There are several levels in the structure of sociological knowledge. The main categories and patterns of sociological science. The structure and levels of sociological knowledge

Sociology as a science currently has a very complex structure. This structure includes general sociological theory, which studies the most general issues of the functioning and development of society, the place in it of the human person. It is within the framework of the general sociological theory that the theoretical comprehension and generalization of many empirical facts accumulated and comprehended in particular sociological theories, their systematization according to one or another feature, the development of a sociological categorical apparatus, the establishment of patterns and the formulation of laws (Fig. 2) take place.

Rice. 2. Structure sociological knowledge

Fundamental sociological theories emerged from social philosophy and psychology; they were based on observations, conclusions and generalizations of various aspects of social life, which provided information about the laws of human behavior common to all social structures.

Another level of sociological research - empirical sociology(from Greek. empeiria- experience) - a complex of sociological research focused on the collection and analysis of social data using methods, techniques, techniques of sociological research, the purpose of which is to collect and systematize information about the state of public life. This is a fairly independent scientific discipline, which has other names. Corresponding to her academic discipline called "Methods and Techniques of Concrete Sociological Research". Empirical sociology is also called sociography, which emphasizes the descriptive nature of this discipline. This direction of sociology is considered closer to life than "high" theories.

And, finally, the level of private (branch) sociological theories. These theories are usually referred to as middle level theories. This term was introduced into scientific circulation by the famous American sociologist Robert Merton. Each of the "middle level theories" poses and solves sociological problems in relation to a certain element of the structure of society, a separate, relatively independent social phenomenon. Middle-range theories include:

· sociological concepts that are developed at the intersection of sciences,- sociology of law, medical sociology, economic sociology, sociology of management, etc.;

· sociological theories related to the study of certain areas of social life: agrarian sociology, urban sociology, sociology of reading, etc.

· various branches of institutional sociology- a special area related to the study of sustainable forms of organization and regulation of public life: the sociology of religion, the sociology of education, the sociology of marriage and the family.

Any scientific knowledge, including sociological, acts as a unity of two interrelated levels of knowledge - theory and empiricism, two types of research - theoretical and empirical.

Lecture II. METHODS OF SOCIOLOGY.
BASES OF SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH

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All topics in this section:

Sociological view of society
With the term "sociology" each of us met repeatedly. In modern life, as they say, everyone is “on hearing”. Television, radio, newspapers report on the results of sociological surveys

Object and subject of sociology
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Sociology in the system of sciences
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Levels of sociological analysis
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General characteristics of the methods of sociology
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Stages and types of empirical sociological research
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Quantitative methods for collecting sociological information
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Data analysis and interpretation methods
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Qualitative Strategies in Sociological Research
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Symbols and language
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Phases of socialization and life cycle
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Mass communities
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social movements
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Social groups
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Types of social connections
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Forms of social connections
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Sociological theories of deviation
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Social control and social sanctions
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Approaches to the study of social change
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Agents of Social Change
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Plan

Introduction
2. Structure of sociological knowledge and its levels
3. Functions of sociology
4. Methods of sociology
5. Place of sociology in the system of social sciences and humanities
Conclusion
Bibliography

Introduction

In the mass consciousness, sociology is often associated with the conduct of population surveys and the study of public opinion. This is facilitated by numerous television programs, articles in newspapers and magazines, which provide the results of sociological studies that characterize the distribution of people's opinions regarding a particular event, data on the degree of voters' support for various political parties, about respondents' satisfaction or dissatisfaction with work, standard of living, government policy, etc. All this creates the image of sociology as an applied science that contributes to solving the most pressing problems of our social life.
In recent years, sociology has won wide recognition and has taken a firm place among other sciences. It has proved its right to exist as an independent scientific discipline. And this is not accidental, because sociology studies a person and society at numerous points of their mutual contact. It illuminates the human experience, inviting us to explore aspects of the social world that we often ignore, overlook, or take for granted. By studying sociology, we can better understand how human society works, where power is concentrated, what feelings control our behavior, and how our society became what it is today. Sociology provides a unique opportunity to lift the veil that tightly hides the fundamental principles of social life, and thereby overcome the belief that things are always the way they seem to us. In other words, this science equips us with a special form of consciousness that helps to better understand those social forces that restrain or, on the contrary, free us. Therefore, in the words of P. Berger, sociology is “a liberating science. It clarifies inaccessible aspects of human life and opens a window into a social world that we often overlook or misunderstand.
1. Object and subject of sociology

