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SOCIOLOGY AND MODERN SOCIAL PROBLEMS
BY
CHARLES A. ELLWOOD, PH. D.
Professor of Sociology, University of Missouri
PREFACE
This book is intended as an elementary text in sociology as applied to
modern social problems, for use in institutions where but a short time
can be given to the subject, in courses in sociology where it is desired
to combine it with a study of current social problems on the one hand,
and to correlate it with a course in economics on the other. The book is
also especially suited for use in University Extension Courses and in
Teachers' Reading Circles.
This book aims to teach the simpler principles of sociology concretely
and inductively. In Chapters I to VIII the elementary principles of
sociology are stated and illustrated, chiefly through the study of the
origin, development, structure, and functions of the family considered
as a typical human institution; while in Chapters IX to XV certain
special problems are considered in the light of these general
principles.
Inasmuch as the book aims to illustrate the working of certain factors
in social organization and evolution by the study of concrete problems,
interpretation has been emphasized rather than the social facts
themselves. However, the book is not intended to be a contribution to
sociological theory, and no attempt is made to give a systematic
presentation of theory. Rather, the student's attention is called to
certain obvious and elementary forces in the social life, and he is left
to work out his own system of social theory.
To guide the student in further reading, a brief list of select
references in English has been appended to each chapter. Methodological
discussions and much statistical and historical material have been
omitted in order to make the text as simple as possible. These can be
found in the references, or the teacher can supply them at his
discretion.
The many authorities to whom I am indebted for both facts and
interpretations of facts cannot be mentioned individually, except that I
wish to express my special indebtedness to my former teachers, Professor
Willcox of Cornell and Professors Small and Henderson of the University
of Chicago, to whom I am under obligation either directly or indirectly
for much of the substance of this book. The list of references will also
indicate in the main the sources of whatever is not my own.
CHARLES A. ELLWOOD.
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I: THE STUDY OF SOCIETY
CHAPTER II: THE BEARING OF THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION UPON SOCIAL PROBLEMS
CHAPTER III: THE FUNCTION OF THE FAMILY IN SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
CHAPTER IV: THE ORIGIN OF THE FAMILY
CHAPTER V: THE FORMS OF THE FAMILY
CHAPTER VI: THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE FAMILY
CHAPTER VII: THE PROBLEM OF THE MODERN FAMILY
CHAPTER VIII: THE GROWTH OF POPULATION
CHAPTER IX: THE IMMIGRATION PROBLEM
CHAPTER X: THE NEGRO PROBLEM
CHAPTER XI: THE PROBLEM OF THE CITY
CHAPTER XII: POVERTY AND PAUPERISM
CHAPTER XIII: CRIME
CHAPTER XIV: SOCIALISM IN THE LIGHT OF SOCIOLOGY
CHAPTER XV: EDUCATION AND SOCIAL PROGRESS
INDEX
SOCIOLOGY AND MODERN SOCIAL PROBLEMS
CHAPTER I
THE STUDY OF SOCIETY
What is Society?--Perhaps the great question which sociology seeks to
answer is this question which we have put at the beginning. Just as
biology seeks to answer the question "What is life?"; zoölogy, "What is
an animal?"; botany, "What is a plant?"; so sociology seeks to answer
the question "What is society?" or perhaps better, "What is
association?" Just as biology, zoölogy, and botany cannot answer their
questions until those sciences have reached their full and complete
development, so also sociology cannot answer the question "What is
society?" until it reaches its final development. Nevertheless, some
conception or definition of society is necessary for the beginner, for
in the scientific discussion of social problems we must know first of
all what we are talking about. We must understand in a general way what
society is, what sociology is, what the relations are between sociology
and other sciences, before we can study the social problems of to-day
from a sociological point of view.
