Each concept is identified by topic, (e.g. Durkheim). Each exam will have questions matching the concept and definition appropriate for the topics covered in class (see the outline for the course).

AFFECTIVE ACTION (Weber)

Emotional and impulsive action that is an end in itself.

The domination of humans by their own products; material, political and ideological. The separation of humans from their humanity; the interference with the production of authentic culture; the fragmentation of social bonds and community. Any process which reduces people to their animal nature.

State of social disorganization brought on by the lack of, or insufficiency of,social and moral rules regulating activity between persons and groups.

Power that is institutionalized and seen as legitimate by the members of a collectivity.

The class of merchants, bankers, and businessmen, those that own the means of production.

An individual's ability to exercise domination on the basis of personal and superhuman or supernatural qualities.

A group of people who have in common a specific relation in the means of production.

The sense of common identification of members of a class.

A position in a system of economic stratification and property ownership that helps determine the "life chances" of individuals.

An emergent characteristic of a group of society arising from and supporting a unified mental and emotional response to events of the world. (translation of conscience collective)

Something with exchange value and use value--that is, something produced to be bought and sold.

The production costs of a business--that is, money spent on machinery, the physical plant, and so on.

Logical process involving a claim to knowledge based on a series of propositions derived from a basic set of axioms or assumptions.

Metaphysical position that relates every event to preexisting events and that denies the possibility of human choice and free will.

The process of development of internal conflict leading to the emergence of a new level or more advanced form of reality.

The period immediately following a socialist revolution when the proletariat consolidate and maintain their hold on power by force.

The probability that an order will be obeyed.

Self-destructive behavior occurring when the social part of an individual's nature is insufficiently developed. Most prevalent in the transitional period to modern society.

Process involving a claim to knowledge based on some systematic form of sense observation.

Eighteenth-century intellectual movement that stressed the applicability of reason and science to the improvement of society and humankind in general.

Natural or social phenomena that are seen as external to an observer.

A theory of the process by which humans can possess knowledge.

The process by which humans create external institutional arrangements to which they must then adapt.

Political system that prevailed in Europe from the ninth to the fifteenth century and that gave powerful noblemen who controlled vast estates the right to govern those required to live on land controlled by them.

Occurs when means are instrumentally effective for given ends and when the rules that determine social action are abstract, formal, and generalizable.

Contribution made by individual or group to maintenance of another group or the social whole

Period of self-development that follows the play stage. Involves the development of the ability to take the role of the generalized other and to take part in group activity.

The overall attitude and general reactions of a group, community, or society.

Vocalized sound or body movement that one creature uses to instigate or stimulate the actions of another creature such that an act involving the mutual influence of both parties occurs.

An epistemology that explains social change and human consciousness in terms of underlying changes in the mode of production.

This term refers not to a historical analysis per se but to the comparisons of societies at different levels of development.

The idea that specific phenomena can be understood only in terms of some over-arching totality or whole.

Creative and imaginative phase of the self, which notes present circumstances and environmental contexts and suggests possibly novel and surprising new actions. The self as "knower."

Methodological approach developed by Dilthey. Involves the development of the usual, typical, or most complete features of a phenomenon in order to facilitate comparison and analysis. Weber stressed that ideal types were "one-sided" and "partial" descriptions of reality.

The attempt to organize conceptions of authority and shared social commitments in order to deal with social, economic, and political problems. The justification of a political order.

A pattern of interaction among humans that is regularized and seen as meaningful.

The process by which humans learn the rules that define the institutional arrangements of a society.

Relationships between social phenomena that hold true at all times and all places.

A theoretical treatment of "value" that treats the amount of value a commodity has as equivalent to the average amount of labor time necessary for its production.

Economics given a free hand by political authorities.

All the symbolic means that humans have at their disposal to communicate with one another.

Society as a whole and each particular science develops through three mentalistically conceived stages: the theocratic stage, the metaphysical stage, and the positive stage.

Authority that is accepted as right and proper according to certain cultural prescriptions.

Cooley's notion that an individual's self-conception arises from a perception and interpretation of the reactions of others and an emotional feeling about that reaction.

Class of people without steady employment--for example, petty criminals and the permanently unemployed.

The judgmental and "known" aspect or phase of the self.

A process of internal reflection using significant symbols.

A subcategory of productive forces--for example, the tools and machines associated with production.

Form of social organization in simple societies based on likeness of persons in terms of their conceptualization of reality and orientation toward the collective whole.

