Introduction to the Study of Sociology (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from Introduction to the Study of Sociology<br><br>This is an elementary textbook with the limitations which that fact implies. It is intended for the use of classes and also for general readers who desire a clearer view of the field of thought designated by the much used word "sociology."<br><br>Such a book must aim to serve two purposes. First, it must present as much as space permits of the accepted results of study in this field, to the reader who may have no further formal instruction in sociology, and whose further progress will be gained by independent thought and reading. Second, it must afford to the student, who will pursue more intensive courses in subdivisions of sociology, an outline of the entire field, and a sense of the relation of those special topics, which he may later study more intensively, to the subject as a whole. Each of these purposes requires the elementary textbook to be compendious so as to afford a view in perspective. The best books in sociology have been written by men who were contributing actively to the new body of teaching, and who have been too much preoccupied with the original materials, in the production of which their minds were engaged, to give adequate time and space to the contributions of others. As a consequence, it is hardly too much to say of the textbooks in sociology which have thus far been produced, that in proportion to their originality and intellectual excellence has been their failure as compendiums or outlines.<br><br>A compendium of sociology must include not only a summary of the chief abstract teachings in all branches of the subject, but also some practical applications, the result of hard experience and of investigation into specific evils and their causes, and of empirical efforts at reform as interpreted in the light of scientific principles.<br><br>About the Publisher<br><br>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br><br>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.