CEVAP:

There are important differences between commonsense and sociology. These can be summarized in four points:

• The first difference is related to the responsible speech. Unlike people depending on commonsense while talking, sociologists make effort to follow the rules of responsible speech. This means they make a clear distinction between untested personal claims and the statements corroborated by evidence. This is a very important point because the trust to and credibility of scientific knowledge depends on the belief that scientists follow the rules of responsible speech.
• The second difference is related to the size of the field from which the material is drawn. People who talk with regard to commonsense generally think and talk depending on few people’s lives and experiences. This causes their thinking to be partial or one-sided. Sociologists, on the other hand, broaden their horizons, use a wider perspective and can link individual biographies to social processes. Sociological thinking is a multi-dimensional thinking practice.
• The third difference is related to how we understand events. In everyday life, people tend to think that everything that occurs in the world is an outcome of somebody’s intentional actions. They think that goodwill lies behind good events and ill intensions lie behind unpleasant events. Sociologists do not make personalized interpretations. Sociologists’ explanations depend on networks of dependencies rather than individual actors or actions.
• The last difference is related to dogmas. In everyday life, repeated actions become habitual and commonsense does not ask critical questions. The reactions to social facts are perceived as true ways of life. However, sociologists challenge the supposed commonsense and ask radical, critical, provoking questions about the social facts. Sociology discusses the flow of the life in details.