Sociology has been around for more than a century and a half. During this time, various trends, directions and schools took shape in it. Each of them has defined its own subject area and managed to achieve certain successes within its framework. However, at the present time, and indeed throughout the development of sociology, there was a complex process of deepening and defining its subject. What is the reason for this? The fact is that we live in an era of intense and profound changes, in an era of the formation of a new civilization and new relationships between people. Today, humanity is painfully looking for answers to many global questions: what is society? how does it function? where are we going? Answers to them should be only specific, only in essence, constructive. Moreover, a unified sociological knowledge is necessary, since we are talking about the fate of the entire civilization.

The subject of sociology must certainly be the theoretical understanding of the contradictory integrity of the modern world. The "drama" of this science lies in the fact that it must investigate and explain the nature of the state of mankind, it is for this purpose that it arose and exists today.

Its object is the society of the modern type. At the same time, a holistic study of an object (society) does not make it possible to cover all its properties, facets and relationships. Sooner or later, scientists need to focus on considering only its individual aspects, which constitute the subject of sociological science, i.e., the subject of sociology is everyday life ordinary people

The structure of sociological knowledge and its levels

So, due to the scope and depth of its subject, sociology began to develop simultaneously in many directions, which quickly developed into a new quality and turned either into independent scientific disciplines or into rather closed schools with their own methodological guidelines. As a result, sociological knowledge has acquired a fairly branched structure, in which some directions often intersect with others,

In all developed sciences, it is customary to differentiate knowledge on three grounds: by content, that is, by the specifics of the object being studied, by form (by methods and sources of obtaining), and by functions (purpose). In this sense, sociology can be divided into three main aspects:

2) formal;

3) functional.

From the point of view of what is being studied, they distinguish subject sociology, the object of which is society (in all its richness and diversity), and metasociology, which focuses on the study of sociological science itself (defining its specifics, place in the system of social and human sciences, developing research methods, revealing the patterns of the process of historical evolution, etc.).

Subject sociology, in turn, has three main levels:

1. General sociological theory (general sociology), dealing with the study of society as an integral system, identifying the most general laws of its functioning and development. Its methodological base is social philosophy.

2. Particular sociological theories (“theories of the middle rank”), represented in sociology by a whole series of special (branch) disciplines that study relatively large and independent fragments of social reality: economics, labor, politics, culture, religion, family, etc. Their theoretical and methodological basis - general sociological theory.
3. Specific sociological studies of various social phenomena and processes (“sociology”). Their immediate theoretical foundation is private sociological theories in the relevant research areas.
According to the level of scientific generalization, that is, according to the methods and sources of obtaining knowledge, it is customary to single out theoretical and empirical sociology.
Theoretical sociology is aimed at understanding the inner essence of social reality, that is, the laws that govern it. Empirical - on the knowledge of the external manifestations of this reality. In addition, theorists use theories and speculative conclusions as the basis for building their conceptual models. The concepts put forward by theoretical sociology are distinguished by a high degree of abstraction. Empirical sociologists base their conclusions on facts, on the results of their research. The empirical level is the level of facts, opinions, personal data, their generalization and the formation of primary theories.
The nature of the knowledge they receive also differs. Theoretical sociology gives a causal explanation of facts on the basis of established laws, is engaged in predicting the possible course of events. Empirical - seeks to give the most accurate description of the collected data.
From the point of view of the intended purpose of the knowledge obtained, fundamental and applied sociology are distinguished.
Fundamental sociology is aimed at increasing scientific knowledge, applied sociology - at obtaining a practical result, solving a specific social problem. Fundamental science is engaged in the construction of global concepts that explain why the world works this way and not otherwise, while applied science is designed to solve specific problems, for example, to explain why voters in a given region preferred this particular candidate.
All these levels of sociological knowledge are closely intertwined and form a single science - sociology.

