THE BIRTH OF SOCIOLOGY

There are six major changes in Europe that led to the emergence of sociology as a field of study. These six changes are the Enlightenment Period and the Growth of Science, the Religious Change, the Industrial Revolution, the Rise of Capitalism, the Growth of Cities, and the Rise of Socialism. The first four factors can be explained by using structural-functional paradigm while the last two factors can be explained by using social-conflict paradigm. Although these six factors contributed to the birth of sociology, I would like to emphasize only three of those that I believe has the greatest impact to Europe’s societal change. 

THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

During the Middle Ages in Europe, people’s livelihood depends largely on manpower. People till soil near their homes, and set up small-scale businesses through manufacturing. During those times, human body was used as a source of energy to produce goods and services.

By the end of 18^th century, a major development happened. Since science continues to grow and technology continues to advance, manpower was replaced by machines. Machines can produce goods in a faster rate with a lower cost (since there is no need to pay for human labor), thereby weakening the need for manpower. Since the products produced by machines were cheaper than the products produced by manpower, people would patronize more the products that were produced by the machines. Thus, more profit was gained in the factory than in farms and small-scale businesses. Because of this, factories were built across Europe, leading to the rise of a factory-based industrial economy.

As more factories were built, more raw materials were needed and the use of manpower shifted from manufacturing and tilling soil to working in factories. Since there were more raw materials needed, the landowners demanded more lands, and turned farms into grazing land for sheep. Since more sheep are owned, more wool was produced which are sold to factories, which provided more income to the landowners. Since there was a scarcity of land for tenant farmers, they migrated to places where there were factories, hoping to find jobs with more satisfying income. This migration caused families to separate, and traditions that guided the society for centuries to weaken. 

THE GROWTH OF CITIES

The migration of people to places where the industry was fast progressing led to the growth of cities. The number of cities grew to unprecedented size, increasing the social problems that the new urban dwellers face. The increase in population caused the increase in pollution, crime and homelessness. 

THE RISE OF SOCIALISM

During the Middle Ages, people considered society as something supernatural. The rulers were given “divine rights” by gods, and are considered to be holy. But during the 18^th and 19^th centuries, this view had changed. The industrial revolution and the growth of cities brought political ideas, which led to the downfall of the religious view of society. Unlike before, people now view society as a natural phenomenon, which means that society doesn’t only reflect the perfection of gods, but the imperfection of humans as well. This sudden shift in the societal view caused people to pursue their own interests, and speak of individual rights and liberty. This new consciousness to surroundings led to the French Revolution, which in effect regenerated the human race with new political and social tradition. People realized that they have “certain unalienable rights” including “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”.

Those three major changes led to a new awareness of society, which triggered people to understand how society actually operates, and how society could be improved, thus leading to the birth of sociology as a field of study.