What similarities and differences can you find between these definitions?
a. Ginsberg (“The Study of Society”, 1939):
“Sociology may be defined as the study of society; that is of the web of human interactions and relationships”.
b. Sugarman (“Sociology”, 1968):
“Sociology is the objective study of human behaviour in so far as it is affected by the fact that people live in groups”.
c. Giner (“Sociology”, 1972):
“The purpose of Sociology is the scientific study of human society through the investigation of people’s social behaviour”.
d. Giddens (“Sociology”, 1989):
“Sociology is the study of human social life, groups and societies. It is a dazzling and compelling enterprise, having as its subject matter our own behaviour as social beings. The scope of sociology is extremely wide, ranging from the analysis of passing encounters between individuals in the street up to the investigation of world-wide social processes”.
e. Lawson and Garrod (“The Complete A-Z Sociology Handbook”, 1996):
“Sociology is the study of individuals in groups in a systematic way, which grew out of the search for understanding associated with the industrial and scientific revolutions of the 18th and 19th centuries”