3. Functions of sociology

Sociology is connected with society by thousands of threads. This determines the many social functions it performs.

 Epistemological - a function that any science performs. Sociology at all levels and in all its structural elements ensures the growth of new knowledge about various spheres of social life, and also reveals patterns and prospects for the further development of society. Sociology seeks to get the most complete picture social relations and processes in modern world. This can be knowledge about the main social problems of the development of modern society or information about the processes taking place in its various areas, namely, about changing social structure, family, national relations, etc. Obviously, without specific knowledge about the processes taking place within individual social communities, it is impossible to ensure effective management.

The applied function is manifested in the fact that a significant part of sociological research is focused on the solution practical problems to fulfill the social order.

Within this function, there are:

A) The function of social control, the execution of which assumes that sociological research provides information for exercising control, relieving social tension and preventing crisis situations.

B) predictive function. We are talking about the development of scientifically based forecasts of the development of social processes in the future. When a sociologist studies a real problem and seeks to identify ways to solve it, he is naturally driven by a desire or need to show the perspective and the end result that lies behind it. Consequently, the sociologist predicts the course of development of the social process.

C) And finally, the function of social planning. The results of sociological research are used to create projects in various areas of public life. This concerns the development of targeted comprehensive programs for the development of certain spheres of public life, industries, regions, etc. Beginning in the 1970s, Soviet sociologists took an active part in the preparation of comprehensive plans social development enterprises, districts, cities, regions, regions.

ideological function. Research results can be used in the interests of any groups to achieve their own goals. They can serve as a means of manipulating people's behavior, as well as a tool for the formation of certain stereotypes of behavior, the creation of a system of values ​​and social preferences. History shows that in most social revolutions and reforms it was precisely sociological concepts of one kind or another that were leading in social development. The sociological ideas of John Locke played an important role in the revolution of 1688 in the establishment of a liberal-democratic regime in England. The works of Francois Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau played a transformative role in France. For a long period, the ideology of Marxism was the leading intellectual trend in Russia. Racist ideology became the basis of Nazism and the Third Reich in Germany.

Enlightenment (educational) function. Sociology is a powerful tool for self-knowledge of society, a means of enlightenment and education of the masses. Sociological ideas, the results of research, made public, are able to make people and society take a fresh look at themselves, see themselves from the outside in the mirror of sociology and think about their own being.

So, sociology was formed quite recently. That is why the subject of its study has not yet been clearly defined and causes numerous disputes in professional circles. Nevertheless, the need for a new science is justified, since social structures and social relations are becoming more and more complex and require scientific description and analysis in order to predict the development trends of both society as a whole and its individual elements.

Methods of sociology

Sociology uses not only abstract-theoretical methods typical of the social sciences (system-categorical analysis of an object), but also a set of concrete-empirical methods.

Observation: the study of society, public opinion, public sentiment, social processes in their natural state. Observation can be external, third-party, when the sociologist is not himself a participant in some social process, and internal, "on", when the sociologist himself becomes a member of the group under study or a subject of the social process.

Observation provides primary information, which can then be analyzed, evaluated, compared, etc.

Analysis of statistical materials: the study of documentation, reports, references, protocols, statistics, press materials, factual data, etc., that is, not the direct existence of a social object, but its reflection in primary (usually verbal) documentation. Using statistical materials, the sociologist reproduces the state of the object in the categories of sociology and identifies trends in the development of the object.

Interview: this is a study in the form of a given oral survey of the subjects of society in order to obtain a "sociological picture of the object." As social subjects, respondents for interviews are selected, as a rule, typical representatives of some social group, professional experts, well-known leaders. The results of the interview may be of individual and personal interest (an interview with a famous artist or athlete) or socio-typological (opinions of typical representatives of a certain group).

