FACTS

Some 70,000 years ago, humans began migrating out of Africa. This migration would lead us to settle the farthest reaches of vast continents. We came to live alongside ice caps in the Arctic and under the hot sun of the equator, in underground caves and on the peaks of mountains, in the desert and in the swamp, on plains and in jungles. We crossed oceans to reach the most remote of islands. Today, we live on checkerboards of cultivated crops and in landscapes made of concrete, glass, and steel. We’ve been to the moon. Someday we might live on Mars.

What is it about us that has enabled this? We’re vulnerable to heat and cold.

We don’t have much in the way of teeth, horns, or claws. We’re not particularly fast and have limited ability to climb or dig. We can’t even growl. Even our closest relatives are more impressive physically.

Chimpanzees are stronger and more nimble, with fur coats, formidable fangs, and big toes like thumbs. If a human and a chimpanzee found themselves alone on a desert island, which one would be more likely to survive? Honestly, probably the chimpanzee.

Put a thousand chimpanzees up against as many humans, though, and it’d be smarter to place your bet on us. “All the huge achievements of humankind throughout history,” writes the Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari, “have been based on this ability to cooperate flexibly and in large numbers.”1 That is what makes us special. We have a remarkable ability to tolerate one another, even when we’re strangers and even under duress. Try putting 400

chimpanzees shoulder to shoulder and knee to seat in an airplane on its way from New York to Los Angeles. It would be a bloodbath. But humans do this easily. We cooperate. We organize. We share. We’re really, really good at working together.

Image 6

In fact, we’ve evolved to work together. We’re a social species, one designed to live in cooperative communities. Most people find isolation to be emotionally wrenching. Even fake exclusion—like playing a computer game in which people throw a Frisbee back and forth to each other but not to you—has been shown to cause distress.2 Actual solitary confinement is torture. In prison, it increases the likelihood a person will experience anxiety, depression, and psychosis.3

 

The exquisite synchrony of marching bands, both musically and in movement, is the kind of coordination that has made humans so successful as a species.

 

For humans, it’s unnatural to be alone. It’s always been that way. We were social when Homo sapiens came into existence some 300,000 years ago. In fact, we’d already been social for millions of years; the species that would evolve into modern humans was a social one too. Across environments, across continents, across millennia, the presence of other people has been as constant in our lives as oxygen.

As the science of society, sociology is the field that takes this fact most seriously.

Glossary

 

sociology

the science of society

Endnotes

 

Note 01:Yuval Noah Harari, “What Explains the Rise of Humans?,”

filmed June 2015 at TEDGlobal London, video, 17:00,

https://www.ted.com/talks/yuval_noah_harari_what_explains_the_rise

_of_humans?language=en.Return to reference 1

Note 02: Chris H. J. Hartgerink, Ilja van Beest, Jelte M. Wicherts, and Kipling D. Williams, “The Ordinal Effects of Ostracism: A Meta-Analysis of 120 Cyberball Studies,” PLOS ONE 10, no. 5 (May 2015), https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0127002.Return to reference 2

Note 03: Fatos Kaba et al., “Solitary Confinement and Risk of Self-Harm among Jail Inmates,” American Journal of Public Health 104, no. 3 (March 2014): 442–447.Return to reference 3

SOCIAL FACTS

Sociology is founded on the idea that individuals both influence and are influenced by their communities. Acknowledging this requires a genuine humility. Especially today, and especially in wealthy democracies, we’re told to think for ourselves, to do for ourselves, to be ourselves. “To thine own self be true,” Shakespeare wrote. Or, as we might say today, “You do you.” Both phrases evoke the idea that we have an authentic self—one separate from society—and that finding and nurturing that self is essential for a good life.

The truth is less grand but infinitely more beautiful.

It’s true that we’re born an individual, but we don’t remain one. At birth, we join a stream of consciousness hundreds of thousands of years old. We inherit a rich history full of legends, wishes, wisdom, and folly. Though we’re all unique, different from all the roughly 108 billion other human consciousnesses that have ever existed on the planet, we’re also inevitably and inescapably tied to the other people around us. That’s the intriguing paradox that is the premise of sociology: We are individuals, but we are not, have never been, and were never meant to be alone.

