Soc 001 1st Edition Lecture 28 Outline of Last Lecture I Autokinetic effect II Clicker Question III Conformity in Society Outline of Current Lecture IV Critical Thinking a Judgment b Empathy V Clicker Questions VI Chapter 12 Reading Assignment Current Lecture Critical thinking o Introduction o Dimensions Judgment Empathy Goal of undergraduate education to refine your skills at Critical Thinking Critical thinking the disciplined art of using the best thinking you are capable of o Thinking about your thinking o Be critical of your own thinking Clicker Question 1 Critical thinking is defined as o Using the best thinking you can Four critical keys to critical thinking o Judgment o Empathy o Learn your limits o Distinguish between assumptions and inferences Judgment the act of forming an opinion or decision that is based on careful thought o Compare evidence o Make careful distinctions o Use clear accurate and relevant arguments Clicker Question 2 Judgment can be thought of as o Comparing evidence to make careful distinctions Empathy the ability to understand and share the feelings of one another o Connection between individuals based on shared emotions These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute o Greater insight o Expanded world view o Loss of fear of new ideas beliefs etc o This is much easier said than done since culture is foundation o Leads to better decisions and better critical thinking o Especially useful for critical thinking when we think someone is wrong Clicker Question 3 Exam Question Empathy could best be described as o Feeling what someone else is feeling Chapter 12 Reading Assignment Inequality inevitable fact of social life people are always evaluated on the basis of some characteristic or set of characteristics and placed into higher or lower ranking groups based off of these judgments o Higher ranking individuals usually receive more wealth prosperity while lower ranking individuals do not Social stratification evaluation ranking reward system and its results o Society is made up of social layers or strata that are arranged in a hierarchy o In every type of social stratification system the people at the top are considered better purer smarter braver etc than the people at the bottom Stratification systems vary between culture but have three related things in common o The systems tend to persist for a long time o The systems are resistant to change o Each system is bolstered by widely accepted legitimating rationales widely accepted beliefs that something is fair and just Three main types of stratification systems o Caste system one s rank is determined by birth Based on ascribed characteristics Generally determines a person s prestige occupation residence and the nature of their social relationships Divides whole society into heredity groups by selective marriage division of labor and hierarchy ranking Transmigration reincarnation each person is born into a certain caste as a result of his her actions and thoughts in a previous life karma law of cause and effect Hindu caste system based off ancient sacrifice of Purusha who was dismembered by the Gods and whose body parts became foundation of the four varnas Brahmans priests seers and philosophers Kshatriyas warriors royalty and administrators Vaishyas producers merchants farmers artisans and other skilled workers Shudras peasants or unskilled workers o Estate one s rank is determined by birth Contacts between members of different estates are permitted thought this contact is usually very impersonal Three estates or social strata Highest stratum first estate made up of the aristocracy or nobility first estate was inherited or ascribed to later generations of family members within this stratum Second estate made up of clergy church still had a great deal of power because it owned a lot of land o Not based on ascribed characteristics Third estate included only the peasants these people were tied to the land given to landowners in the first estate o Later included merchants and craftsmen as well o Aka the estate of the commoners Industrialization broke down the estate system o Class system God did not put the best people in the highest ranks like the above but rather the best people work their own way to the highest ranks Achieved rather than ascribed characteristics The position one receives in the class system is a direct result of your own efforts traits abilities and not the result of economic or social factors Karl Marx the most important thing about any society was its economic system especially the means by which it produced the stuff that people needed to survive o Means of production in early times it was hunting and gathering in the Middle Ages it was agriculture in modern times it s industry o Proletariat those whose place in the means of production is to labor they have only their own labor power to sell o Bourgeoisie those who own the means of production the factories and other large production facilities Max Weber thought that Marx s view on the economic class was too narrow o Does not matter where one stood in relation to the means of production whether or not one was an owner or a worker but where one stood in the market situation o Power the probability that one actor within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out his own will despite resistance aka the ability to impose one s will or to get one s way even when faced with opposition from others o Legitimate power authority power that is seen as justified Ex Police officer stopping bank robber and taking his her loot o Illegitimate power power that is not justified Ex Mugger stopping a pedestrian to take his wallet o Status has to do with prestige or the degree to which an individual has social honor mainly based off of occupations Slavery can exist and has within caste estate and class systems o There is a tendency for slavery to change from being an achieved status to an ascribed one o Some say a slave system is just like the caste system and that slaves are simply the outcasts Social mobility can be horizontal or vertical o Horizontal movement from one occupation to another in the same stratum o Vertical movement up or down in a stratification system ex From lower to middle class o o o o Open system of stratification has a substantial amount of both horizontal and vertical mobility Class system is the closest thing to a