Soc185A Reading
Democracy:
-man the subjectified state; democracy starts from man and makes the state objectified man. Just as it's not religion which creates man but man who creates religion, so it is not the constitution which creates the people but the people which creates the constitution.
-Monarchy cannot be understood in its own terms; democracy can.
-Man does not exist for the law but the law for man

Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right: Introduction
-man makes religion; religion does not make man
-man is not an abstract being, squatting outside the world. Man is the human world, the state, society. -religion is an inverted world consciousness because they are an inverted world
-religious suffering is at the same time an expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering; it's the opium of the people.

Week 1 Questions--
Situating the rise of “the social” as it emerges out of the economic, scientific, and political revolutions fostered by the Enlightenment

Why is sociology a reaction to and a symptom of modernity?
Historical contexts that shape the content of 19th century social theory.

Themes and Issues:
-the transition from feudalism to capitalism
-the "great chain of being" and its dissolution
-three great revolutions: (1) rise of the market society; (2) the rise of the State; (3) the rise of rational science
-society becomes transparent: the significance of the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution
-from gemeinschaft to gesellschaft
-viewing sociological theory—theorizing about society--as a symptom and an account of modernity

Notes to "Questions"
The development of sociology was born out of two revolutions: the French Revolution of 1789, and the Industrial revolution. Both of these events destroyed all previous social norms and created a new social organization: the modern industrial society. In particular, the French Revolution destroyed not only the political and social foundations of France, but almost every country in Europe and the North Americas. Ideas of liberty and equality were put into practice, setting the stage for a completely new social and political order. These changes also represented the victory for the downtrodden in France, and the beginnings of societies in other countries based on the individual and individualism. A new class of people, emboldened by what happened in France, appeared on the political stages of Europe and North America and were not afraid to fight for their rights as citizens and human beings.
The concept of modernity came about when classical theorists needed to understand the meaning and significance of the Twin Revolutions and the effects of industrialization, urbanization, and political democracy on rural societies. The term 'modernity' was coined to capture these changes in progress by contrasting the "modern" with the "traditional." Modernity was meant to be more than a concept. Modernity referred to a world constructed anew through the active and conscious intervention of individuals. In modern societies, the world is experienced as a human construction, an experience that gives rise to a new sense of freedom and to a basic anxiety about the openness of the future.
Modernity consists of three elements: traditional, institutional, and cultural. Traditional modernity means that there is a historical consciousness, a sense of breaking with the past, and a post-traditional consciousness of what is going on in the world. Institutional modernity is concerned with capitalism, industrialism, urbanism, and the democratic nation-state. Cultural modernity entails new beliefs about science, economics, and education. It involves a criticism of religion and separation of religion from politics and education.
A new social science was created in the wake of these events and was given the name 'sociology' by Auguste Comte, a French philosopher and he is thought of as the founder of modern sociology.