Notes: The Discipline- 3 | Sociology Mains Optional for UPSC 2024 PDF Download

 Page 1


 
 
Chapter -1 
Sociology - The Discipline 
 
3. Sociology and common sense.   
Page 2


 
 
Chapter -1 
Sociology - The Discipline 
 
3. Sociology and common sense.   
 
 
Sociology and Common Sense 
 
Common sense is what people develop through everyday life experiences.  
In a very real sense, it is the set of expectations about society and people’s behavior 
that guides our own behavior.  
 
Unfortunately, these expectations are not always reliable or accurate because 
without further investigation, we tend to believe what we want to believe, to see 
what we want to see, and to accept as fact whatever appears to be logical.  
 
Whereas common sense is often vague, oversimplified, and often contradictory, 
sociology attempts to be specific and to prove its assertions.  
 
Let us look at a few examples to see how common sense is not coherent: 
There’s a saying which says “look before you leap” and then there’s another saying 
“he who hesitates is lost”?  
 
Or how can “absence make the heart grow fonder” when “out of sight, out of 
mind”?  
 
Why should “opposites attract” when “birds of same feather flock together”?  
 
Common sense often makes sense after the fact.  
It is more useful for describing events than for predicting them. 
It deludes us into thinking we knew the outcome all along. 
 
An Experiment: 
KH Teigen researched in 1986 by asking students to evaluate actual proverbs and 
their opposites.  
 
When given the actual proverb, “Fear is stronger than love,” most students agreed 
that it was true, but so did students who were given the reverse statement, “Love is 
stronger than fear.”  
The same was true for the statements, “Wise men make proverbs and fools repeat 
them” (actual proverb) and its reversal, “Fools make proverbs and wise men repeat 
them.”  
 
Sociologists as scientists attempt to qualify these statements by specifying, for 
example, under what conditions opposites tend to attract or birds of a feather flock 
together.  
Sociology as a science is oriented toward gaining knowledge about why and under 
what conditions events take place to understand human interactions better. 
 
We need to ponder: 
If sociology is study of obvious or application of common sense?  
But common sense lacks validity and presents itself as a mere assertion. 
 
Page 3


 
 
Chapter -1 
Sociology - The Discipline 
 
3. Sociology and common sense.   
 
 
Sociology and Common Sense 
 
Common sense is what people develop through everyday life experiences.  
In a very real sense, it is the set of expectations about society and people’s behavior 
that guides our own behavior.  
 
Unfortunately, these expectations are not always reliable or accurate because 
without further investigation, we tend to believe what we want to believe, to see 
what we want to see, and to accept as fact whatever appears to be logical.  
 
Whereas common sense is often vague, oversimplified, and often contradictory, 
sociology attempts to be specific and to prove its assertions.  
 
Let us look at a few examples to see how common sense is not coherent: 
There’s a saying which says “look before you leap” and then there’s another saying 
“he who hesitates is lost”?  
 
Or how can “absence make the heart grow fonder” when “out of sight, out of 
mind”?  
 
Why should “opposites attract” when “birds of same feather flock together”?  
 
Common sense often makes sense after the fact.  
It is more useful for describing events than for predicting them. 
It deludes us into thinking we knew the outcome all along. 
 
An Experiment: 
KH Teigen researched in 1986 by asking students to evaluate actual proverbs and 
their opposites.  
 
When given the actual proverb, “Fear is stronger than love,” most students agreed 
that it was true, but so did students who were given the reverse statement, “Love is 
stronger than fear.”  
The same was true for the statements, “Wise men make proverbs and fools repeat 
them” (actual proverb) and its reversal, “Fools make proverbs and wise men repeat 
them.”  
 
Sociologists as scientists attempt to qualify these statements by specifying, for 
example, under what conditions opposites tend to attract or birds of a feather flock 
together.  
Sociology as a science is oriented toward gaining knowledge about why and under 
what conditions events take place to understand human interactions better. 
 
We need to ponder: 
If sociology is study of obvious or application of common sense?  
But common sense lacks validity and presents itself as a mere assertion. 
 
 
 
Defining Common Sense:  
Weber – routine knowledge we have of our everyday world and activities. 
Alfred Schutz – organised, typified stocks of taken-for-granted knowledge. And 
generally not questioned. 
 
Point of similarities: 
Sometimes folk wisdom is close to socio.  
For ex give someone a bad name and it will be blamed for many things more.  
Howard Beckers- labelling theory of deviance 
 
Common sense is often related to social relationships, social setting or institutions 
which fall under purview of sociology 
Common sense gives raw material for sociology.  
Common sense can even be supportive of sociological theories. 
 
 
 
Point of differences: 
 
Common sense is status quoist but sociology professes active change.  
It even debates structure and agency intellectually (man-society dualism: man 
creates society or vice versa) 
 
Sociology is sceptic while common sense is enforced through tradition.  
Peter Berger: Sociology has a “debunking” attitude towards world, which is usually 
taken for granted by Sociologists. 
 
Sociology has Irreverent attitude towards religion (Durkheim, Weber And Marx).  
 
Common sense explains many things irrationally. For ex poverty is due to wish of 
god. 
 
Sociology is verified, self-correcting and academic discipline.  
Common sense is assumptive which sometimes is discontinuous/ paradoxical (for 
example opposite attracts as well as fight.) 
Also, common sense not coherent across countries and eras. 
 
