Modernity & Social changes in Europe & Emergence of Sociology

Mains Questions
• Modernity & Emergence of sociology
• Impact of Modernity & social changes on the emergence of
sociology
• How modernity & social changes in Europe lead to emergence of
sociology?
• “Sociology emerged in response to challenges posed before
modernity in Medieval Europe.” Discuss.
• Sociology is pre-eminently the study of modern societies. Discuss.
~ Sociology is considered a relatively young discipline when
compared with social sciences like history, philosophy etc.
~ As a distinct discipline, sociology emerged as a body of
knowledge to undertake a systematic study of what people do in
their daily life & how they explain their existence.
~ What is specific about emergence of sociology is understanding
of developments in Medieval Europe which generated an
immediate impulse to establish a separate discipline.
~ Medieval Europe underwent a massive transformation in terms
of scientific, commercial & intellectual revolutions.
~ These transformations gradually accumulated during 15th -
18thcentury & brought profound changes in social conditions.
~ These revolutions are collectively referred to as “Age of
Enlightenment” and the whole period is known as “Renaissance
Period”
~ European society before the Age of Enlightment was based on
agricultural feudal estate system. The society was rooted in the
orthodox religious & political world view.
~ The church preach excessive reliance on beliefs & political
aristocracy was engaged in wars unmindful of plight of people.
This period has been termed by historians as Dark Ages.
~ Europe started witnessing changes in terms of a great
awakening in scientific, commercial & intellectual spheres.
~ This awakening was collectively symbolised through a new
ideological project called modernity.
~ Modernity includes different dimensions permeating through each
and every aspect of social life. In broader terms, it refers to a set of
ideas which are guided by assumptions of science.
~ Thus, modernity project was based on excessive reliance on
scientific world view. Broadly the modernity project, initiated
macro- changes in terms of the emergence of an industrial society,
rise of liberal democracy, rise of middle class & emergence of new
intellectualism.
~ All these changes accumulated gradually in Europe from 15th -
18th century.
~ These changes were understood as highly desirable and modernity
is seen as something which enlightens the life of an individual.
~ But gradually numbers of new developments posed challenges
before modernity and associated social changes.
These developments could not be explained by existing bodies of
knowledge & thus a context for sociology emerged. These
developments were –
• The process of industrialization was never smooth and came to be
associated with a large number of social problems.
1. The workers worked in poor conditions, with less wages and inhuman
working conditions.
2. The slums emerged around factories with poor housing and living
conditions.
3. Nuclear families emerged by migration, started showing instances of
domestic violence and even breakages, new type of crimes emerged. All
these things led to a new type of poverty and deprivation.
• The rise of liberal democracy was associated with a lot of
uncertainty about its success. In certain societies like England, the
transition towards democracy was gradual but in societies like
France it was preceded by a revolution, resulting in total chaos. The
uncertainty associated with its success led to insecurity among
people.
• The rise of middle class created a social divide in society which
was never witnessed earlier. The aspirations of middle class could
not be reconstituted within the existing socio - economic
framework. A need for redefining society and its structure was
felt.
~ All these developments could not be explained by the existing
bodies of knowledge.

~ The process of transition associated with modernity was full of

challenges having ramifications for the whole society.

~ The European society during 19th century was in a state of chaos

and the intellectuals started thinking of new science which could
explain these changes, provide solutions & help in predicting the
future course of society.
~ The immediate context was present in France, which was facing
a total political turmoil along with social disorder. The French
intellectuals thus addressed this new problem by conceptualizing a
new discipline.
~ The establishment of sociology is associated with works of
famous French philosophers St. Simon & Auguste Comte. St.Simon
initially thought of social-physics, i.e a science of society on the lines
similar to natural sciences.
~ Later on Auguste Comte not only coined the term sociology but
also laid the basic foundation of discipline. Auguste Comte is
considered as the “Father of sociology”.
The intellectual influences affecting the emergence of sociology
~ Thus, social changes in Europe generated an impulse for
conceptualization of a new discipline, but along with these social
changes the emerging intellectual context also aided the process.
~ The intellectual context included a well-developed political history,
which provided a huge data about society & helped in generating a
view of society.
~ Firstly, a scientific approach to the study of society dates back
to the tradition of Enlightenment. The eighteenth-century thinkers
began more consistently than any of their predecessors to study
the human conditions in a scientific way using the methods of the
natural sciences.
~ Secondly, the eighteenth-century thinkers upheld reason as a
measure to judge social institutions and their suitability for human
nature.
~ Thirdly, the eighteenth-century thinkers believed that human
beings are capable of attaining perfection. By criticising and
changing social institutions they can create for themselves
~ During 19th century new methods were devised for investigation,
which could be readily used in sociology.
For eg: survey method was used to study the state of the poor
during 19th century, which established the possibility of scientific
investigation in social sphere.
~ Similarly, Darwins “Theory of Biological Evolution” provided an
intellectual logic for studying the evolution of society. It also acted
as an initial perspective in sociology.