The word "society" is used scientifically to designate the reciprocal
relations between individuals. More exactly, and using the term in a
concrete sense, a society is any group of individuals who have more or
less conscious relations to each other. We say conscious relations
because it is not necessary that these relations be specialized into
industrial, political, or ecclesiastical relations. Society is
constituted by the mental interaction of individuals and exists wherever
two or three individuals have reciprocal conscious relations to each
other. Dependence upon a common economic environment, or the mere
contiguity in space is not sufficient to constitute a society. It is the
interdependence in function on the mental side, the contact and
overlapping of our inner selves, which makes possible that form of
collective life which we call society. Plants and lowly types of
organisms do not constitute true societies, unless it can be shown that
they have some degree of mentality. On the other hand, there is no
reason for withholding the term "society" from many animal groups. These
animal societies, however, are very different in many respects from
human society, and are of interest to us only as certain of their forms
throw light upon human society.
We may dismiss with a word certain faulty conceptions of society. In
some of the older sociological writings the word society is often used
as nearly synonymous with the word nation. Now, a nation is a body of
people politically organized into an independent government, and it is
manifest that it is only one of many forms of human society. Another
conception of society, which some have advocated, is that it is
synonymous with the cultural group. That is, a society is any group of
people that have a common civilization, or that are bearers of a certain
type of culture. In this case Christendom, for example, would constitute
a single society. Cultural groups no doubt are, again, one of the forms
of human society, but only one among many. Both the cultural group and
the nation are very imposing forms of society and hence have attracted
the attention of social thinkers very often in the past to the neglect
of the more humble forms. But it is evident that all forms of
association are of equal interest to the sociologist, though, of course,
this is not saying that all forms are of equal practical importance.
Any form of association, or social group, which may be studied, if
studied from the point of view of origin and development, whether it be
a family, a neighborhood group, a city, a state, a trade union, or a
party, will serve to reveal many of the problems of sociology. The
natural or genetic social groups, however, such as the family, the
community, and the nation, serve best to exhibit sociological problems.
In this text we shall make particular use of the family, as the simplest
and, in many ways, the most typical of all the forms of human
association, to illustrate concretely the laws and principles of social
development. Through the study of the simple and primary forms of
association the problems of sociology can be much better attacked than
through the study of society at large, or association in general.
From what has been said it may be inferred that _society_ as a
scientific term means scarcely more than the abstract term
_association_, and this is correct. Association, indeed, may be
regarded as the more scientific term of the two; at any rate it
indicates more exactly what the sociologist deals with. A word may be
said also as to the meaning of the word _social_. The sense in
which this word will generally be used in this text is that of a
collective adjective, referring to all that pertains to or relates to
society in any way. The word social, then, is much broader than the
words industrial, political, moral, religious, and embraces them all;
that is, social phenomena are all phenomena which involve the
interaction of two or more individuals. The word social, then, includes
the economic, political, moral, religious, etc., and must not be thought
of as something set in opposition to, for instance, the industrial or
the political.
Society and its Products.--Beneath all the forms and processes of human
society lies the fact of association itself. Industry, government, and
civilization itself must be regarded as expressions of collective human
life rather than _vice versa_. Industry, for example, is one side
or aspect of man's social life, and must not be mistaken for society
itself. Industry, government, religion, education, art, and the like,
are all products of the social life of man. Among these coördinate
expressions of collective human life, industry, being concerned with the
satisfying of the material needs of men, is perhaps fundamental to the
rest. But this must not lead to the mistaken view that the social life
of man can be interpreted completely through his industrial life; for,
as has just been said, beneath industry and all other aspects of man's
collective life lies the biological and psychological fact of
association. This is equivalent to saying that industry itself must be
interpreted in terms of the biology and psychology of human association.
In other words, industrial problems, political problems, educational
problems, and the like must be viewed from the collective or social
standpoint rather than simply as detached problems by themselves. We
must understand the biological and psychological aspects of man's social
life before we can understand its special phases.