Questioning: this is a form of written survey of the subjects of society (groups, communities) in order to obtain an overall idea of ​​the state and functioning of a social object. The questionnaire or questionnaire includes a series of open-ended (without a finite set of possible answers) or closed (with a finite set of possible answers) questions. Social modeling: it is associated with the study of a social object not in its natural, natural form, but in the form of functional, structural or attributive models. The model is a heuristic substitute for nature. As a rule, in social modeling, computers are used, information and mathematical models of the object. Social experiment: this is the study of a social object in its natural or model form under controlled, artificial conditions.

There are other methods for obtaining sociological information, but they, as a rule, are modifications of those mentioned. In addition, it should be borne in mind that each of the methods has many variations. For example, there are such types of survey as selective, probing, group, correspondence, face-to-face, panel, one-time, press, direct, distributing, continuous, expert, etc. In each case, the researcher determines one or another method and its variants. At the same time, the complementarity of methods must be taken into account in order to avoid errors.

Each method of specific sociological research involves a set of necessary procedures, technologies, methods for both effective research and obtaining adequate results.

· Analysis - knowledge of an object based on the study of its parts, its components, constituents.

· Synthesis - knowledge of the integrity of the object by combining knowledge about its constituent parts, elements, subsystems. Synthesis, as it were, completes and continues the analysis, providing a holistic, systemic, integrative knowledge of the object as a whole.

· Experiment - the study of an object in artificial controlled conditions.

Extrapolation - knowledge of an object by transferring knowledge from one (studied) object to another.

Modeling is the study of an object not in its direct form, but on the basis of the study of its models.

Induction - obtaining a general conclusion from particular knowledge.

Deduction is the derivation of private knowledge about objects from general provisions, premises.

· System Method- the study of an object as a system consisting of a composition (a set of components) and a structure (the way the components are connected).

Structure of sociological knowledge— ϶ᴛᴏ a certain orderliness of knowledge about society as a dynamically functioning and developing social system. It is worth noting that it appears as a set of interrelated ideas, concepts, views, theories about social processes at different levels.

Sociology is a complexly structured branch of scientific knowledge about general and specific trends and patterns of development and functioning, different in scale, significance, features and forms of manifestation of social systems.

We note the fact that in modern methodology - both in our country and abroad - scientific knowledge is usually understood hierarchically and represented as a "building" of sociological science, consisting of five floors (Fig. 1.1):

• top floor - ϶ᴛᴏ scientific picture of the world(philosophical premises);
• fourth - general theory, including categories of the most abstract level;
• the third is particular, or special, theories;
• the second floor is represented by empirical research;
• the lower floor is applied research.

The top four floors of the sociological "building" are occupied by fundamental sociology, and the last one is applied sociology. The top three floors theoretical sociology. The bottom two - empirical and applied research - are usually referred to as empirical knowledge.

The identified five levels and types of knowledge differ in two parameters - the degree of generalization (abstractness) of the concepts used at this level, and the degree of prevalence of knowledge at this level - in other words, the number of studies conducted or theories created.

Scientific picture of the world

The highest level of sociological knowledge associated with the scientific picture of the world (SCM) will not yet be properly sociological, but rather has a universal meaning for all sciences and is of a philosophical nature. NCM contains a set of the most general theoretical judgments about how the social reality is structured and what laws it obeys, in which society and individuals exist.

According to the degree of generalization, the scientific picture of the world will be the most abstract, and the most specific knowledge is applied, relating to one object and aimed at solving specific situation, problems, tasks.

Figure #1.1. Pyramid of levels and types of scientific sociological knowledge

Number of studies done or theories created

In terms of the prevalence of knowledge, the rarest is also the scientific picture of the world; in each social science there are only a few of these pictures. According to researchers, five dominant pictures of the world and ways of knowing it have the greatest recognition and influence today: scholastic, mechanistic, statistical, systemic, diatropic.

