KSLU Solved Question Papers
Sociology I
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 1
2014 Dec Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 1 Sociology I 2014 Dec Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
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Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2014 Dec examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2014 Dec examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.
Duration 3 hours · Total marks 100 · 13 questions answered
How to use this volume
Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.
Q1Discuss the scope and importance of Sociology.[16]
Answer
For full marks, cover: sociology in a sentence with its origin; what "scope" means; the specialistic (formal) view with Simmel and its weakness; the synthetic view with Durkheim and Ginsberg and its weakness; the modern view, with the fields of sociology in a table; the importance of sociology for knowledge, for the individual, for society and the state, for India and for law, each with an example; a conclusion.
Sociology
Sociology is the scientific study of human social life, groups and institutions. The French philosopher Auguste Comte coined the word in 1838, combining the Latin socius with the Greek logos. Since then the subject has grown into a major social science.
What "scope" means
The scope of a subject is its range: the field it covers and the boundaries that separate it from other subjects. In its early years sociology had to justify its existence beside older subjects such as economics, history and political science. Two views arose about how wide its field should be.
The specialistic or formal view
Thinkers of this view wanted sociology to have a limited field of its own. It should study the forms of social relationships, leaving their content to other sciences.
Georg Simmel argued that relationships such as competition, cooperation, domination and conflict share the same form everywhere. The form is the same in business, religion, politics or the family. Sociology should study these forms in the abstract, just as geometry studies shapes without regard to the material. Ferdinand Tönnies, Leopold von Wiese and Alfred Vierkandt took related positions.
Weakness. Critics reply that form and content cannot really be separated. A sociology of pure forms becomes thin and remote from real problems such as poverty, caste or crime.
The synthetic view
Thinkers of this view held that sociology should study society as a whole and the links between its parts. It should synthesise what the special social sciences discover.
Emile Durkheim divided sociology into three parts:
- social morphology, the study of population and its physical setting;
- social physiology, the study of institutions such as religion, law and the economy;
- general sociology, the search for general social laws. Morris Ginsberg grouped its field under social morphology, social control, social processes and social pathology. L. T. Hobhouse and Pitirim Sorokin shared this broad view.
Weakness. If sociology covers everything, critics ask, what is its distinctive subject? A synthesis also risks being shallow.
The modern view
Today the two views are seen as complementary. Sociology uses general concepts such as status, role, conflict and institution, and it also studies concrete institutions in depth. Its scope has grown into many specialised fields.
| Field | Main concern |
|---|---|
| Rural sociology | Villages, agriculture, land relations |
| Urban sociology | Cities, slums, migration |
| Field | Main concern |
|---|---|
| Sociology of family and kinship | Marriage, household, descent |
| Sociology of religion | Beliefs, rituals, religious groups |
| Political sociology | Power, parties, voting |
| Industrial sociology | Work, organisations, labour |
| Sociology of education | Schools, learning, mobility |
| Sociology of law | Law as a social institution |
| Criminology | Crime, punishment, deviance |
| Sociology of gender | Roles and inequality of the sexes |
Sociology among the social sciences
Sociology differs from its neighbours in breadth. Economics studies production and exchange, political science studies the state and power, and psychology studies the individual mind. Sociology studies the social side of all these activities and how they connect. This makes it a general social science and gives it a special place among the others.
An example of scope and importance together
Suppose researchers study why many farmers in a drought-prone taluk fall into debt. Rural sociology examines land, caste and credit networks. The sociology of the family examines dowry and wedding expenses. Political sociology examines how relief schemes reach villages. The findings help government design better credit and relief policies, and help courts and legal aid bodies understand the borrowers who come before them. One problem shows both how wide sociology's scope is and how useful its knowledge can be.
Importance of sociology
1. Scientific knowledge of society. Sociology replaces guesswork and prejudice with tested knowledge. It shows, for example, how caste continues to shape marriage even where it has weakened in public life.
2. Self-understanding. It helps individuals see how family, class, caste and gender have shaped their choices. This makes people more reflective and tolerant.
3. Planning and welfare. Programmes for housing, health, nutrition and employment work only if planners understand the people they serve. Sociological surveys identify needs and explain why schemes fail.
4. Solving social problems. Problems such as farmer distress, alcoholism, child labour, communal tension and urban slums have social causes. Sociology traces these causes so that remedies are well aimed.
5. Strengthening democracy. Understanding social diversity helps citizens respect each other and take part wisely in public life.
6. National integration. In a country of many languages, religions and castes, sociology explains differences and highlights common interests.
7. Understanding change. India is changing rapidly through urbanisation, technology and new opportunities. Sociology helps people and governments anticipate and manage these changes.
8. Usefulness in professions. Administrators, police officers, managers, journalists, social workers and doctors all work with people in groups. Sociological insight helps them do their work better.
9. Importance for law. Law is applied to people in society, and its success depends on social facts. Sociology explains why some laws are obeyed and others evaded, how courts are used, and how legal change affects families and communities. It helps judges interpret terms such as "cruelty" or "public order" in their social context. It also helps lawmakers design reforms that work in practice.
10. Understanding crime and justice. Criminology, a branch of sociology, explains why crime occurs, how offenders are labelled and how they can be reformed. This knowledge shapes policing, sentencing and prison reform.
11. Understanding other societies. By studying other cultures without contempt, sociology reduces prejudice and helps people work across national and cultural borders.
Limits
Sociology describes and explains; it does not decide what is right. Its findings are probable rather than certain, because human behaviour varies. These limits do not reduce its importance, but they remind us to use its findings with care. Used well, sociology tells lawmakers and citizens what is actually happening in society, which is the first step towards deciding what ought to be done.
Conclusion. The scope of sociology was long debated. The specialistic view limited it to the forms of relationships, while the synthetic view extended it to society as a whole. Today both are combined, and sociology covers many fields. Its importance lies in giving reliable knowledge of society and in aiding planning and problem-solving. It also strengthens democracy and integration, serves many professions, and guides the making and working of law.
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