Common sense has specific roles and duties assigned for genders, poor, tribal 
(stereotypes). Margaret Mead study of tribals in Papua New Guinea region found 
certain gender role reversal contrary to common sense. 
 
Common sense is highly value laden.  
Sociology attempts to be objective and scientific. 
 
Common sense lacks validity and reliability. 
 
Post Modernist claim that sociology is not superior to common sense as there is 
nothing as eternal truth.  
Page 4


 
 
Chapter -1 
Sociology - The Discipline 
 
3. Sociology and common sense.   
 
 
Sociology and Common Sense 
 
Common sense is what people develop through everyday life experiences.  
In a very real sense, it is the set of expectations about society and people’s behavior 
that guides our own behavior.  
 
Unfortunately, these expectations are not always reliable or accurate because 
without further investigation, we tend to believe what we want to believe, to see 
what we want to see, and to accept as fact whatever appears to be logical.  
 
Whereas common sense is often vague, oversimplified, and often contradictory, 
sociology attempts to be specific and to prove its assertions.  
 
Let us look at a few examples to see how common sense is not coherent: 
There’s a saying which says “look before you leap” and then there’s another saying 
“he who hesitates is lost”?  
 
Or how can “absence make the heart grow fonder” when “out of sight, out of 
mind”?  
 
Why should “opposites attract” when “birds of same feather flock together”?  
 
Common sense often makes sense after the fact.  
It is more useful for describing events than for predicting them. 
It deludes us into thinking we knew the outcome all along. 
 
An Experiment: 
KH Teigen researched in 1986 by asking students to evaluate actual proverbs and 
their opposites.  
 
When given the actual proverb, “Fear is stronger than love,” most students agreed 
that it was true, but so did students who were given the reverse statement, “Love is 
stronger than fear.”  
The same was true for the statements, “Wise men make proverbs and fools repeat 
them” (actual proverb) and its reversal, “Fools make proverbs and wise men repeat 
them.”  
 
Sociologists as scientists attempt to qualify these statements by specifying, for 
example, under what conditions opposites tend to attract or birds of a feather flock 
together.  
Sociology as a science is oriented toward gaining knowledge about why and under 
what conditions events take place to understand human interactions better. 
 
We need to ponder: 
If sociology is study of obvious or application of common sense?  
But common sense lacks validity and presents itself as a mere assertion. 
 
 
 
Defining Common Sense:  
Weber – routine knowledge we have of our everyday world and activities. 
Alfred Schutz – organised, typified stocks of taken-for-granted knowledge. And 
generally not questioned. 
 
Point of similarities: 
Sometimes folk wisdom is close to socio.  
For ex give someone a bad name and it will be blamed for many things more.  
Howard Beckers- labelling theory of deviance 
 
Common sense is often related to social relationships, social setting or institutions 
which fall under purview of sociology 
Common sense gives raw material for sociology.  
Common sense can even be supportive of sociological theories. 
 
 
 
Point of differences: 
 
Common sense is status quoist but sociology professes active change.  
It even debates structure and agency intellectually (man-society dualism: man 
creates society or vice versa) 
 
Sociology is sceptic while common sense is enforced through tradition.  
Peter Berger: Sociology has a “debunking” attitude towards world, which is usually 
taken for granted by Sociologists. 
 
Sociology has Irreverent attitude towards religion (Durkheim, Weber And Marx).  
 
Common sense explains many things irrationally. For ex poverty is due to wish of 
god. 
 
Sociology is verified, self-correcting and academic discipline.  
Common sense is assumptive which sometimes is discontinuous/ paradoxical (for 
example opposite attracts as well as fight.) 
Also, common sense not coherent across countries and eras. 
 
Common sense has specific roles and duties assigned for genders, poor, tribal 
(stereotypes). Margaret Mead study of tribals in Papua New Guinea region found 
certain gender role reversal contrary to common sense. 
 
Common sense is highly value laden.  
Sociology attempts to be objective and scientific. 
 
Common sense lacks validity and reliability. 
 
Post Modernist claim that sociology is not superior to common sense as there is 
nothing as eternal truth.  
 
 
Anthony Giddens has said that sociological investigation often becomes common 
sense.  
For ex sociological investigation of marital breakups have made people believe that 
marriage is a risky business.  
 
Phenomenonlogists: attempting to study “what” people do and not “why” people 
do certain things. 
 
Poverty :  
Common sense – problem families, low intelligence. 
Sociology – structure of inequality in society, chronic irregularity of wages. 
 
Gramsci – Creation of Common Sense 
Role of “common sense”, i.e. dominant ideas about society and about our place in 
it, in producing cultural hegemony.  
 
For example, the idea that one can succeed monetarily if one just tries hard 
enough, is a form of common sense that has flourished under capitalism, and that 
serves to justify the system.  
 
For, if one believes that all it takes to succeed is hard work and dedication, then it 
follows that the system of capitalism and the social structure that is organized 
around it is just and valid.  
 
It also follows that those who have succeeded economically have earned their 
wealth in a just and fair manner, and that those who struggle economically in turn 
have earned their disenfranchised state.  
 
This form of common sense fosters the belief that success and social mobility are 
strictly the responsibility of the individual, and thus obscures the real class, racial, 
and gender inequalities that are built into the capitalist system.