A Reflection of Chapter 1 - How Do Sociologist Study Society?" By Joel M. Charon

The ideas in Chapter 1 of “Ten Questions: A Sociological Perspective,” can adhere to anyone’s life. The idea of empirical proof, or “understanding through observation,” is derived from every experience (Charon 9). While one may not directly state a hypothesis, gather data, and draw concrete conclusions, this is the very basis of learning from one’s experiences. I know that in my life, I never make the same mistake twice. This is based on the reasoning that the “mistake” in question had already been tested, options weighed and conclusion drawn. Without directly making a correlation between the science of sociology and my life, I have been living this idea of the science of society and in particular my own individual views of society.

Honestly, as uninformed as it may sound, I never really though of sociology as being a real science. I thought it was based off of principles and ideas that were established by the great thinkers of long ago and while that also holds true, there are always new assumptions that can be tested to see if they hold true as an idea that can be applied to studying society.