A-Level Sociology (AQA)

Topic Summaries

Sociological perspectives and debates in sociology

The nature of science

  • Debates over whether sociology can be a science.
    • Falsification: (👤 Popper, 1934) science progresses through falsifying hypotheses. For example, Marxism is unscientific because it cannot be falsified.
      • Many sciences also contain unfalsifiable elements.
    • Paradigms: (👤 Kuhn, 1962) science operates within shared paradigms that change during scientific revolutions.
      • Sociology lacks a single paradigm, making it pre-scientific by this definition.
    • Open and closed systems: (👤 Horton, 1986) open systems allow hypotheses to be tested and questioned; closed systems reject evidence that contradicts their beliefs.
      • Sociology can operate as both depending on the approach.

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