Editing Society (section)

==== Non-Western views ====
[[File:Jose Rizal full.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|alt=Black and white portrait of José Rizal |[[José Rizal]], a theorist of colonial societies]]
The sociologic emphasis placed on functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism, has been criticized as [[Eurocentrism|Eurocentric]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=al-Attas |first=Syed Farid |author-link=Syed Farid al-Attas |date=March 2021 |title=Deparochialising the Canon: The Case of Sociological Theory |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/johs.12314 |journal=Journal of Historical Sociology |language=en |volume=34 |issue=1 |pages=13–27 |doi=10.1111/johs.12314 |s2cid=235548680 |issn=0952-1909 |lccn=89656316 |oclc=18102209 |access-date=31 January 2024 |archive-date=31 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240131131620/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/johs.12314 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Malaysian sociologist [[Syed Farid al-Attas]], for example, argues that Western thinkers are particularly interested in the implications of [[modernity]], and that their analysis of non-Western cultures is therefore limited in scope.<ref name=":1" /> As examples of nonwestern thinkers who took a systematic approach to understanding society, al-Attas mentions [[Ibn Khaldun]] (1332–1406) and [[José Rizal]] (1861–1896).<ref name=":1" />

Khaldun, an [[Arabs|Arab]] living in the 14th century, understood society, along with the rest of the universe, as having "meaningful configuration", with its perceived randomness attributable to hidden causes. Khaldun conceptualized social structures as having two fundamental forms: nomadic and sedentary. Nomadic life has high social cohesion (''asabijja''), which Khaldun argued arose from kinship, shared customs, and a shared need for defense. Sedentary life, in Khaldun's view, was marked by secularization, decreased social cohesion, and increased interest in luxury.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Becker |first1=Howard |author1-link=Howard P. Becker |last2=Barnes |first2=Harry Elmer |author2-link=Harry Elmer Barnes |year=1961 |title=Social Thought from Lore to Science |chapter=The Meeting of East and West and the Advance of Secularism |publisher=[[Dover Publications]] |edition=3rd |volume=1 |location=New York, NY |pages=266–277 |lccn=61004323 |oclc=423043}}</ref> Rizal was a [[Filipinos|Filipino]] nationalist living toward the end of the [[Spanish Colonial Period (Philippines)|Spanish Colonial Period]] who theorized about colonial societies. Rizal argued that [[Laziness|indolence]], which the Spanish used to justify their colonial occupation, was instead caused by the colonial occupation. Rizal compared the pre-colonial era, when the Filipinos controlled trade routes and had higher economic activity, to the period of colonial rule, and argued that exploitation, economic disorder, and colonial policies that discouraged farming led to a decreased interest in work.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Alatas |first1=Syed Farid |author1-link=Syed Farid al-Attas |last2=Sinha |first2=Vineeta |year=2017 |title=Sociological Theory Beyond the Canon |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |location=London, UK |chapter=Jose Rizal (1861-1896) |isbn=978-1-137-41133-4 |lccn=2017934880 |oclc=966921499}}</ref>