Final answer:
The Industrial Revolution was influential in the birth of sociology as it introduced significant societal changes that scholars sought to understand, focusing on aspects such as capitalism, modernization, and industrialization.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Industrial Revolution was pivotal in the development of sociology as it prompted scholars to analyze the vast changes occurring in society. Modernity, which includes the processes of capitalism, modernization, and industrialization, played a crucial role in shaping the discipline. Key sociological changes such as urbanization, new forms of employment, and shifts in social institutions due to technology, population dynamics, and environmental factors brought about by the Industrial Revolution needed understanding and explanation. This led to the establishment of sociology, with early thinkers such as Max Weber, Karl Marx, and Emile Durkheim providing foundational insights into the effects of these changes on both society and individuals. The field of sociology emerged to examine how this new, modern world affected human behavior, social relations, and institutions like family, work, religion, politics, and the economy.