The Origin of Society.--From the definition of society that we have
given it is evident that society is something which springs from the
very processes of life itself. It is not something which has been
invented or planned by individuals. Life, in its higher forms at least,
could not exist without association. From the very beginning the
association of the sexes has been necessary for reproduction and for the
care and rearing of offspring, and it has been not less necessary for
the procuring of an adequate food supply and for protection against
enemies. From the association necessary for reproduction has sprung
family life and all the altruistic institutions of human society, while
from the association for providing food supply have sprung society's
industrial institutions. Neither society nor industry, therefore, has
had a premeditated, reflective origin, but both have sprung up
spontaneously from the needs of life and both have developed down to the
present time at least with but little premeditated guidance. It is
necessary that the student should understand at the outset that social
organization is not a fabrication of the human intellect to any great
degree, and the old idea that individuals who existed independently of
society came together and deliberately planned a certain type of social
organization is utterly without scientific validity. The individual and
society are correlatives. We have no knowledge of individuals apart from
society or society apart from individuals. What we do know is that human
life everywhere is a collective or associated life, the individual being
on the one hand largely an expression of the social life surrounding him
and on the other hand society being largely an expression of individual
character. The reasons for these assertions will appear later as we
develop our subject.
What is Sociology?--The science which deals with human association, its
origin, development, forms, and functions, is sociology. Briefly,
sociology is a science which deals with society as a whole and not with
its separate aspects or phases. It attempts to formulate the laws or
principles which govern social organization and social evolution. This
means that the main problems of sociology are those of the organization
of society on the one hand and the evolution of society on the other.
These words, _organization_ and _evolution_, however, are used
in a broader sense in sociology than they are generally used. By
organization we mean any relation of the parts of society to each other.
By evolution we mean, not necessarily change for the better, but orderly
change of any sort. Sociology is, therefore, a science which deals with
the laws or principles of social organization and of social change. Put
in more exact terms this makes sociology, as we said at the beginning,
the science of the origin, development, structure, and function of the
forms of association. We may pass over very rapidly certain faulty
conceptions of sociology. The first of these is that it is the study of
social evils and their remedies. This conception is faulty because it
makes sociology deal primarily with the abnormal rather than the normal
conditions in society, and secondly, it is to be criticized because it
makes sociology synonymous with scientific philanthropy. It is rather
the science of philanthropy, which is an applied science resting upon
sociology, that studies social evils and their remedies. This is not
saying, of course, that sociology does not consider social evils, but
that it considers them as incidents in the normal processes of social
evolution rather than as its special matter. A second conception of
sociology which is to be dismissed as inadequate is the conception that
it is the science of social phenomena. This conception is not incorrect,
but is somewhat vague, as there are manifestly other sciences of social
phenomena, such as economics and political science. Such a conception of
sociology would make it include everything in human society. A third
faulty conception is that it is the science of human institutions. This
is faulty because it again is too narrow. An institution is a
_sanctioned_ form of human association, while sociology deals with
the ephemeral and unsanctioned forms, such as we see in the phenomena of
mobs, crazes, fads, fashions, and crimes, as well as with the sanctioned
forms. A fourth conception which might be criticized is that sociology
is the science of social organization. This makes sociology deal with
the laws or principles of the relations of individuals to one another,
and of institutions to one another. It is to be criticized as faulty
because it fails to emphasize the evolution of those relations. All
science is now evolutionary in spirit and in method and believes that
things cannot be understood except as they are understood in their
genesis and development. It would, therefore, perhaps be more correct to
define sociology as the science of the evolution of human interrelations
than to define it simply as the science of social organization.
