Test: Introducing Western Sociologists - 2 - Humanities/Arts MCQ

The rationale for people becoming highly skilled and efficient at a specific task aligns with the characteristics of:

• Division of labour: This involves assigning specific tasks to individuals, allowing them to specialize. Specialization leads to increased skill and efficiency in performing tasks as workers focus on a narrow set of responsibilities, mastering their roles within the organization. This principle is a core aspect of bureaucratic efficiency, ensuring tasks are performed by individuals who are best suited to them.

 

The correct answer is:

B: The assertion of political sovereignty and equality of citizens

• The French Revolution marked the end of absolute monarchy and the rise of democratic ideals.


• It emphasized the principles of liberty, equality, and fraternity.


• The revolution abolished feudal privileges and sought to establish equal rights for citizens.


• It inspired the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, asserting that all men are born free and equal in rights.

 

Topic in NCERT: The French Revolution

Line in NCERT: "The Declaration of Human Rights asserted the equality of all citizens and questioned the legitimacy of privileges inherited by birth."

The Enlightenment period emphasized:
- Rational thought and scientific understanding of the world (Option B)

• The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement in the 17th and 18th centuries.
• It promoted reason, science, and individualism over tradition and religious authority.
• Thinkers like Voltaire, John Locke, and Isaac Newton influenced this era, focusing on knowledge through empirical evidence and rational discourse.
• This period laid the groundwork for modern scientific and political thought.

Topic in NCERT: The Enlightenment

Line in NCERT: "During the late 17th and 18th centuries, Western Europe saw the emergence of radically new ways of thinking about the world. Refered to as 'The Enlightenment', these new philosophies established the human being at the centre of the universe, and rational thought as the central feature of the human being."

Karl Marx described several types of alienation that occur in capitalist societies:

- Alienation from the Product: Workers do not own or control what they produce.
- Alienation from the Process: The work process is dictated by others, diminishing creativity.
- Alienation from Self: Workers lose the ability to express their true nature through work.
- Alienation from Each Other: Competition isolates workers.

Marx did not explicitly describe "alienation from family." Therefore, the correct answer is C: Alienation from family.

Topic in NCERT: Alienation in Capitalist Society

Line in NCERT: "Alienation: A process in capitalist society by which human beings are separated and distanced from (or made strangers to) nature, other human beings, their work and its product, and their own nature or self."

- Karl Marx argued that material life shapes ideas.
- This concept is known as historical materialism.
- Marx believed the economic base (material life) influences the superstructure (ideas, culture, politics).
- Material conditions and economic practices determine social consciousness.
- According to Marx, changes in the material base lead to changes in societal ideas and structures.
- Thus, societal development is primarily driven by economic forces rather than abstract ideas.

Topic in NCERT: CLASS STRUGGLE

Line in NCERT: "How human beings earned their livelihood determined how they thought material life shaped ideas, ideas did not shape material life."

- Correct Answer: B: Social solidarity

- Concept Overview:
- Emile Durkheim, a pivotal figure in sociology, introduced the concept of *social solidarity*.
- This refers to the way society holds together and how individuals relate to one another within a community.

- Types of Social Solidarity:
- *Mechanical Solidarity:* Common in traditional societies, where similarities between individuals unify them.
- *Organic Solidarity:* Found in modern societies, where interdependence among diverse individuals and roles fosters cohesion.

- Importance:
- Social solidarity is crucial for understanding social cohesion and the functioning of societies.

Topic in NCERT: SOCIAL SOLIDARITY IN DURKHEIM'S SOCIOLOGY

Line in NCERT: "Durkheim classified a society by the nature of social solidarity which existed in that society."

The key difference between mechanical and organic solidarity according to Durkheim is:

• Mechanical Solidarity: Based on similarity. It occurs in traditional, small-scale societies where individuals share similar work, education, and religion.


• Organic Solidarity: Based on interdependence. Found in complex, modern societies where individuals perform specialized tasks and rely on each other.

Thus, the correct answer is B: Mechanical solidarity is based on similarity, while organic solidarity is based on interdependence.

Topic in NCERT: MECHANICAL AND ORGANIC SOLIDARITY

Line in NCERT: "Mechanical solidarity is founded on the similarity of its individual members and is found in societies with small populations. [...] Organic solidarity characterises modern society and is based on the heterogeneity of its members."

- Max Weber emphasized that social science should focus on understanding the meanings individuals attach to their actions.
- He developed the concept of "Verstehen," which means understanding or interpreting human behaviour by seeing the world from the perspective of those being studied.
- Weber argued this approach allows researchers to grasp the subjective experiences and motives that drive human actions.
- Thus, the correct focus, according to Weber, is option C: Understanding the meanings individuals attach to their actions.

Topic in NCERT: Max Weber and Interpretive Sociology

Line in NCERT: "Weber argued that the overall objective of the social sciences was to develop an 'interpretive understanding of social action'."

- Social Facts (A): Emile Durkheim coined the term "social facts" to describe the collective norms, values, and structures that exert control over individual behaviour in society. These are external to individuals and shape their actions, beliefs, and interactions.
- Social Structures (B): Refers to the complex framework of societal institutions and relationships.
- Social Movements (C): Organized efforts to promote or resist change.
- Social Contracts (D): Philosophical concepts about the agreement among individuals to form a society.

Durkheim's "social facts" encapsulate the concept accurately.

Topic in NCERT: DURKHEIM'S VISION OF SOCIOLOGY

Line in NCERT: "For Durkheim the social was to be found in the codes of conduct imposed on individuals by collective agreement."

- In Marx's theory, the 'economic base' of society consists of the forces and relations of production.
- Technology and labour are key components of this base:
- Technology: The tools and methods used in production.
- Labor: The human effort that transforms resources into goods.
- Together, they form the foundation of the economic structure, influencing the 'superstructure' (culture, institutions, politics).

Therefore, the correct answer is B: Technology and labour.

Topic in NCERT: Economic Base and Superstructure

Line in NCERT: "The economic base thus consisted of productive forces and relations of production."