In this era, phenomena are understood in terms of supposed innate essences or a priori dispositions. Applied to the development of society as a whole and to the development of each particular science.

Productive forces plus the relations of production.

The interpretation that is made of social action in order to make it meaningful. (Not to be confused with the postulated cause of action.)

The process by which institutions that are humanly produced come to be seen as part of a fixed, external environment.

A particular theory about the nature of being or the kinds of existences.

The ratio of constant capital to variable capital.

Form of social organization in more complex societies based on occupational specialization and functional differentiation of social parts.

Class of small business people--for example, shop owners.

The period of self-development in which individuals learn to take into account the role of a single other at a time.

In this era, phenomena are explained in terms of observed relationships of order and change. Applied to the development of society as a whole and to the development of each particular science.

The term referred to: the scientific analysis of phenomena.

The probability that one actor within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out his own will despite resistance.

These enable humans to act on the material world in order to transform it. They comprise (1) labor power, (2) the means of production, and (3) the raw materials of production.

The realm of the nonsacred. That which is used or acted on in an everyday, utilitarian manner.

The class of workers who earn their living by exchanging their labor power for a wage. Today, about 80-90 percent of the work force.

An ascetic orientation that encourages hard work, thrift, and righteous forms of godliness.

The increase of rational orientations and activity in social life brought about by scientific-technical rationalism, metaphysical-ethical rationalism, and methodical life-style rationalism.

Authority legitimated through a strict observance of the rules of office.

Social action that is instrumentally oriented. Occurs when the ends of action are seen as means to higher, taken-for-granted ends.

The belief that phenomena should be described and explained in terms of more elementary units of analysis.

Laws involving punishment or destruction of violator of social rules.

Property relations. Relations among individuals with respect to their ownership of productive forces.

Laws involving obligation of the violator of social rules to reestablish situation as it was before violation occurred, in order to compensate victim of violation.

The process by which institutions that were humanly produced are experienced involuntarily as objects of attention to which humans must adapt.

Unifying the "spiritual" belief that Comte believed would develop in the positive stage of society. Involves the worship of humanity as a single "great being."

Property relations. Relations among individuals with respect to their ownership of productive forces.

The transformation of charismatic authority into traditional authority or, more usually, rational-legal authority.

The defining characteristic of religion. Emanates in society, is collectively held in awe, and is forbidden in everyday use.

In Mead's usage, a process that arises when action is blocked and that involves taking the role of the other, imagining, planning, and selecting action. The self allows the individual to be both subject and object of his or her own actions. Two aspects or alternating phases of self are the I and me.

A gesture produced by an individual who takes the role of another and is able to reflect on the significance and outcome of having made this gesture.

One in which individual behavior serves as a stimulus for the response of another.

Action by individuals that is generally seen as meaningful and that takes the actions and responses of others into account.

The process by which human experience is organized within a context of social interaction.

Relationships or the study of relationships of elements of society across time and in terms of change, evolution, or progress.

Attributes, characteristics, or properties of social reality that cannot be reduced to psychological, biological, chemical, or physical attributes or properties.

Deviations from what is typical, normal, or usual for a particular societal type.

Relationships or the study of relationships of elements of society at one point in time. Emphasis is on the functional and systematic relationships.

An orientation that stresses careful planning and investment so that capital will return the maximum profit.

The evaluations made of an individual in terms of positive or negative esteem or honor.

Latin term expressing a conception that something is a reality in and of itself and cannot be reduced to its subparts or components without loss or destruction of its most central and fundamental characteristics.

The structure of human consciousness.

Value created for the boss by workers during the working day after they have produced enough for sale on the market to cover their own wages and the constant capital costs associated with them being able to work.

The ability to mentally project oneself into a position where one can imagine how another or others will react to one's behavior. The other can be either a particular or a generalized other.

In this era, phenomena are understood in terms of the actions of supernatural agencies such as spirits, demons, or gods. Applied to the development of society as a whole and to the development of each particular science.

Occurs when the ends and means of social action are fixed by custom and tradition. Action is so habitual that it is taken for granted.

Authority legitimated through individuals' acquiescence in a system of political rule that has become habitual or customary.

Occurs when individuals use effective means to achieve goals that are set by their values.

The costs of paying the wages of the work force.

German term that means "understanding" in the sense of understanding the meaning of social action.

The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer.

Copyright: © 2001, John Hamlin
Last Modified: Thursday, 26-Feb-2004 10:26:50 CST
Page URL: http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/jhamlin/4111/gloss.html
Page Coordinator:John Hamlin