The Problems of Sociology.--The problems of sociology fall into two
great classes; first, problems of the organization of society, and
second, problems of the evolution of society. The problems of the
organization of society are problems of the relations of individuals to
one another and to institutions. Such problems are, for example, the
influence of various elements in the physical environment upon the
social organization; or, again, the influence of various elements in
human nature upon the social order. These problems are, then, problems
of society in a hypothetically stationary condition or at rest. For this
reason Comte, the founder of modern sociology, called the division of
sociology which deals with such problems _Social Statics_. But the
problems which are of most interest and importance in sociology are
those of social evolution. Under this head we have the problem of the
origin of society in general and also of various forms of association.
More important still are the problems of social progress and social
retrogression; that is, the causes of the advancement of society to
higher and more complex types of social organization and the causes of
social decline. The former problem, social progress, is in a peculiar
sense the central problem of sociology. The effort of theoretical
sociology is to develop a scientific theory of social progress. The
study of social evolution, then, that is, social changes of all sorts,
as we have emphasized above, is the vital part of sociology; and it is
manifest that only a general science of society like sociology is
competent to deal with such a problem. Inasmuch as the problems of
social evolution are problems of change, development, or movement in
society, Comte proposed that this division of sociology be called
_Social Dynamics_.
The Relations of Sociology to Other Sciences. [Footnote: For a fuller
discussion of the relations of sociology to other sciences and to
philosophy see my article on "Sociology: Its Problems and Its Relations"
in the _American Journal of Sociology_ for November, 1907.]--(A)
_Relations to Biology and Psychology._ In attempting to give a
scientific view of social organization and social evolution, sociology
has to depend upon the other natural sciences, particularly upon biology
and psychology. It is manifest that sociology must depend upon biology,
since biology is the general science of life, and human society is but
part of the world of life in general. It is manifest also that sociology
must depend upon psychology to explain the interactions between
individuals because these interactions are for the most part
interactions between their minds. Thus on the one hand all social
phenomena are vital phenomena and on the other hand nearly all social
phenomena are mental phenomena. Every social problem has, in other
words, its psychological and its biological sides, and sociology is
distinguished from biology and psychology only as a matter of
convenience. The scientific division of labor necessitates that certain
scientific workers concern themselves with certain problems. Now, the
problems with which the biologist and the psychologist deal are not the
problems of the organization and evolution of society. Hence, while the
sociologist borrows his principles of interpretation from biology and
psychology, he has his own distinctive problems, and it is this fact
which makes sociology a distinct science.
Sociology is not so easily distinguished from the special social
sciences like politics, economics, and others, as it is from the other
general sciences. These sciences occupy the same field as sociology,
that is, they have to do with social phenomena. But in general, as has
already been pointed out, they are concerned chiefly with certain very
special aspects or phases of the social life and not with its most
general problems. If sociology, then, is dependent upon the other
general sciences, particularly upon biology and psychology, it is
obvious that its relation to the special sciences is the reverse,
namely, these sciences are dependent upon sociology. This is only saying
practically the same thing as was said above when we pointed out that
industry, government, and religion are but expressions of human social
life. In other words, sociology deals with the more general biological
and psychological aspects of human association, while the special
sciences of economics, politics, and the like, generally deal with
certain products or highly specialized phases of society.
(B) _Relations to History._ [Footnote: For a discussion of the
practical relations between the teaching of history and of sociology,
see my paper on "How History can be taught from a Sociological Point of
View," in Education for January, 1910.] A word may be said about the
relation of sociology to another science which also deals with human
society in a general way, and that is history. History is a concrete,
descriptive science of society which attempts to construct a picture of
the social past. Sociology, however, is an abstract, theoretical science
of society concerned with the laws and principles which govern social
organization and social change. In a sense, sociology is narrower than
history inasmuch as it is an abstract science, and in another sense it
is wider than history because it concerns itself not only with the
social past but also with the social present. The facts of contemporary
social life are indeed even more important to the sociologist than the
facts of history, although it is impossible to construct a theory of
social evolution without taking into full account all the facts
available in human history, and in this sense history becomes one of the
very important methods of sociology. Upon its evolutionary or dynamic
side sociology may be considered a sort of philosophy of history; at
least it attempts to give a scientific theory which will explain the
social changes which history describes concretely.