As part of scholastic scientific picture of the world nature and society are interpreted as a kind of cipher that needs to be read and deciphered with the help of codes, the role of which is played by myths.

mechanistic NCM characterizes nature and society as a mechanism, a machine, all the details of which perform strictly designated functions for them.

From the position statistical NCM nature and society are considered as a balance of opposing forces (natural, economic, political, cultural, social, social and personal-individual, group)

Systemic scientific picture of the world will give an idea of ​​nature and society as organized systems, subsystems consisting of elements that are constantly changing, but at the same time ensuring the integrity and vitality of all systems.

Diatropic NCM allows you to see the world in a multidimensional, polycentric, changeable way.

NCM in sociology is subject to changes, which are due to the development of scientific knowledge, the emergence of new directions, paradigms. Philosophy has a decisive influence on NCM. Scientific pictures of the world are integrated into the culture of a certain era and civilization. The culture of each country will create its own philosophy, which leaves its mark on the development of sociology.

General sociological and particular theories of sociology

The picture of the world and general sociological theory have much in common. Both the first and second reveal the most essential features of social life and the fundamental laws of the development of society. At the same time, in NCM, fundamental knowledge is built into a strict system not differentiated, not explicitly, but in the general theory it acts as explicit knowledge. There are more general theories than NCM: perhaps about two dozen.

The next level of sociological knowledge is private (special) sociological theories, usually formalized and logically compact models of social processes relating to individual areas of life, social groups and institutions.

Empirical Research in Sociology

Empirical Research -϶ᴛᴏ large-scale research, ϲᴏᴏᴛʙᴇᴛϲᴛʙ meeting the most stringent requirements of science and aimed at confirming a private theory. Their main goal is to contribute to the growth of new knowledge, the discovery of new patterns and the discovery of unknown social trends.
It should be noted that the main purpose of empirical research is not just to collect and process facts, but to provide a reliable test of the theory, its verification, to obtain representative (reliable, representative) information. It is worth noting that they contribute to the identification of existing contradictions in society and its structures, as well as trends in the development of social processes and phenomena, which is very important for the scientific understanding of social reality and the solution of social problems. Empirical research data serve as the basis for developing recommendations aimed at solving current and future problems of the social and political life of society, parties and movements, various social communities, groups and institutions.

Empirical knowledge of the phenomena of social life forms a special science - empirical sociology.

Applied Research in Sociology

Applied Research - small-scale, operational and non-representative studies conducted in a short time at one object (company, bank), designed to study a specific social problem and develop practical advice to solve it.

Do not forget that it is important to know the tools of applied sociology, its goals and objectives. If a sociologist, not knowing who he is, brings to the enterprise the methodology of fundamental research and studies, for example, the dynamics of value orientations, then he will not be understood. Because practical workers, who will act as customers, do not reason in these categories, they speak a completely different language. The applied scientist, unlike the academic scientist, faces completely different problems.

For applied scientists, academic scientists develop such standard questionnaires and standard tools, according to which experience is replicated in different enterprises. It is worth noting that it is used in many enterprises for the same purpose - to assess personal and business qualities. And no new knowledge is obtained for science, new knowledge is only for the administration.

Applied research - ϶ᴛᴏ research of local events. The purpose of applied research is not to describe social reality, but to change it.

Thousands of empirical studies have been carried out. The number of projects carried out at factories, banks, cities, microdistricts, etc. applied research is generally impossible to calculate. As a rule, they are not recorded anywhere, their results are not clothed in scientific articles, the only source of information about them is the reports stored in the archives of enterprises or firms.

Basic and applied research

Given the dependence on orientation, sociological research is divided into fundamental and applied. First purely implementation oriented scientific questions: what is known? (object) and how is it known? (method) Second are aimed at solving urgent social problems of a practical nature and answer the question: what is cognized for? Based on all of the above, we come to the conclusion that these theories differ not in the object or method, but in what goals and objectives the researcher sets for himself - cognitive or practical. If in this study the sociologist seeks mainly to develop new sociological knowledge, theory, then in this case we are talking about fundamental research, which studies society as a system. Unlike fundamental sociology, applied sociology acts as a set of problem-oriented studies aimed at solving specific social problems that arise in certain social subsystems, specific social communities and organizations.

