The Objectivist vs. the Subjectivist (Constructivist) perspective PDF

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Instructor: Brian W. Halpin ...

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OCT 10 The Objectivist vs. the Subjectivist (Constructivist) perspective (Best CH.1) Summary C.W. Mills 2 meanings of the Sociological Imagination 1. Connection between Biography and History 2. Connection between between Private troubles and Public issues Indifference Uneasiness Burroway's Letter to Mills Slippage: action; going out and changing the world In relation to private troubles and public issues Public Sociology: sociologists need to be active in making the world better Biography and History → Intellectual Project Private troubles and Public issues → Political Project Scholastic Fallacy: knowledge is liberating Scholastic: the educator that educated the scholar Fallacy - falsehood; a mistaken belief Burroway – The idea that knowledge can free us is not necessarily true It might not lead us to liberation, BUT it is a precondition We actually need Political Imagination (PI) 1. The world can be different 2. Change is possible

Joel Best Troubling Conditions = 3 social problems How & why these are constructed as Social Problems 1. Economic Inequality 2. Race & Racism 3. Environmental Degradation The causes? The Depth of the Problem The Breadth Sociology of Social Problems Objectivist Position: Harmful condition that hurts society in a negative way Proven by measurable phenomenon, it’s observable, truth / unbiased 3 critiques of the Objectivist POV 1. Harmful problems are not always labeled as social problems; Measurement issue Depends on location Ex. Sexism 2. There could be contradictory views / different interpretations 3. The term “harmful” is very vague It’s a meaningless concept How do we measure or conceptualize this Subjectivist / Constructivist Position: understanding Social Problems based on people’s subjective position / viewpoint Subjective positions can lead us to more objective truths Is there an Objective Science? Social Problems are up for debate The study of social problems is about the subjective reaction to the underlying condition (Best, 9) → A process through which something becomes defined as a social problem Process can’t just focus on the underlying condition, but also people’s claims about that condition We need to understand how people make claims Social Construction of Reality: about how people label and assign meaning to the world Humans are Label / Meaning Makers Have powers to define and shape our categories of thought Define what we perceive as what is not possible Taken-for-granted assumptions about how the world works Impoverished = needy, disadvantage Wretched / Depraved = hateful, worthless, morally corrupt...