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Sociology
Sociology, according to Wikipedia, “refers to social behaviour, society, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and culture that surrounds everyday life.” Originally, sociology solely existed rooted in other disciplines such as history and philosophy, however as its relevance to society became increasingly apparent, it was recognised as an individual discipline.

Emergence from within other disciplines
The complex relationship between the individual and their society has been a topic of interest long before sociology was recognised as its own discipline. Aristotle, who is most commonly known as a philosopher, has been said to have been the founder of sociological thought, in his attempts to systematically gather and rationalise knowledge about humans in society. Centuries later, a Chinese historian named Ma Tua-Lin wrote an encyclopedia titled General Study of Literary Remains, in which he recognises the key role that social dynamics play in historical development. Shortly after, Ibn Khaldun, who many consider the first sociologist, expanded on this soon-to-be discipline, building the foundation for modern sociology.

Becoming its own discipline
Although sociological concepts and thought existed long before this, the term “sociology” was first coined in 1780 by the French essayist Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès. This distinction set it apart from the disciplines that it was once rooted in, catalysing its path to becoming the complex, huge field that it is today. In a similar way to how it emerged from compatibility to other disciplines, it is commonly used to further understand problems from an interdisciplinary lens. For example in the sub-field of social psychology, where scientific methods are used to “understand and explain how the thoughts, feelings, and behaviour of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of other human beings.”