Image 7

 

A French social scientist, Émile Durkheim coined the term “social facts”

in 1895.

 

Even more humbling, human civilization is indifferent to any one of us.

Some people would miss us if we were gone, of course, but social life would otherwise go on unimpeded. There are powerful realities brought into existence by humans, in other words, that are bigger than any individual human. Sociologists call these things social facts, products of human interaction with persuasive or coercive power that exist externally to any individual.4 The phrase was coined in 1895 by Émile (pronounced eh-meel) Durkheim (1858–1917), a French social scientist who contributed to the development of sociology.

This book employs an expansive definition of the social fact, encompassing anything produced collectively by people that exerts a force upon us. These range from the trivial to the momentous. That many people around the world traditionally greet each other by shaking hands, for example, is a social fact. Handshakes only exist because humans shake hands.

Handshakes also exist independently of you and me. People have been shaking hands for over 2,000 years. Obviously almost everyone who’s ever shaken another person’s hand is dead by now. And yet, the practice persists.

Handshaking stuck around because it has a persuasive or coercive power.

Other people expect to be greeted with a handshake, and doing otherwise can seem strange or rude. Refusing to shake a person’s hand might even be interpreted as hostile. So you could decide that you’d rather greet people some other way, but there would be a price to pay. Strained relations, at best. So we keep shaking hands and the behavior is given a life span that exceeds any one of ours.

Because so much of our reality is social, when describing the whole range of social facts, it may be easiest to start by listing what facts are nonsocial.

We’d be hard-pressed to change the gravitational pull of the earth, for example. Likewise, the fact of the sun, our solar system, and the universe.

But beyond that, things get less clear. In many ways, even nature is a social fact. We’re a species that molds nature to suit our own ends. We manicure our backyards, city parks, and college campuses. We build freeways, bridges, and borders between nations that channel the movement of the earth’s inhabitants. As a result of agriculture, wheat now covers about 870,000 square miles of the earth’s surface.5 When stay-at-home orders

Image 8

went into effect in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, machines measuring our planet’s vibrations registered a sudden stillness.6 When our natural environment is a product of human interaction with persuasive or coercive power, it can be fairly described as a social fact.

 

Seen from above, the island of Manhattan is a striking example of how humans cultivate the natural world.

 

Between nature itself and the handshake are countless other social facts.

They include the ways in which we fall in love and build families, our morals and methods of worship, how we play and fight, and so much more.

Our nations, economies, and wars are social facts. Our ways of knowing, from medicine to mathematics, are social facts—as is sociology itself, along with all the sciences that humans have invented and developed.

In elaborating on this idea, Durkheim helped invent a new object of inquiry.

Geologists studied geological facts, biologists studied biological facts, physicists studied physical facts, and now sociologists studied social facts.

If it sounds obvious today, it wasn’t then. Durkheim named something that hadn’t yet been named. And though social facts depend on humans for their existence, they’re as real as any other facts. On this, Durkheim was insistent. Social facts are no less real for being social than rocks are for being geological, cells are for being biological, and fission is for being physical. Social facts are real things and as important to study as any other fact of life. Hence, sociology was born as the science of social facts.

Glossary

 

social facts

products of human interaction with persuasive or coercive power that exist externally to any individual

Endnotes

 

Note 04: Émile Durkheim, The Rules of Sociological Method: And Selected Texts on Sociology and Its Methodology (New York: Free Press, 2014 [1895]).Return to reference 4

Note 05: Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (New York: HarperCollins, 2015). Return to reference 5

Note 06: Thomas Lecocq, Stephen P. Hicks, Koen Van Noten, Kasper van Wijk, et al., “Global Quieting of High-Frequency Seismic Noise Due to COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown Measures,” Science 369, no.

