Class 11 Sociology Short Questions with Answers - Sociology And Society

Very Short Question With Answer (1 Mark Each)

Q.1. When did Auguste Comte start ‘Sociology’?
Ans. Auguste Comte, a French philosopher, is renowned as the "Father of Sociology." Between 1830 and 1842, his work "Positive Philosophy" was published in six volumes. He imagined a science that could examine society in this book. In 1839, he introduced the name Sociology to this subject.

Q.2. Name the major sociologists of France, America and Britain.
Ans. The important sociologists in France are Auguste Comte, Emile Durkheim, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The important sociologists in Britain are Spencer, Ginsberg, and John Mill. The great sociologists in America include Talcott Parsons, Sorokin, MacIver, and others.

Q.3. Give two major differences between Human Society and Animal Society.
Ans. 
(i) Humans have the ability to communicate, understand, stand tall, and use their hands, whereas animals lack the ability to speak or understand anything.

(ii) Humans have their own culture, which is based on thousands of years of experiences, whereas animals have none.

Q.4. What is meant by Gemein Schaft?
Ans. Gemein Schaft, according to Ferdinand Tonnies, is a community whose members survive by cooperating with one another and living their lives. In the life of this community, there are both permanent and main relationships. We can look at Rural Society as an example.

Q.5. What is meant by Gesell Schaft?
Ans. Gesell Schaft, according to Ferdinand Tonnies, is a new formal and transient social phenomena. It is nothing more than the daily lives of society's citizens. Its members have secondary relationships.

Q.6. What is an Approach?
Ans. An approach is a method in which an individual began to look at events occurred in society in a specific manner. When scholars began to study any specific object in a specific manner, an approach comes in front of us.

Q.7. When, by whom and where the first Sociology department started in India?
Ans. First Sociology department in any Indian University was started in 1919 at Bombay University. It was started by Prof. Patrick Gidds.

Q.8. How Sociology is a Progressive Science?
Ans. Sociology is a new science which is originated in recent times. Daily new concepts are included in it. That’s why it is known as a progressive science.

Q. 9. Give meaning of Sociology.
Ans. In simple words, Sociology is the scientific study of society in which the mutual relations of humans are studied.

Q. 10. Give meaning of Natural Sciences.
Ans. Natural Science is that science which is related with nature and biological phenomenon with which it tries to find the related facts and theories. For example Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Astronomy etc.

Q.11. Give meaning of Social Sciences.
Ans. Social Sciences are those Sciences which find facts and theories related with human Society. Scientific study of social life is also studied in this. For example Economics, Political Science, Anthropology, Sociology etc.

Q. 12. Give meaning of History.
Ans. History studies the past time of human society. It also studies phenomenon occurred in past and tries to understand the ideology of social life on the basis of that phenomenon.

Q. 13. Give meaning of Economics.
Ans. According to Dr. Marshall, “Economics on one side is a study of wealth and on the other and more important side a part of the study of man.”

Q. 14. What is Political Science?
Ans. Political Science studies the origin, development, characteristics organization of state, administrative system of government, related associations, institutions and their functions.

Q. 15. What were the views of Barnes about the relation of Sociology and other Social Sciences?
Ans. Barnes was of the view that, “Sociology is regarded neither as the mistress nor as the land maid of the social sciences but as their sister.”

Short Question With Answer (2 Mark Each)

Ans. 

• When Sociologists use the word society then their meaning is not only by the collection of people. Their meaning of society is by the web of relationships among members of society with which people are joined with each other. 
• Just by collection of some persons, we cannot make a society. Society can be made only when the meaningful relations are established among the people of society. These relations are abstract in nature. We cannot see them and they don’t have any concrete form.
• We can only feel them. They exist in every form of life. We cannot separate them from each other. These are so much interrelated that it is very difficult to differentiate and separate them.
  

Q. 2. Society is abstract. How?
Ans. 

• Society is abstract because it is the web of social relationships. We can neither see nor touch these relations. We can only feel them. 
• Because we cannot touch these relations, that’s why they don’t have any concrete form. That’s why they are abstract.
• Because relations are abstract, that’s why the society made by relations is also abstract.
  

Q. 3. Why is society known as web of relations?
Ans. 

• All humans live in society. No one can fulfil his needs alone while living in society. That’s why one needs to take help of other humans. 
• He has to make relations with them to take their help. In this way a web of relations occurs in society. 
• This web of relations is known as society.
  

Q. 4. What is the meaning of society for a layman?
Ans. 

• The word society is oftenly used by a layman hundred’s of time in his daily life. 
• Some persons say that society is a group or collection of people. 
• A layman says that a group made by some persons is known as society. For example Hindu society, Muslim Society, Arya Samaj, etc. It is the simple meaning of society. But the meaning of society is somewhat different in Sociology.
  

