Social Outline of Deviant Sociology

Author: Pi Yijun
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-10-01
Features: Deviant Sociology, whether in law schools or in China's liberal arts colleges, can be said to be a brand-new course. If readers understand the extremely impoverished and difficult situation of deviant sociology research in China, they will understand this point. The only book that can be directly quoted and referenced is the translated work "Introduction to Deviant Sociology" by Professor J. D. Douglas of the United States. Several university teachers in China have already recognized the importance of this course and have attempted to offer it, but it has ultimately not been incorporated into the systematic teaching track. If it were not for the editor's limited knowledge, it seems that there has never been a systematic monograph on this discipline in China. For this reason, special thanks are due to the distinguished contributions of American professors such as J. D. Douglas in the field of deviant sociology. Their theoretical achievements (published by Hebei People's Publishing House in 1986 as "Introduction to Deviant Sociology") have provided much-needed rain for Chinese deviant sociology research. To this day, this monograph remains the preferred reference material for deviant sociology research in China. Of course, special thanks are also due to Mr. Zhang Ning and Mr. Zhu Xinmin. Without their foresight and awareness, in the mid-1980s, they would not have introduced and translated this monograph for us, the situation of research in this academic field in China would certainly have been even more embarrassing. They may not have anticipated that the theoretical tension generated by the book they introduced would go beyond the ontological realm of sociology and directly have a significant impact on the rise and development of crime studies in the new China. We can assert that scholars who participated in the initial work of crime studies in China in the 1980s should have this book as a must-have reference. It is particularly noteworthy that, with the current dominance of legal talents in Chinese crime studies research (a trend that is being corrected), this book still plays an immeasurable role in adding sociological knowledge to crime studies. At the same time, heartfelt thanks are also extended to the authors of the sociological, criminological, and legal psychology achievements referenced or borrowed in this book.
Due to the limitations of research and teaching efforts, this book cannot be considered a strictly defined textbook but rather a reference book for those engaged in research in this field or taking this course. Unlike Professor Douglas's "Introduction to Deviant Sociology," the fundamental difference of this work lies in its structural design, theoretical paradigms, and expression methods, which adopt a more localized approach, making it more accessible and easier to understand. The book also strives to expand the amount of information, providing a detailed and systematic introduction to various major theories that explain deviance. Additionally, appendices at the end of each chapter briefly summarize other relevant theories commonly used to explain deviance. To enhance theoretical understanding and readability, the book incorporates multiple "windows" that present vivid and engaging social events as empirical facts for understanding deviance, allowing readers to refresh their minds amidst potentially dry theoretical discussions.
Below is a specific introduction to the chapter structure of this textbook. The book is divided into 10 chapters, which can be considered as two parts. Part I, from Chapter 1 to Chapter 6, is titled "Theoretical Part" or "General Principles," while Part II, from Chapter 7 to Chapter 10, can be seen as "Applied Part" or "Specific Principles."
Chapter 1: Defining Deviance
This chapter discusses the perceptual and scientific understanding of deviance, distinguishing between deviant standards, definitions, and their functions. Due to the novelty of the course in China and the limited reference materials available, this chapter requires more elaboration to provide a clear understanding of the key term—deviance—before mastering the discipline.
Chapter 2: Research Methods and Disciplinary Status
Given the lack of knowledge in social science methodologies in liberal arts universities, this chapter provides a substantial introduction to the research methods of deviance. The book emphasizes the introduction and explanation of theoretical methods, reflecting the robust methodological system upon which deviant sociology relies. Methodologically, this course teaches students methods that are difficult to find in other liberal arts courses—using scientific empirical methods to observe the world. It introduces various theoretical paradigms for interpreting society and individuals. With these paradigms, students are like to possess a toolbox. They have many tools at their disposal, not just a wrench (as is the case in disciplines that do not emphasize empirical methods). They can selectively interpret the people and events they encounter without being speechless outside their field.
From Chapter 3 to Chapter 5, the book discusses the "macro-theories," "meso-theories," and "micro-theories" of deviant explanation. These theories serve as keys to explaining social phenomena and behaviors. This tiered theoretical structure is necessary because the complexity of social problems makes it difficult to use a single theory for a comprehensive explanation. Similarly, it avoids the flaw of discussing the same topic at different levels. It is impossible to use only one surgical instrument in an operation, let alone use one to treat all illnesses. The modern trend of classification refinement in science has made it impossible to think about all problems with a single mindset.
Subsequently, we include Chapter 6, which introduces "multilevel theories." Multilevel theories refer to those that are difficult to fit into the aforementioned theoretical hierarchy or those that exist between different levels. These perspectives are the result of integrating multiple theories, often a blend of two or more. For example, social exchange theory is a crossroads of classical economics, anthropology, behaviorism, and even sociobiology. These theories offer unique perspectives on deviant phenomena and behaviors that single-level theories cannot achieve.
From the first six chapters of this book, it can be seen that this organizational structure allows readers, after gaining a preliminary understanding of deviance, to select appropriate or preferred tools for explaining deviant behavior independently.
