Sociology is the scientific study of human society and social behavior.
Its subject matter is huge, complex, and varied, and the knowledge produced by sociological research has taught us a great deal about ourselves that we could have never learned by relying on speculation alone. We have learned to conceive of human-beings and social life in an entirely new way. Ordinarily, our own view of the world is shaped by our personal experience of it. However, Sociology can take us into worlds of slum dwellers, addicts, cult members, and criminals. Because these people have different social experiences, they have quite different definitions of social reality.