(C) Relations to Economics. Economics is that special social science
which deals with the wealth-getting and wealth-using activities of man.
In other words, it is concerned with the commercial and industrial
activities of man. As has already been implied, economics must be
considered one of the most important of the special social sciences, if
not the most important. Yet it is evident that the wealth-getting and
wealth-using activities of man are strictly an outgrowth of his social
life, and that economics as a science of human industry must rest upon
sociology. Sometimes in the past the mistake has been made of supposing
that economics dealt with the most fundamental social phenomena, and
even at times economists have spoken of their science as alone
sufficient to explain all social phenomena. It cannot be admitted,
however, that we can explain social organization in general or social
progress in terms of economic development. A theory of progress, for
example, in which the sole causes of human progress were found in
economic conditions would neglect political, religious, educational, and
many other conditions. Only a very one-sided theory of society can be
built upon such a basis. Economics should keep to its own sphere of
explaining the commercial and industrial activities of man and not
attempt to become a general science dealing with social evolution. This
is now recognized by practically all economists of standing, and the
only question which remains is whether economics is independent of
sociology or whether it rests upon sociology.
The view which has been presented thus far and which will be adhered to
is that economics should rest upon sociology. That economics does rest
upon sociology is shown by many considerations. The chief problem of
theoretical economics is the problem of economic value. But economic
value is but one sort of value which is recognized in society, moral and
aesthetic values being other examples of the valuing process, and all
values must express the collective judgment of some human group or
other. The problem of economic value, in other words, reduces itself to
a problem in social psychology, and when this is said it is equivalent
to making economics dependent upon sociology, for social psychology is
simply the psychological aspect of sociology. Again, industrial
organization and industrial evolution are but parts or phases of social
evolution in general, and it is safe to say that industry, both in its
organization and evolution, cannot be understood apart from the general
conditions, psychological and biological, which surround society. Again,
many non-economic forces continually obtrude themselves upon the student
of industrial conditions, such as custom, invention, imitation,
standards, ideals, and the like. These are general social forces which
play throughout all phases of human social life and so show the
dependence of industry upon society in general, and, therefore, of
economics upon sociology. Much more might be said in the way of
concretely illustrating these statements, but the purpose of this text
precludes anything but the briefest and most elementary statement of
these theoretical facts.
(D) _Relations to Politics._ We have already said that the state is
one of the chief forms of human association. The science which treats of
the state or of government is known as political science or politics. It
is one of the oldest of the social sciences, having been more or less
systematized by Aristotle. The problems of politics are those of the
origin, nature, function, and development of government. It is manifest
that politics, both on its practical and theoretical sides, has many
close relations to sociology. While the state or nation must not be
confused with society in general, yet because the state is the most
imposing, if not the most important, form of human association, the
relations of politics and sociology must be very intimate. On the one
hand, political scientists can scarcely understand the origin, nature,
and proper functions of government without understanding more or less
about the social life generally; and, on the other hand, the sociologist
finds that one of the most important facts of human society is that of
social control, or of authority. While political science deals only with
the organized authority manifested in the state, which we call
government, yet inasmuch as this is the most important form of social
control, and inasmuch as political organization is one of the chief
manifestations of social organization, the sociologist can scarcely deal
adequately with the great problems of social organization and evolution
without constant reference to political science.
An important branch of political science is jurisprudence, or the
science of law. This, again, is closely related with sociology, on both
its theoretical and practical sides. Law is, perhaps, the most important
means of social control made use of by society, and the sociologist
needs to understand something of the principles of law in order to
understand the nature of the existing social order. On the other hand,
the jurist needs to know the principles of social organization and
evolution in general before he can understand the nature and purpose of
law.