6509 (September 2020): 1338–1343.Return to reference 6

STUDYING SOCIAL FACTS

At the time, the notion of studying society scientifically was new.

Psychologists and biologists studied individuals and their bodies, artists and writers explored the human experience, and philosophers theorized as to what was real and good, but few had thought to put the tools of the scientific method to the task of understanding society itself. In staking a claim on sociology as a science, Durkheim made society into an object of empirical inquiry, meaning that it involves looking to the world for evidence with which scientists can test their hunches. Scientists call this evidence data, or systematically collected sets of empirical observations.

Image 9

 

After a visit to the United States in 1834 to observe the local customs, the British sociologist Harriet Martineau wrote the first sociological research methods book.

 

To collect data, scholars pose research questions, queries about the world that can be answered empirically. And they answer those questions with

sociological research methods, or scientific strategies for collecting

empirical data about social facts. In 1895, Durkheim published a book titled The Rules of Sociological Method, a manual for how to study society scientifically.7 His was the second book on the topic. The first— How to Observe Morals and Manners—was written almost sixty years earlier by a British sociologist named Harriet Martineau (1802–1876).8

Sociological research methods include a wide variety of both qualitative and quantitative strategies for collecting data. Qualitative research methods

involve careful consideration and discussion of the meaning of nonnumerical data. Qualitative data comes from in-person interviews, images, and text, or through observation. This kind of research is excellent for understanding how people feel, think, and behave.

Quantitative research methods involve examining numerical data with mathematics. This type of research was introduced by another pioneering sociologist, W. E. B. Du Bois (pronounced the American way instead of the French way; that is, du boyz instead of du bwah). While in graduate school at Harvard, Du Bois (1868–1963) studied at the University of Berlin with social scientists who were inventing statistics, a mathematical approach to research that involves collecting, manipulating, and analyzing numerical data. When Du Bois returned to the United States, he was one of only a handful of Americans trained in such methods.

Du Bois recognized the value of quantitative methods because he was trying to communicate facts about Black people to a racist audience. He was born in 1868 to African American parents five years after the end of legal human slavery in the United States. This was not a time of peace and harmony. The country was extending equal protection of the law, citizenship rights, and the right to vote to men of all races—except, in irony most deep, to American Indians—and attempting to reconcile the North and South and adjust to a new economy.9 These changes were bitterly and violently resisted, especially but not exclusively in the South.

Image 10

 

W. E. B. Du Bois introduced statistics to American sociology. He used social science to advocate for Black Americans.

 

Du Bois knew that convincing a reluctant majority to understand Black life in the United States would require extremely credible tools. Statistics were a

way to ensure that his research would be taken seriously. And it was. Du Bois would become one of the most important Black thinkers in American history, and one of his legacies would be mathematical approaches to data analysis. Thanks in part to him, today’s sociologists use ever more sophisticated statistical tools to understand their data.

Du Bois, Durkheim, and Martineau were all insistent that sociological research be systematic and impartial, with the aim of producing accurate findings. Math, though, wasn’t the only skill sociologists needed to acquire.

Martineau added that studying people in their societies required sociological

sympathy, the skill of understanding others as they understand themselves.

To Martineau, this was important for two reasons.

First, as a type of curiosity, sociological sympathy was an essential tool of data collection. A scholar without it, she argued, is “like one who, without hearing the music, sees a roomful of people begin to dance.”10 Such a person could describe the scene but not fully comprehend its nature. Thus, they might see people moving about in rhythm but miss its role in producing joy or sparking romance.

Second, Martineau argued that only a sociologist with sociological sympathy could be impartial. Only by adopting the point of view of the person being studied are we able to avoid judging them by our own standards. True objectivity, she argued, is not value-neutral but an earnest attempt to understand others’ values.

As different research methods are introduced throughout this book, features titled “The Science of Sociology” offer a brief discussion of each method.

These are regular reminders that sociology is rooted in the scientific method. They’ll also reveal that sociologists are creative and resourceful scientists who’ve developed a wide range of research methods. For an overview, you can turn to the back of the book and read “A Guide to Sociological Research.”

