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INTRODUCTION TO THE SCIENCE OF SOCIOLOGY
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
THE BAKER & TAYLOR COMPANY
NEW YORK
THE CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
LONDON
THE MARUZEN-KABUSHIKI-KAISHA
TOKYO, OSAKA, KYOTO, FUKUOKA, SENDAI
THE MISSION BOOK COMPANY
SHANGHAI
INTRODUCTION TO THE SCIENCE OF SOCIOLOGY
_By_
ROBERT E. PARK AND ERNEST W. BURGESS
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
COPYRIGHT 1921 BY
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
All rights Reserved
Published September 1921
Transcriber's Note: Minor typos have been corrected. Footnotes have been
moved to the end of the chapters. Italicized letters, such as (_a_),
have been changed to unitalicized (a) for easier reading.
PREFACE
The materials upon which this book is based have been collected from a
wide range of sources and represent the observation and reflection of
men who have seen life from very different points of view. This was
necessary in order to bring into the perspective of a single volume the
whole wide range of social organization and human life which is the
subject-matter of a science of society.
At the same time an effort has been made to bring this material within
the limits of a very definite series of sociological conceptions which
suggest, at any rate, where they do not clearly exhibit, the fundamental
relations of the parts to one another and to the concepts and contents
of the volume as a whole.
The _Introduction to the Science of Sociology_ is not conceived as a
mere collection of materials, however, but as a systematic treatise. On
the other hand, the excerpts which make up the body of the book are not
to be regarded as mere illustrations. In the context in which they
appear, and with the headings which indicate their place in the volume,
they should enable the student to formulate for himself the principles
involved. An experience of some years, during which this book has been
in preparation, has demonstrated the value to the teacher of a body of
materials that are interesting in themselves and that appeal to the
experience of the student. If students are invited to take an active
part in the task of interpretation of the text, if they are encouraged
to use the references in order to extend their knowledge of the
subject-matter and to check and supplement classroom discussion by their
personal observation, their whole attitude becomes active rather than
passive. Students gain in this way a sense of dealing at first hand with
a subject-matter that is alive and with a science that is in the making.
Under these conditions sociology becomes a common enterprise in which
all members of the class participate; to which, by their observation and
investigation, they can and should make contributions.
The first thing that students in sociology need to learn is to observe
and record their own observations; to read, and then to select and
record the materials which are the fruits of their readings; to
organize and use, in short, their own experience. The whole organization
of this volume may be taken as an illustration of a method, at once
tentative and experimental, for the collection, classification, and
interpretation of materials, and should be used by students from the
very outset in all their reading and study.
Social questions have been endlessly discussed, and it is important that
they should be. What the student needs to learn, however, is how to get
facts rather than formulate opinions. The most important facts that
sociologists have to deal with are opinions (attitudes and sentiments),
but until students learn to deal with opinions as the biologists deal
with organisms, that is, to dissect them--reduce them to their component
elements, describe them, and define the situation (environment) to which
they are a response--we must not expect very great progress in
sociological science.
It will be noticed that every single chapter, except the first, falls
naturally into four parts; (1) the introduction, (2) the materials, (3)
investigations and problems, and (4) bibliography. The first two parts
of each chapter are intended to raise questions rather than to answer
them. The last two, on the other hand, should outline or suggest
problems for further study. The bibliographies have been selected mainly
to exhibit the recognized points of view with regard to the questions
raised, and to suggest the practical problems that grow out of, and are
related to, the subject of the chapter as a whole.
The bibliographies, which accompany the chapters, it needs to be said,
are intended to be representative rather than authoritative or complete.
An attempt has been made to bring together literature that would exhibit
the range, the divergence, the distinctive character of the writings and
points of view upon a single topic. The results are naturally subject to
criticism and revision.
