Is Sociology a Science?
Positivists like Durkheim desperately wanted sociology to follow the strict rules of natural sciences. They believed this would give sociology proper credibility and help solve real social problems. Durkheim's famous suicide study used statistics to make his research more representative and objective.
The big question comes down to falsification - can sociological theories be proven wrong? Popper argued that real science must be able to test and disprove theories. Critics say sociology fails this test because theories like Marxism can't be properly falsified. Even when Marx's predicted revolution didn't happen, supporters just adjusted the theory rather than admitting it was wrong.
However, some sociological theories can be falsified. For example, research has successfully debunked the New Right's claim that single-parent families automatically lead to criminal behaviour. This suggests sociology might be more scientific than critics think.
Social facts - the institutions, norms and values that exist outside individuals and shape their behaviour - are central to this debate. Positivists believe these can be studied scientifically, whilst interpretivists argue they don't really exist as measurable phenomena.
Key Point: The scientific status of sociology depends largely on whether you think human behaviour can be measured and predicted like natural phenomena.