This guide also includes a lengthy discussion of professional research

ethics, or the set of moral principles that guide empirical inquiry. These principles include respect (treating people as autonomous individuals with the right to make informed decisions), justice (conducting research that is

fair, nondiscriminatory, and nonexploitative), and beneficence (doing more good than harm). Practices designed to honor these principles include reporting conflicts of interest, attaining informed consent from research subjects, ensuring confidentiality, and minimizing deception.

 

THE SCIENCE OF SOCIOLOGY

 

One aim of sociological research is to build sociological theory, or empirically based explanations and predictions about relationships between social facts. Sociological theories are more than just beliefs; they’re conclusions based on the findings of sociological research, some of which spans decades. Theories aim to describe probabilistic cause-and-effect relationships, or ones that are likely but not inevitable. To study social facts, then, is to look for social patterns: explainable and foreseeable similarities and differences among people influenced by the social conditions in which they live.

Theories start off as sets of related hypotheses and are rigorously tested using both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Theories are always tentative, meaning that scholars are ready to reject or change their theories if the data don’t support them. Being willing to change our minds about what we think we know is the core of scientific inquiry, in sociology no less than anywhere else.

Most sociologists also agree that theories are strongest when they’re built by many different kinds of scholars asking questions from various

standpoints, or points of view grounded in lived reality.11 Standpoint theory was originally developed by women of color, like Chicana sociologist Maxine Baca Zinn and Black sociologist Bonnie Thornton Dill. “Lived experience,” they write, “creates alternative ways of understanding the social world and the experience of different groups of [people] within it. ”12

All standpoints, especially the ones we hear less often, are important for understanding the world. Our personal biographies shape our questions, our research methods, our analysis and insights, and our conclusions. So, if we want sociology to explain the full breadth of social life, everyone has to be involved in its production.

In addition to developing sociological theory, a second aim of sociological research is to support public sociology. This involves using sociological

theory to make societies better. As the “A Short History of Sociology” unit at the back of the book makes clear, this has always been a central goal of sociology. In the 1800s, Martineau, for example, wrote forcefully about the oppression of women, the enslavement of African Americans, economic inequality, and political disenfranchisement.13 In Society in America, published in 1836, she asked how it was possible that so many U.S. citizens could tolerate these injustices in light of the promise, stated in the Declaration of Independence, that “all men are created equal.” Martineau meant for her research to “inform some minds” and “stir up others. ”14

In this sense, sociology is not like other sciences. The power with which sociology is concerned is not geological, chemical, or physical, but social, meaning that sociologists are attentive to the power relationships that exist among us. Sociology doesn’t shy away from the hard questions, ones about oppression and exploitation. For this reason, writes the Australian sociologist Raewyn Connell, sociology sometimes “speaks in tones that can offend about power, privilege, and the possibilities of change.”15 It may inform some minds and stir up others. Some may perceive sociology’s interest in inequality as evidence of a lack of objectivity. In fact, it is the opposite. Like all social facts, social injustice is real. And sociology is the best intellectual tool we have for alleviating it.

This book takes you on a journey through sociological knowledge and theory. It includes thousands of facts produced by sociologists and describes dozens of research studies in detail. It also introduces you in small doses to sociological research methods. The book also highlights important figures in sociology and offers insight into their standpoints. This will give you a sense of what drives sociologists to ask the questions they do and why diversity is essential to good sociological theory. Hopefully, this will also give you an opportunity to practice your sociological sympathy. Some of the conclusions sociologists draw may not resonate with you. Martineau would recommend that we approach with curiosity if we want to be truly impartial. Always listen for the music.

By the end, you’ll have developed a sociological imagination. 16 This is the capacity to consider how people’s lives—including our own—are shaped by the social facts that surround us. A sociological imagination will help you

think even more intelligently about your social worlds, understand how they affect your life and the lives of others, and envision different ways of organizing societies, perhaps even better ones. Ultimately, the goal of this book is to help you strengthen your sociological imagination and empower you to understand and influence our shared lives.