A word should be said in regard to chapter i. It seemed necessary and
important, in view of the general vagueness and uncertainty in regard to
the place of sociology among the sciences and its relation to the other
social sciences, particularly to history, to state somewhere, clearly
and definitely, what, from the point of view of this volume, sociology
is. This resulted finally in the imposition of a rather formidable essay
upon what is in other respects, we trust, a relatively concrete and
intelligible book. Under these circumstances we suggest that, unless the
reader is specially interested in the matter, he begin with the chapter
on "Human Nature," and read the first chapter last.
The editors desire to express their indebtedness to Dr. W. I. Thomas for
the point of view and the scheme of organization of materials which have
been largely adopted in this book.[1] They are also under obligations to
their colleagues, Professor Albion W. Small, Professor Ellsworth Faris,
and Professor Leon C. Marshall, for constant stimulus, encouragement,
and assistance. They wish to acknowledge the co-operation and the
courtesy of their publishers, all the more appreciated because of the
difficult technical task involved in the preparation of this volume. In
preparing copy for publication and in reading proof, invaluable service
was rendered by Miss Roberta Burgess.
Finally the editors are bound to express their indebtedness to the
writers and publishers who have granted their permission to use the
materials from which this volume has been put together. Without the use
of these materials it would not have been possible to exhibit the many
and varied types of observation and reflection which have contributed to
present-day knowledge of social life. In order to give this volume a
systematic character it has been necessary to tear these excerpts from
their contexts and to put them, sometimes, into strange categories. In
doing this it will no doubt have happened that some false impressions
have been created. This was perhaps inevitable and to be expected. On
the other hand these brief excerpts offered here will serve, it is
hoped, as an introduction to the works from which they have been taken,
and, together with the bibliographies which accompany them, will serve
further to direct and stimulate the reading and research of students.
The co-operation of the following publishers, organizations and
journals, in giving, by special arrangement, permission to use
selections from copyright material, was therefore distinctly appreciated
by the editors:
D. Appleton & Co.; G. Bell & Sons; J. F. Bergmann; Columbia University
Press; George H. Doran Co.; Duncker und Humblot; Duffield & Co.;
Encyclopedia Americana Corporation; M. Giard et Cie; Ginn & Co.;
Harcourt, Brace & Co.; Paul B. Hoeber; Houghton Mifflin Co.; Henry Holt
& Co.; B. W. Huebsch; P. S. King & Son; T. W. Laurie, Ltd.; Longmans,
Green & Co.; John W. Luce & Co.; The Macmillan Co.; A. C. McClurg & Co.;
Methuen & Co.; John Murray; Martinus Nijhoff; Open Court Publishing Co.;
Oxford University Press; G. P. Putnam's Sons; Rütten und Loening;
Charles Scribner's Sons; Frederick A. Stokes & Co.; W. Thacker & Co.;
University of Chicago Press; University Tutorial Press, Ltd.;
Wagnerische Univ. Buchhandlung; Walter Scott Publishing Co.; Williams &
Norgate; Yale University Press; American Association for International
Conciliation; American Economic Association; American Sociological
Society; Carnegie Institution of Washington; _American Journal of
Psychology_; _American Journal of Sociology_; _Cornhill Magazine_;
_International Journal of Ethics_; _Journal of Abnormal Psychology_;
_Journal of Delinquency_; _Nature_; _Pedagogical Seminary_; _Popular
Science Monthly_; _Religious Education_; _Scientific Monthly_;
_Sociological Review_; _World's Work_; _Yale Review_.
CHICAGO
June 18, 1921
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER I. SOCIOLOGY AND THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
PAGE
I. Sociology and "Scientific" History 1
II. Historical and Sociological Facts 6
III. Human Nature and Law 12
IV. History, Natural History, and Sociology 16
V. The Social Organism: Humanity or Leviathan? 24
VI. Social Control and Schools of Thought 27
VII. Social Control and the Collective Mind 36
VIII. Sociology and Social Research 43
_Representative Works in Systematic Sociology and Methods of
Sociological Research_ 57
_Topics for Written Themes_ 60
_Questions for Discussion_ 60