~ Apart from this general obsession for science during 19th century,
led intellectual to positively think about a scientific study of society.

~ “The emergence of sociology is the result of a complex interplay

of a number of factors and condition for which emerged during
Medieval Europe.”
The French revolution
~ The French Revolution, which erupted in1789 marked a turning
point in the history of human struggle for freedom and equality. It
put an end to the age of feudalism and ushered in a new order of
society.
~ The Basic Picture of the French society: Division into Feudal
Estates- Estates are defined as a system of stratification found in
feudal European societies whereby one section or estate is
distinguished from the other in terms of status, privileges and
restrictions accorded to that estate.
1.The First Estate consisted of the clergy, which was stratified
into higher clergy, such as the cardinal, the archbishops_ the
bishops and the abbots.
~ They lived a life of luxury and gave very little attention
to religion. In comparison to the higher clergy, the lower
parish priests were over worked and poverty-stricken.
2. The Second Estate consisted of the nobility. There were two
kinds of nobles, the nobles of the sword and the nobles of the
robe.
3. The Third Estate comprised the rest of the society and included the
peasants, the merchants, the artisans, and others. As compared to the
peasants, the condition of the middle classes, also known as the bourgeoisie
comparising the merchants, bankers, lawyers, manufacturers, etc. was
much better.
~ These classes too belonged to the third estate. But the poverty of the
state, which led to a price rise during 1720-1789, instead of adversely
affecting them, helped them.
~ They derived profit from this rise and the fact that French trade had
improved enormously also helped the commercial classes to a great extent,
Thus, this class was rich and secure, but it had no social prestige as
compared with the high prestige of the members of the first and the
second estates. On top of it all the prices had generally risen by about 65
per cent during the period, 1720¬1789.
The Political Aspects of the French society: Like in all absolute
monarchies, the theory of the Divine Right of King was followed in
France too. For about 200 years the Kings of the Bourbon dynasty
ruled France. Under the rule of the King, the ordinary people had no
personal rights. They only served the King and his nobles in various
capacities.
The Economic Aspects of the French society: The kings of France,
from Louis XIV onwards, fought costly wars, which wined the
country, and when Louis XIV died, France had become bankrupt. His
wife queen- Antoinette, known for her expensive habits, is famous
for her reply, which she gave to the poor, hungry people of France
who came to her asking for bread. She told the people that, 'if you
don’t have bread, eat cake.’
Intellectual Developments in France: Some of the major
philosophers, whose ideas influenced the French people, were
rationalists who believed that all true things could be proved by
reason.
~ Some of these thinkers were, Montesquieu (1689-1755), Locke
(1632- 1704), Voltaire (1694-1778), and Rousseau (1712-1778).
Montesquieu in his book, ‘The spirit of Law’, held that there should
not be concentration of authority, such as executive, legislative, and
juridical, at one place.
~ Locke, an Englishman, advocated that every individual has certain
rights, which cannot be taken by any authority. These rights were
(i)Right to Live
(ii) Right to property
(iii) Right to personal freedom.
~ Voltaire, a 'French philosopher, advocated religious tolerance and
freedom of speech.
~ JJ Rousseau wrote in this book, The Social Contract, that the
people of a country have the right to choose their sovereign.
Important Events:
1. In France there was a parliamentary body called the Estates-
General in which all the three estates were represented but which
had met last in 1614. The refusal of the first two Estates to meet
with the third Estate as a single body led to the formation of the
National Assembly.
~ On 20th June 1789 when a meeting was to be held in the Hall
at Versailles near Paris, the members found that it was closed
and guarded by the King’s men. Therefore, the National Assembly
members led by their leader Bailey went to the next building
which was an indoor tennis court.
 ~ It was here that they took an Oath to draw a new constitution
for France. This Oath, which marks the beginning of the French
Revolution, is popularly known as the Oath of the Tennis Court.
2. On July 14th, 1789 took place one of the most important events
of the French Revolution. It was the storming of the Bastille, an
ancient royal prison that stood as a symbol of oppression
3. Declaration of Rights of Man by the Constituent Assembly
4. The King, Louis XVI, was beheaded in public on 21st January
1793after being proved guilty of treason. The Queen was also
beheaded later in the same year. France was declared a Republic.