A Comprehensive Lecture On The Evolution Of Sociology: From Its Inception To Contemporary Developments
A Comprehensive Lecture On The Evolution Of Sociology: From Its Inception To Contemporary Developments

Summary/Abstract: This paper develops an extended theoretical discussion based on an excerpt from a chapter in the volume authored by J. P. Gibbs and E. Sheldon, Science and Sociology: Predictive Power Is the Name of the Game (2018). Starting from their critical diagnosis, the article addresses the long-term evolution of sociology as a scientific discipline, from its foundational aspirations toward explanatory and predictive rigor to its contemporary methodological and epistemological fragmentation. Gibbs and Sheldon argue that, in recent decades, sociology has progressively distanced itself from the standards of cumulative scientific knowledge, increasingly privileging localized assessments of social realities grounded in demographic analyses, survey-based research, and ethnographic descriptions, often at the expense of generalization and predictive capacity. Building on this argument, the present paper situates sociology within its broader historical and intellectual trajectory, highlighting key moments in its development, major theoretical paradigms, and recurrent tensions between explanation, interpretation, and application. Particular attention is given to the comparison between sociological reasoning and epistemological models derived from the natural sciences, especially with regard to prediction, falsifiability, and theory-driven research. By examining selected empirical situations and conceptual analogies drawn from the natural sciences, the paper explores the extent to which sociology can reclaim or reformulate its scientific ambitions without disregarding the complexity and contextuality of social phenomena.

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