Essay Question 2:
The discussed authors presented accounts of how societies of the past differ from
societies at the present. How do these theorists describe these differences between past
and present and how do they explain the historical transition from the former to the
latter? What are the major advantages and disadvantages for society at large produced by
this transition? What kind of changes for the future (from their point of view) do the
authors either predict or propose?
The classical sociologists provided arguments on how individual(s) and society relate to
each other. What role does individual action play in explaining society and social
processes at large? What impact does society in turn have on the constitution of human
beings as individuals? What kind of prospects for autonomy and/or self-realization do
individuals have depending on the social context of which they are a part (i.e. as
members of different classes, occupational groups, urban living conditions etc.)?