(E) _Relations to Ethics._ [Footnote: For a full statement of my
views regarding the relations of sociology and ethics, see my article on
"The Sociological Basis of Ethics," in the _International Journal of
Ethics_ for April, 1910.] Ethics is the science which deals with the
right or wrong of human conduct. Its problems are the nature of morality
and of moral obligation, the validity of moral ideals, the norms by
which conduct is to be judged, and the like. While ethics was once
considered to be a science of individual conduct it is now generally
conceived as being essentially a social science. The moral and the
social are indeed not clearly separable, but we may consider the moral
to be the ideal aspect of the social.
This view of morality, which, for the most part, is indorsed by modern
thought, makes ethics dependent upon sociology for its criteria of
rightness or wrongness. Indeed, we cannot argue any moral question
nowadays unless we argue it in social terms. If we discuss the rightness
or wrongness of the drink habit we try to show its social consequences.
So, too, if we discuss the rightness or wrongness of such an institution
as polygamy we find ourselves forced to do so mainly in social terms.
This is not denying, of course, that there are religious and
metaphysical aspects to morality,--these are not necessarily in conflict
with the social aspects,--but it is saying that modern ethical theory is
coming more and more to base itself upon the study of the remote social
consequences of conduct, and that we cannot judge what is right or wrong
in our complex society unless we know something of the social
consequences.
Ethics must be regarded, therefore, as a normative science to which
sociology and the other social sciences lead up. It is, indeed, very
difficult to separate ethics from sociology. It is the business of
sociology to furnish norms and standards to ethics, and it is the
business of ethics as a science to take the norms and standards
furnished by the social sciences, to develop them, and to criticize
them. This text therefore, will not attempt to exclude ethical
implications and judgments from sociological discussions, because that
would be futile and childish.
(F) _Relations to Education._ Among the applied sciences, sociology
is especially closely related to education, for education is not simply
the art of developing the powers and capacities of the individual; it is
rather the fitting of individuals for efficient membership, for proper
functioning, in social life. On its individual side, education should
initiate the individual into the social life and fit him for social
service. It should create the good citizen. On the social or public
side, education should be the chief means of social progress. It should
regenerate society, by fitting the individual for a higher type of
social life than at present achieved. We must have a socialized
education if our present complex civilization is to endure. Social
problems touch education on every side, and, on the other hand,
education must bear upon every social problem. It is evident, therefore,
that sociology has a very great bearing upon the problems of education;
and the teacher who comes to his task equipped with a knowledge of
social conditions and of the laws and principles of social organization
and evolution will find a significance and meaning in his work which he
could hardly otherwise find.
(G) _Relations to Philanthropy._[Footnote: This topic is more fully
discussed in my article on "Philanthropy and Sociology" in The Survey
for June 4, 1910.] The great science which deals directly with the
depressed classes in society and with their uplift may be called the
science of philanthropy. It may be regarded as an applied department of
sociology. The science of philanthropy is especially concerned with the
prevention, as well as with the curative treatment, of dependency,
defectiveness, and delinquency. That part which deals with the social
treatment of the criminal class is generally called penology, while the
subdivision which treats of dependents and defectives is generally known
as "charities" or "charitology."
It is evident that there are very close relations between the science of
philanthropy and sociology. The elimination of hereditary defects, the
overcoming of the social maladjustment of individuals, and the
correction of defective social conditions, the three great tasks of
scientific philanthropy, all require great knowledge of human society.
The social or philanthropic worker, therefore, requires thorough
equipment in sociology that he may approach his tasks aright.
The Relation of Sociology to Socialism.--Curiously enough sociology is
often confused with socialism by those who pay but little attention to
scientific matters. This comes from the fact that some of the adherents
of socialism claim that socialism is a science. As a matter of fact,
socialism is primarily a party program. It is the platform of a social
and political party that has as the main tenet of its creed the
abolition of private property in the means of production. Socialism, in
other words, is a scheme to revolutionize the present order of society.
