Sociology Pioneers: Marx, Durkheim, Weber, Comte, Spencer

Sociological Thinkers and Movements: Marx to Durkheim

Pedro Francisco Bonó

Pedro Francisco Bonó was a sociologist and political philosopher from the Dominican Republic, born in Santiago de los Caballeros (18 October 1828 – San Francisco de Macorís, 13 September 1906).

Eugenio María de Hostos y Bonilla

Eugenio María de Hostos y Bonilla (Mayagüez, 11 January 1839 – Sunday, 11 August 1903) was an intellectual, educator, philosopher, liberator, sociologist and Puerto Rican writer.

José Ramón López Lora

José Ramón López Lora was born in Montecristi on 3 February 1866 and died in Santo Domingo on 2 August 1922. His parents were José María López and Juana Lora Escarfulleri.

Max Weber

Max Weber sought to explain the reasons that justify differences in the development processes of Western and Eastern cultures.

Auguste Comte

Auguste Comte proposed that the sciences form a hierarchy, where each science depends on prior sciences according to the complexity of the phenomena studied.

Herbert Spencer

Herbert Spencer (Derby, 27 April 1820 – Brighton, 8 December 1903) was a British philosopher, naturalist, psychologist and sociologist. He is known for his theories of social evolution and for influencing positivist thought in Britain; his work has also been criticized for supporting racist interpretations.

Karl Heinrich Marx

Karl Heinrich Marx (Trier, 5 May 1818 – London, 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, historian, sociologist, economist, writer and influential socialist thinker.

Émile Durkheim

Émile Durkheim argued that society is structured around a set of pillars manifested through collective expressions. Certain approaches, including ideas influenced by Spinoza, were later taken up by structuralist perspectives that Durkheim considered to be part of the background and basis for social analysis.

Major Events and Context

Great events of sociology include the French Industrial Revolution, which shaped much of early sociological thought and the study of social change.

Definition of Sociology

Sociology: a social science that studies, describes, analyzes, and explains the processes involved in social life. It aims to study human society and social phenomena.

Socio-Philosophical Movements

Movements:

• Naturalism
• Radicalism
• Liberalism
• Stoicism
• Functionalism
• Marxism
• Positivism
• Modernism
• Bourgeoisie theory
• Mercantilism
• Capitalism

Source of sociology: Its origins can be traced to the 3rd century BCE. Greco-Roman thought in antiquity was concerned with establishing the duties of society as the vehicle for the social idea and the development of human virtues.