Chapters 7 to 9 explain common forms of deviance such as "violent deviance," "sexual deviance," and "deviance against integrity." If the driving forces of human behavior can be summarized as "aggression, sexuality, and material desire," these three chapters explain the primary forms and intrinsic mechanisms of human deviance. The myriad social motivations and behaviors in human society can all be seen as derivatives and elevations of these primal desires. Conversely, from these three main categories of human deviance, we can also trace the fundamental causes of deviance.
Chapter 10, "Social Control of Deviance," can also be seen as the formal or informal responses of human society to deviant behavior. These responses include not only people's attitudes toward deviance but also specific deviant controls. Although sociology primarily focuses on explaining facts rather than making value judgments, once we have accurately analyzed the causes of deviance, the best strategies for social control become apparent.
The division of labor in the compilation of this book is as follows:
Pi Yijun: Chapters 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7, and is responsible for the overall review and editing of the book;
Zhao Baocheng: Chapter 4;
Zhang Yongran: Chapter 8;
Ma Ai: Chapter 9;
Yu Guodan: Chapter 10.
III. What is the disciplinary positioning and function of this subject? What kind of discipline is it?
Since this sociological monograph is included in the "New Era Law School Series Textbooks," let us first discuss the relationship between this discipline and law. The following narrative form involves the relationship between law and this discipline, but in reality, it comprehensively demonstrates the intrinsic essence of this discipline.
From the perspective of the cognitive process, if law itself is the study of applying legal sanctions and formal intervention to specific deviant behaviors, then what is the foundation of law? Naturally, it is the relevant disciplines that study the mechanisms of deviant,, and criminal behavior. Deviant sociology begins with the criteria of human rational judgment, discusses the formulation, adherence to, and violation of rules—clearly the most fundamental knowledge. Research on rules should start here.
From a methodological perspective, the legal system does not have enough space to accommodate empirical scientific methodologies and primarily relies on metaphysical research methods (at least this is the current state of legal research in China). Conversely, as an integrated discipline, this subject does not exclude any methods that can observe human behavior. Multiple empirical methods from natural and social sciences are used to observe deviance. Therefore, law can only realize its value and truly enter the realm of science by relying on disciplines like this empirical one.
From the perspective of disciplinary nature, law is a normative discipline. However, within the entire normative system, law itself is a specific category of rules. This discipline involves a grand rule, including law, morality, customs, discipline, public opinion, and human value criteria. The principles involved in the grand rule are the foundational concepts of law's upper-level discipline, just as sociality is the upper-level conceptual category of class. Therefore, in the construction of disciplinary integration, this subject belongs to the foundational discipline.
From the perspective of research objects, law is only interested in the correspondence between behavioral facts and legal norms, not the causes of violations. In this sense, this discipline is a causality of behavior, an empirical discipline. Unlike law, which focuses on the content of norms, it traces the reasons why humans create or destroy norms. The ultimate pursuit of humanity is not a "retaliatory response" (retribution) to evil acts but to explore the initial origins of evil acts through facts and suppress them.
From the perspective of normative implementation, law is a delayed response to certain harmful behaviors, intervening only after the act has occurred. Law appears in the form of external, heteronomous, and coercive forms. Only by being constrained by external forces can one follow norms, which does not truly distinguish humans from animals. The social value criteria that this discipline focuses on may be internalized, becoming an internal force that restrains evil impulses. Designing rules and consciously using them to restrain oneself to achieve self-discipline—this is the fundamental difference between humans and animals.
From the perspective of normative function, law is primarily designed to prevent people from doing evil, and the coerciveness of law itself inherently contains unavoidable evil. Human society is not only for "suppressing evil" but also for "promoting good." The grand rules in this discipline that can encompass law not only prevent human evil but also guide people toward goodness. This is the ultimate ideal of humanity.
Law focuses on people, but it only focuses on people in legal relationships, on legal people, and does not involve people related to desires, impulses, the id, aggression, DNA, or genes. This discipline studies social people while not forgetting the biological meaning of people before becoming social people, i.e., biological people, and how they transition from biological to social people, ultimately achieving humanistic care. We cannot deny that the history of the development of Chinese social sciences has missed the important lesson of humanistic enlightenment. In this course, you will feel the infinite theoretical tension of humanistic sciences. Perhaps students who are passionate about humanistic sciences will be more inclined to take this course.
IV. Due to the novelty of this course, there are very few reference books available in China, and the compilers have not yet fully grasped the intrinsic essence of this discipline. It is still in the stage of introducing theoretical paradigms and cannot fully describe the discipline in its own language, so this textbook is still somewhat raw, and the overall framework needs to be clarified. We hope to have the opportunity to make adjustments in the shortest possible time to achieve a level that satisfies both the compilers and the readers. The criticism of the readers, combined with the continued efforts of colleagues in this discipline, can make it more perfect.
July 30, 2004, in Beijing