Core Vs. Sociological Theory - 918 Words

Midterm Essay: Core Figures in Sociological Theory What is the meaning of life? Ah, a question that has pondered the mind of an individual for eons and eons. In a feudal society, it was common to turn to faith and religion to answer such question. Eventually, man became hungry for evidence and truth, thus the Enlightenment was born. The Enlightenment was a period of remarkable intellectual development that occurred in Europe during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. The Enlightenment criticized the feudal ideologies of faith and tradition by fusing rationalism and empiricism. The goal or premise of the Enlightenment was the idea that humans are infinitely perfectible and the way society is structured is what keeps us†¦show more content†¦This revolution lead people to migrate from their farms to the city and from agricultural work to factory work to produce a mass production of manufactured goods. The Enlightenment was for progress and advancement which is why industrialization took place but Karl Marx, one of sociology’s core figures, was concerned with this economic and social change. Karl Marx was a German philosopher and sociologist; who was known for his work with Friedrich Engels in The German Ideology (1845-1846). In this writing, Marx teaches us his theory of materialist conception of history which shows that the world by its exact nature is built by matter. Additionally, materialism states that matter is primary and thought is secondary and derived from the material world. Marx deems that ideas or interests have no existence independent of physically reality. Unlike George Hegel, a German philosopher who became a great influence to Marx, Marx believes that experiences determine ideas. He asserts â€Å"Consciousness can never be anything else than conscious existence, and the existence of men is their actual life-process† and he also states â€Å"Life is not determined by consciousness but consciousness by life.† Therefore, everything mental say, consciousness, politics, law, morality, religion, philosophy, etc., is actually a result of our mat erial world. Marx