We begin right at the center of the paradox that is sociology: the relationship between the individual and society. Letting go of the idea that we’re each somehow unaffected by the world around us is an essential first step in developing a sociological imagination. To that end, the next chapter makes an argument that the self is a social fact. Get ready to think about yourself in an entirely new way. ■

 

COMING UP...

WHAT DOES IT MEAN to say that the self is a social fact? The next chapter suggests that we each develop a sense of self in cooperation with other people, both those we know and those we imagine. We further cultivate that sense of self by thinking frequently about how we want others to see us and working to perfect that self. And we tell stories about our selves in an effort to understand who we are and communicate that to others.

The idea that our self doesn’t come spontaneously from somewhere inside of us may be unsettling, but scientists studying the relationship between our psychologies and societies have shown that a sense of self emerges only at the intersection of the two. As I’ll emphasize, this doesn’t mean that you’re not real, but it does mean that who you are, and who you will become, is influenced by your social environment. This can be a tough pill to swallow, but I hope the next chapter convinces you that the idea of the social self is not only plausible but more inspirational than the alternative.

Chapter 1 will also introduce you to two research methods, one qualitative and one quantitative.

Welcome to sociology! I’m so glad you’re here.

 

Glossary

 

data

systematically collected sets of empirical observations

research questions

queries about the world that can be answered empirically

sociological research methods

scientific strategies for collecting empirical data about social facts

qualitative research methods

tools of sociological inquiry that involve careful consideration and discussion of the meaning of nonnumerical data

quantitative research methods

tools of sociological inquiry that involve examining numerical data with mathematics

sociological sympathy

the skill of understanding others as they understand themselves

research ethics

the set of moral principles that guide empirical inquiry

sociological theory

empirically based explanations and predictions about relationships between social facts

social patterns

explainable and foreseeable similarities and differences among people influenced by the social conditions in which they live

standpoints

points of view grounded in lived reality

public sociology

the work of using sociological theory to make societies better

sociological imagination

the capacity to consider how people’s lives—including our own—are shaped by the social facts that surround us

Endnotes

 

Note 07: Durkheim, The Rules of Sociological Method.Return to

reference 7

Note 08: Harriet Martineau, How to Observe Morals and Manners (London: Charles Knight and Co., 1838).Return to reference 8

Note 09: W. E. B. Du Bois, Black Reconstruction in America: An Essay Toward a History of the Part Which Black Folk Played in the Attempt to Reconstruct Democracy in America, 1860–1880 (New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1935).Return to reference 9

Note 10: As quoted on page 34 of Patricia Madoo Lengermann and Jill Niebrugge-Brantley, The Women Founders: Sociology and Social

Theory, 1830–1930 (Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press, 1998).Return to

reference 10

Note 11:

Patricia Hill Collins, Black Feminist Thought (New York: Routledge, 2000); Maxine Baca Zinn and Ruth Enid Zambrana, “Chicanas/Latinas Advance Intersectional Thought and Practice,” Gender & Society 33, no. 5 (October 2019): 677–701; Martin Nakata, “An Indigenous Standpoint Theory,” in Disciplining the Savages: Savaging the Disciplines (Canberra, A.C.T.: Aboriginal Studies Press, 2007): 213–

217.

Return to reference 11

Note 12: Maxine Baca Zinn and Bonnie Thornton Dill, “Theorizing Difference from Multiracial Feminism,” Feminist Studies 22, no. 2

(1996): 328.Return to reference 12

Note 13: Martineau, How to Observe Morals and Manners, 27.Return

to reference 13

Note 14: Ibid, 23.Return to reference 14

Note 15: Raewyn Connell, “In Praise of Sociology,” Canadian Review of Sociology 54, no. 3 (August 2017): 283.Return to reference 15

Note 16: C. Wright Mills, The Sociological Imagination (New York: Oxford University Press, 1959).Return to reference 16

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