NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS CLASS – 11 | SOCIOLOGY | UNDERSTANDING SOCIETY | CHAPTER- 4 | INTRODUCING WESTERN SOCIOLOGIST | EDUGROWN |

In This Post we are  providing  CHAPTER 4 INTRODUCING WESTERN SOCIOLOGIST NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION for Class 11 SOCIOLOGY which will be beneficial for students. These solutions are updated according to 2021-22 syllabus. These   can be really helpful in the preparation of Board exams and will provide you with a brief knowledge of the chapter.

NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION ON INTRODUCING WESTERN SOCIOLOGIST

Question 1.
Explain the term ‘Bourgeoisie’.
Answer:
According to Marx, Bourgeoisie are those few people who own the means of production in a capitalist society. They enjoy both economic and political power.

Question 2.
Explain the term ‘surplus value’.
Answer:
The term ‘surplus value’ refers to the quality of value produced by the worker beyond the necessary labour time, i.e., the marking time required to produce a value equal to the one he has received in the form of wages.

Question 3.
Discuss main contributions of Karl Marx.
Answer:
Karl Marx was bom in Trier, Germany on May 5,1818. Marx was educated at the Treves school. He obtained his doctorate from the University of Jena in June, 1841. Marx’s personal life was a difficult struggle. Marx died on 14th March, 1883.
Karl Marx says that each society has two opposite classes:
1. The exploiters (means capitalists) and
2. The exploited (means workers).

The term ‘surplus value’ refers to the quantity of value produced by the worker beyond the necessary labour time i.e., the working time required to produce a value equal to the one he has received in the form of wages.
The term ‘alienation’ refers to the work alien, which means foreigner, and therefore alienation would mean becoming stranger to one’s own people and the product etc. In a capitalist society, alienation dominates every institutional sphere such as religion, economy and polity.

Question 4.
Write short note on Max Weber.
Answer:
Max Weber was born on 21st April, 1864 in Erfurt, Germany. He studied and received his degree in law. After the completion of his doctoral and the post-doctoral dissertations in 1897 he joined Heidelberg University as a Professor of Economics. He started his works in sociology in 1916 and was appointed Professor of Sociology at Munich. He died on July 14,1920. His main works include:

• The Protestant Ethic and Spirit of Capitalism
• The Religion of India.
• Economy and Society
• Essays in Sociology

Question 5.
How Durkhiem interpreted suicide?
Answer:
According to Durkheim, all deaths which are the direct or indirect results of any function of dead person about which he himself knows that thin act will cause death to him.
Durkheim suggested four forms of Suicide:

• Egoistic Suicide: Characterised by excessive reflection on personal matters.
• Altruistic Suicide: When the individual is over integrated with society. For example, Jauhar Pratha in Rajputs.
• Anomic Suicide: The state, which results from the weakening of powers in society that regulate social equilibrium. Individual meets frustration, which they are not able to cope with.
• Fatalistic Suicide: Due to excessive degree of regulation e.g. suicide of enslavement under the master.

Question 6.
Explain in detail Karl Marx’s theory of class struggle.
Answer:
Karl Marx was of the view that:

• Human society passed through different stages of development viz primitive, communal, ancient, feudal and capitalist.
• Each stage is defined by a mode of production.
• The factors of production are in the hands of the “oppressors’, they control them; the “oppressed” are deprived of them.
• There is a conflict between the “haves” and the “have-nots”.
• When the proletariat becomes conscious and acquires revolutionary character, there is an overthrow of those in power or the bourgeoisie.

Question 7.
Write a short note on Emile Durkheim.
Answer:
Emile Durkheim was bom on 15th April, 1858 in France. His elementary education was completed at Ecole. After graduation from the Ecole, he started working for the
doctoral degree. He obtained his doctorate in 1893, and was appointed Professor in the Paris University. Durkheim founded L ‘Anne Sociologique, the first social science journal in France. He died on Nov. 15,1917. His works include :

• Division of Labour in Society
• The Rules of Sociological Method
• Suicide
• The Elementary Forms of Religious Life.

According to Durkheim, social facts are the substance of sociological study. Durkheim was strongly concerned with outlining the nature and scope of sociology.

• They are general throughout society.
• They are external to individuals and exist independently on their will.
• They exercise external constraint over individuals.

Question 8.
Explain “theory of suicide” as stated by Emile Durkheim.
Answer:
Emile Durkheim identified four types of suicide:

1. Egoistic Suicide: A person gives too much importance to his own self or ego; is not properly integrated in society; excessive self- reflection on personal matters leading to withdrawal from the outside world; as a result there is weakening in the bonds of solidarity in the family, religious and political organizations.

2. Altruistic Suicide: In this the person is over-integrated with the society. They commit suicide for the cause of society or a kind of self-denial, e.g. Sati, Jauhar.

3. Anomic Suicide: In societies that experience sudden changes. Anomic is a state which results from the weakening of the powers in the society that regulate social equilibrium. The person meets frustration and he cannot withstand it, he puts an end to his life.

4. Fatalistic Suicide: When there is excessive degree of regulation and an overly developed regime, e.g. seeing no alternative to enslavement under the master a slave takes his life.

Question 9.
Highlight the basic characteristics of religion.
Answer:
The basic characteristics of religion are:

• Belief in supernatural power.
• Emotional state of mind associated with the beliefs, happiness, fear, reverence etc.
• Material objects involved in the religious practices-altar, cross, sacrifice, flower, . incense sticks, special clothes, banana leaves etc.
• Variations in the types of material objects used in religious ceremonies-differ from culture to culture.
• Specific rituals – fasting, chanting, dancing, specific types of food etc.
• Specific mode of worship.
• Concept of heaven and hell; sacred and profane etc.
• A special place of worship.
• Generally rituals are performed in isolation but occasionally it is performed collectively.

Question 10.
How did Max Weber explain “social action”? Elaborate on the types of social action seen in society. (HOTS)
Answer:
According to Max Weber

• An action is social when it is oriented or directed to others in society.
• It is social in so far as by virtue of the meaning attached to it by the acting individual or individuals.
• All human behaviour to which the actor attaches a subjective meaning is social action.

Types of social action

• Goal-Rational Action: Both means and goals are rationally selected by the individual.
• Value-Rational Action: These are performed under the influence of ethical values and religious beliefs of the individual.
• Emotional Action: The means and ends of the action are selected on the basis of emotional criteria. They may not be rational.
• Traditional Action: Tradition and customs guide the selection of the means and ends.