalmethod f induction, owever,s of little vail in the scientificstudy f society. Although ocial experimentings at all times



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CONCEPTS AND METHODS OF SOCIOLOGY 175goingon, it is difficulto isolatecausesor to control onditionswith cientifichoroughness.Observation, herefore,nd criti-cally established ecords f observationsmade in bygonedays,mustbe our maindependence,o far s the accumulation f datais concerned.Yet in a field o vast,observationtselfwould be a fruitlesstoil if it were not directed y scientificules. Canons of guid-ancewe findnthe so-called omparativend historicalmethods.Selecting nysocialfact, r correlationffacts, bservednanygiven society,we systematicallyearchfor a correspondingactor correlationn all contemporaneousocieties, animal andhuman, thnic nd civil. This searchhas one clearlydefinedobject,namely:to determine hether he observed act s a uni-versal, ndthereforen essential,n elementaryhenomenonfsociety, nd, if it is not universal, o ascertain ust how wideits distributions. By suchresearchwe discover hose resem-blancesand differencesn social phenomenahatare thebasesofscientificlassification.Having in thismanner rrived t a scheme f classification,we use it in subsequent bservationreciselys the chemist rthe botanist ses the classificationshathave been establishednhis science. We systematicallyook for he facts nd the corre-lations hatthe classificationeads us to anticipate.In like manner, ollowing he historicalmethod,we searchfora given social factat each stagein the historical volutionof a given ociety,ndtherebyetermine hat ocialphenomenaare continuous.A completecientificheoryf natural ausations establishedonlywhenourknowledge ecomes uantitativelyrecise. Oftenthe awthatwe seekto formulateludesus until he correlationsof phenomena ave been determined ith mathematicalxact-ness. Sociologybhasunjustlybeen reproached or neglectingthat attention o precisionwhich s the boastof other ciences.The indictmentfvaguenessmaybe a truebillagainst ndividualsociologists. It is demonstrablyot a true bill against sociol-ogy. It is to the scientifictudents f sociology hattheworldowes thediscoverynd developmentf an inestimablyaluable



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I76 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGYformof the comparativend historicalmethods, amely, hestatisticalmethod. Every inductive cience today is adoptingthis method. Physics, chemistry, stronomy, nd geology,would be helplesswithoutt. The biologists ave acknowledgedtheirdependence pon it by the establishmentf a statisticaljournal,Biometrica. It is not too much o claimthat hepossi-bilities fthisnowindispensable ethod fall the scienceswerefirst emonstratedn theepoch-makingocial studies f JacquesQuetelet, nd that tsemploymentn sociologyhas beenout ofall proportion o its emiploymentlsewhere. As developed nrecent earsby the Dane,Westergraard; y Germans ike Stein-hauser, exis, and Meyer;by talians, ikeBodio; byFrenchmen,likeLavasseur ndDumont; by Englishmen,ike CharlesBooth,E. B. Tylor,Galton,Bowley, nd Karl Pearson; byAmericans,like Weber,Norton,Mayo-Smith, attell, horndike,nd Boas,it has become, nd will continue o be, the chiefly mportantmethod fsociology;andassuredly,n thecourse ftime,t willbring urknowledge f society p to standards fthoroughnessand precision omparableo the results ttained y anynaturalscience.

FRANKLIN H. GIDDINGS.COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY,New York City.

Concepts Methods Sociology

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