KSLU Solved Question Papers
Sociology I
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 1
2018 Jun Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 1 Sociology I 2018 Jun 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 2018 Jun examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2018 Jun 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 · 12 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.
Q1Is Sociology a science ? Comment.[16]
Answer
For full marks, cover: what makes any subject a science; the steps of the scientific method; the arguments that sociology is a science, with Comte, Durkheim and an example; the objections, each answered; Weber's interpretive approach; the middle view that sociology is a social science; why the question matters for a law student; a conclusion.
What makes a subject a science
A subject is a science because of the way it gains knowledge, not because of what it studies. Physics studies matter and biology studies living things, but both share one method. They observe facts carefully, form ideas that can be tested, check those ideas against evidence and state general laws. Knowledge gained this way can be checked by others and corrected when new evidence appears.
The usual steps of the scientific method are:
- choosing and defining a problem;
- forming a hypothesis, a tentative explanation;
- observing and collecting facts in a planned way;
- classifying and analysing the facts;
- testing the hypothesis and reaching a generalisation;
- using the generalisation to explain and, where possible, predict.
The question is whether sociology can follow these steps when its subject is human social life.
The founders' view
Auguste Comte, who coined the word "sociology" in 1838, wanted a positive science of society. He believed society could be studied with the same method as nature, by observation and comparison, without speculation. Emile Durkheim carried this forward. In The Rules of Sociological Method (1895), he wrote that the first rule is to "consider social facts as things". By this he meant that customs, laws and beliefs exist outside any single person and can be observed from outside, like natural objects.
Arguments that sociology is a science
1. It uses the scientific method. Sociologists define problems, frame hypotheses, collect data through surveys, interviews, observation and records, and test their ideas. Each step of the method above is used.
2. Its findings rest on facts, not on wishes. A sociologist studies what society is, not what it ought to be. In that sense the subject is positive, not normative.
3. It finds cause-and-effect relations. Sociology traces how one social fact produces another. For example, it links urbanisation with the growth of nuclear households, and literacy with later marriage.
4. It makes generalisations. Durkheim's Suicide (1897) is the standard example. He used official statistics from several European countries. They showed that suicide rates rise when people are either too loosely or too tightly bound to their groups. A personal act turned out to follow a social pattern that could be stated as a general law.
5. Its results can be checked. Another researcher can repeat a survey or study the same records and test the findings. Census data and the National Family Health Survey are used this way in India.
6. It can predict in a limited way. Sociologists cannot say what one person will do. But they can forecast trends, such as the effect of rising education on the age at marriage or on family size.
Objections to calling it a science
1. No laboratory experiments. People cannot be placed in test tubes, and controlled experiments on whole communities are rarely possible or ethical.
Reply: Astronomy and geology also cannot experiment on their subjects. Sociology uses the comparative method and natural experiments instead, comparing societies, regions or periods that differ in one main respect.
2. Lack of objectivity. The sociologist is part of the society he studies. His caste, class, religion or politics may colour his view.
Reply: Training, careful sampling, standard methods, peer review and repeated studies reduce bias. No science is wholly free of the observer's influence.
3. Human behaviour is unpredictable. People have free will, emotions and changing motives, so exact prediction is impossible.
Reply: Sociology predicts patterns in groups, not single acts, as insurance companies predict death rates without knowing who will die.
4. Complexity. Social events have many causes, all acting together, and they are hard to isolate.
Reply: Statistical methods can measure the separate weight of different causes.
5. No exact terms or measurement. Words such as "class" or "community" are used in different senses, and attitudes cannot be weighed like objects.
Reply: Sociology is developing precise definitions and measurement scales, as all sciences once had to.
The debate at a glance
| Test of a science | How sociology meets it | Its limit |
|---|---|---|
| Systematic observation | Surveys, interviews, field studies, records | Observers may be biased |
| Testing hypotheses | Comparison across groups and periods | Few controlled experiments |
| Cause and effect | Links between social facts | Many causes act together |
| General laws | Patterns such as Durkheim's suicide rates | Laws are tendencies, not certainties |
| Prediction | Trends in groups | Not single acts |
Sociology and common sense
Some say sociology only states what everyone already knows. Research often shows otherwise. Many people assume, for example, that crime is mostly committed by strangers, or that the joint family has simply disappeared. Careful studies show that much violence happens within families and among acquaintances. They also show that many Indian families live apart yet still act jointly in money and care. Common sense is often a mix of truth, prejudice and guesswork. Sociology tests these beliefs against evidence, which is exactly what a science does.
Weber's interpretive approach
Max Weber accepted that sociology must be scientific, but he saw a key difference. People act for reasons. Sociology for Weber is the interpretive understanding of social action, in order to explain its course and effects. He called the method of that understanding verstehen. A sociologist must grasp the meaning an action has for the actor, and not just count its outward form. This makes sociology a science of a special kind, one that combines explanation with understanding.
The middle view: a social science
Most sociologists today hold that sociology is a science, but a social science. Its method is scientific, but its subject matter brings permanent limits. It cannot be as exact as physics, because its subjects are human beings who think, choose and change. Yet its knowledge is far more reliable than common sense or opinion. It is pure rather than applied, abstract in studying patterns, and generalising in seeking laws, yet it studies a world that is always in motion.
Why the question matters for a law student
Courts and lawmakers increasingly rely on social facts. Reports on dowry deaths, child marriage, crime trends and access to justice come from sociological research. If that research is scientific, it deserves weight in making and applying law. A law student who understands both the strength and the limits of sociology can use such evidence wisely.
Conclusion. Sociology is a science in its method. It observes, frames hypotheses, tests them and generalises, as Comte proposed and Durkheim showed in his study of suicide. Its objections are real. Experiments are difficult, objectivity is hard and human action is complex. But they are limits of degree, not of kind. Adding Weber's stress on meaning, sociology is best called a social science. It is less exact than the natural sciences but far more reliable than opinion.
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