Knowra Social theory Social theory Social theory is a body of concepts and frameworks for explaining social relationships, institutions, structures, and change. It examines how social life is organized, reproduced, and transformed.
Social structure : The patterned relationships and institutions that organize social life and shape people’s opportunities and actions. The central object of explanation in theories of social order and constraint.
Auguste Comte : A French philosopher who coined sociology’s name and advocated a scientific study of society. His positivism helped establish systematic social explanation as a project.
Structural functionalism : A sociological approach that explains social institutions through their contributions to the persistence of a social system. It treats patterned interdependence as a source of social stability.
Methodological individualism : The principle that social phenomena should be explained through the actions and relations of individuals. It challenges explanations that treat social structures as independent causal forces.
Sociology : The systematic study of social relationships, institutions, groups, and societies. Social theory supplies concepts and explanations used across this discipline.
Social institution : An established system of rules, roles, and practices that organizes a major area of social life. Theories explain how institutions persist, distribute power, and change.
Karl Marx : A German philosopher and political economist whose work analyzed capitalism, class conflict, and historical change. His account of material conflict became a major source of critical theory.
Conflict theory : An approach that explains social arrangements through competition among groups with unequal power and interests. It recasts order as shaped by domination and struggles over resources.
Holism : An approach that explains parts of social life through their relations to a larger whole. It gives explanatory priority to systems and relations rather than isolated actors.
Political sociology : The study of how social structures and relationships shape political power, institutions, and participation. It applies social explanations to states, movements, and political inequalities.
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