It cannot claim to be a science in any sense, though it may rest upon
theories which its adherents believe to be scientific. Sociology, on the
other hand, is a science, and is concerned not with revolutionizing the
social order, but with studying and understanding social conditions,
especially the more fundamental conditions upon which social
organization and social changes depend. As a science it aims simply at
understanding society, at getting at the truth. It is no more related
logically to socialism than to the platform of the Republican or the
Democratic party.
The theories upon which revolutionary socialism rest may be proved or
disproved by scientific sociology. It is perhaps too early to say
finally whether sociology will pronounce the theoretical assumptions of
socialism correct or incorrect; but so far as we can see it seems
probable that the theories of social evolution advocated by the Marxian
socialists at least will be pronounced erroneous. In any case, there is
no logical connection between sociology as a science and socialism as a
program for social reconstruction.
Nevertheless, there has been a close connection between sociology and
socialism historically. It has been largely the agitations of the
socialists and other radical social reformers which have called
attention to the need of a scientific understanding of human society.
The socialists and other radical reformers, in other words, have very
largely set the problem which sociology attempts to solve. Practically,
moreover, the indictments and charges of the socialists and anarchists
against the present social order have made necessary some study of that
order to see whether these charges were well founded or not. In this
sense sociology may be said to be a scientific answer to socialism, not
in the sense that sociology is devoted to refuting socialism, but in the
sense that sociology has been devoted very largely to inquiring into
many of the theoretical assumptions which revolutionary socialism makes.
The further relations of sociology to socialism will be taken up later.
Here we are only concerned to have the reader see that there is a sharp
distinction between the sociological movement on the one hand, that is,
the movement to obtain fuller and more accurate knowledge concerning
human social life, and the socialist movement, the movement to
revolutionize the present social and economic order. Moreover, it may be
remarked that while socialism seems to be mainly an economic program, it
involves such total and radical reconstruction of social organization
that in the long run the claims of socialism to a scientific validity
must be passed upon by sociology rather than by economics.
The Relation of Sociology to Social Reform.--From what has been said it
is also evident that sociology must not be confused with any particular
social reform movement or with the movement for social reform in
general. Sociology, as a science, cannot afford to be developed in the
interest of any social reform. Certain social reforms, sociology may
give its approval to; others it may designate as unwise; but this
approval or disapproval will be simply incidental to its discovery of
the full truth about human social relations. This is not saying, of
course, that social theory should be divorced from social practice, or
that the knowledge which sociology and the other social sciences offer
concerning human society has no practical bearing upon present social
conditions. On the contrary, while all science aims abstractly at the
truth, all science is practical also in a deeper sense. No science would
ever have been developed if it were not conceived that the knowledge
which it discovers will ultimately be of benefit to man. All science
exists, therefore, to benefit man, to enable him to master his
environment, and the social sciences not less than the other sciences.
The physical sciences have already enabled man to attain to a
considerable mastery over his physical environment. When the social
sciences have been developed it is safe to say that they will enable man
not less to master his social environment. Therefore, while sociology
and the special social sciences present as yet no program for action,
aiming simply at the discovery of the abstract truth, they will
undoubtedly in time bring about vast changes for the betterment of
social conditions.
SELECT REFERENCES
_For Brief Reading:_
WARD, _Outlines of Sociology,_ Chaps. I-VIII.
ROSS, _The foundations of Sociology,_ Chaps. I and II.
DEALEY, _Sociology, Its simpler Teachings and Applications,_ Chap. I.
_For More Extended Reading:_
GIDDINGS, _The Principles of Sociology,_ 3d edition.
SMALL, _General Sociology._
SPENCER, _The Study of Sociology._
STUCKENBERG, _Sociology: The Science of Human Society._
WARD, _Pure Sociology._
_American Journal of Sociology_, many articles.
For a fairly extensive bibliography on sociology, consult Howard's
General Sociology: An Analytical Reference Syllabus.