Q. 5. What is the meaning of society in sociology?
Ans. 

• Meaning of society in sociology is some what different. Society is a system of relations in which humans live with each other by making relations with them. 
• Maclver and Page have said that society is the web of social relationships. In this way society is that system of social relationships in which all the humans, living in a society, are included. 
• Humans depend upon each other to fulfil their needs. That’s why relations establish among them. 
• In this, a web of relations spreads in  society in which all the humans are tied. This web of relations is known as society.
  

Q. 6. How social relations form a society?
Ans. 

(i) Relations in different humans exist in society because humans fulfil their needs with the help of these relations. That’s why relations increase with which a web of relations occur in society. Web of relations is known as society. 

(ii) Humans know their rights and duties while establishing their relations. In this way a system within relations occur with which society comes into being. 

(iii) Social relations are the base of structure. If change comes in relations then change also comes in structure. In this way change comes in society with change in relations and structure. In this way we can say that society comes into being due to social relations.

Q. 7. Society is abstract but a society is concrete. Why?
Ans. 

• Society is made by social relations. We cannot see social relations because of which it is abstract. 
• Because social relations are abstract that’s why society is also abstract. 
• A society is not abstract because it is made up by collecting humans. Humans are concrete and that’s why a society is also concrete.
  

Q. 8. Give literal Meaning of Sociology.
Ans. 

• The Word Sociology is an English word. The word Sociology has been taken from two words ‘Socio’ and ‘Logus’. 
• Socio is a Latin word whose meaning is society and Logus is a Latin word whose meaning is science. 
• In this way the meaning of Sociology is Science of Society which studies human society.
  

Q. 9. How many schools about the scope of Sociology are there?
Ans. Two schools are famous about the scope of Sociology and these are formalistic school and synthetic school. Major supporters of formalistic school are George Simmel, Max Weber, Vierkandt, Tonnies etc. Major supporters of Synthetic school are Sorokin, Durkheim, Hobhouse etc.

Q. 10. What are the views of formalistic school about the scope of Sociology?
Ans. Supporters of this school are of the view that, like other social sciences, Sociology is also a special science. According to them, it studies the form of social relations which other social sciences hardly does. In this way because only Sociology studies the forms of social relationships, that’s why it is a special science.

Q. 11. Give views of supporters of synthetic school about scope of Sociology.
Ans. Supporters of this school are of the view that Sociology is a general science because its subject matter is quite wide. Different aspects of society are studied by different social sciences. That’s why one general social science is required which could tell us about general conditions and concepts of our social life on the basis of results of other special social sciences. It is the function of Sociology.

Q. 12. What is the scope of Sociology?
Ans. Society is the web of social relationships and sociology studies it scientifically. In its study, Sociology studies all the social classes, institutions, associations etc.
About the scope and subject matter of sociology there are two types of views : 
(i) Formalistic School: According to this, it is a special science which studies the forms of social relations. Main supporters of this school are Simmel, Weber, Small, Vierkandt, Von Wiese and Ward.
(ii) Synthetic School: According to this school, it is a general science which studies society as a whole. Main supporters of this school are Durkheim, Hobhouse and Sorokin.

Q. 13. Give views of Max Weber about the scope of Sociology.
Ans. 

• Weber was of the view that the scope of Sociology is very limited. According to him Sociology is the science which attempts the interpretative understanding of social action. 
• According to him we cannot call all the actions of society as social action. Only that action is social with which the behaviour of other persons is affected. For example if two or more persons collide with each other, it is a natural phenomenon but their those efforts with which they separate from each other is their social behaviour. 
• According to Weber, Sociology is related with the analysis and classification of types of social relationships. In this way according to Weber the aim of sociology is to understand and explain social behaviour. That’s why it is a special science.
  

Q. 14. Give views of Vierkandt about the scope of Sociology.
Ans. 

• According to Vierkandt the scope of Sociology is related with the study of forms of human mental processes. 
• Humans have desires, dreams and imagination which motivate him to establish social relations and which motivate him to establish Sociology. These mental bases are social. 
• In this way Sociology studied forms of mental relations scientifically in which they are differentiated by social relationship. That’s why it is a special science.
  

Q. 15. Give criticism of Formalistic school.
Ans. 

(i) According to the supporters of formalistic school, only Sociology studies the forms of social relationships, is not correct. The forms of social relationships are also studied by other social sciences. For example power, authority etc are studied in political science and these are social forms. So on the basis of this, it is not a special science. 

(ii) We cannot differentiate form and content from each other. They don’t have independent existence and they are dependent upon each other because of which it is impossible to differentiate them. For example a special type of chair can be made with wood and iron but the form of chair will not change with the content. So it is difficult to study by differentiating content and form of social relations. That’s why we cannot call it a special science.