At the same time, it is extremely important to emphasize that the division of sociology into fundamental and applied will be conditional. The content of both includes the solution of both scientific and practical problems, only the ratio of these problems in them is different. A sharp distinction or opposition between fundamental and applied research can hinder the development of sociology as a multifaceted science. Fundamental knowledge in science is a relatively small part of the experimentally proven scientific theories and methodological principles, which scientists use as a guiding program.
It is worth noting that the rest of the knowledge is the result of ongoing empirical and applied research.

Fundamental science, which develops mainly within the walls of universities and academies of sciences, is usually called academic.

Sociological research is divided into theoretical and empirical. This division is connected with the levels of knowledge (theoretical and empirical) in sociology; the division of sociology into fundamental and applied sociology, with the orientation (function) of sociology on strictly scientific or practical tasks. Thus, empirical research can be carried out within the framework of both fundamental and applied sociology. If its goal is to build a theory, it belongs to fundamental (by orientation) sociology, and if it is to develop practical recommendations, then it belongs to applied sociology. Research, being empirical in terms of the level of knowledge obtained, can be applied but the nature of the problem being solved is the transformation of reality. Material published on http: // site
The same applies to theoretical research (according to the level of knowledge). Therefore, applied research does not form a special level. These are the same theoretical and empirical studies (according to the level of knowledge), but with an applied orientation.

Based on all of the above, we come to the conclusion that it is impossible to establish a rigid boundary between theoretical and empirical sociology. Let us note that each of these levels of sociological knowledge complements the analysis of the studied social phenomena. For example, when studying social factors that contribute to the preservation and strengthening of a healthy lifestyle of the workforce, it is impossible to start an empirical study without the necessary theoretical knowledge, in particular, about what a lifestyle, a healthy lifestyle is. Here, it is extremely important to provide a theoretical explanation of such concepts as a full-fledged lifestyle, standard of living, quality of life, way of life, living space, vitality, and others, as well as what are the trends in the study of this problem in sociology, etc. Note that theoretical elaboration of all these questions will contribute to finding valuable empirical material. On the other hand, having received specific empirical knowledge about the social factors that contribute to the preservation and strengthening of a healthy lifestyle of the work collective, the researcher comes to conclusions not only of a local nature, but also beyond the scope of one team, of public importance, they can supplement and clarify the theoretical premises .

Thus, at the theoretical level, the categorical apparatus of science is formed. Here, generally general scientific methods of cognition (systemic, modeling, experiment, etc.) can be used, as well as general scientific principles of cognition (objectivity, historicism, causality, integrity, etc.)

At the empirical level, operations with facts are carried out: collection, systematization, analysis, etc.

Macrosociology and microsociology

There are also macro- and microsociology. Sociology as a science was formed and developed in Europe at first as a macro-sociological science, focusing its attention on the disclosure of the global laws of the development of society and the study of the relationship between large social groups and systems. Later came microsociology, which studies typical patterns of behavior, interpersonal relationships predominantly socio-psychological nature. Since then, the development of sociology has gone in two parallel directions.

Macrosociology focuses on the analysis of such concepts as "society", "social system", "social structure", "mass social processes", "civilization", "social institution", "culture", etc. Unlike macrosociology, microsociology studies specific issues related to the behavior of individuals, their actions, and motives that determine the interaction between them.

Microsociology is closely connected with the empirical (applied) level of sociological knowledge, and macrosociology with the theoretical. At the same time, both theoretical and empirical levels are present in both. Macrosociologists (K. Marx, G. Spencer, E. Durkheim, F. Note that tennis, P. Sorokin, etc.) were actively engaged in empirical research, and microsociologists substantiated a number of important sociological theories, including the theory of social exchange ( J. Homans, etc.), symbolic intentionalism (C. Cooley, J. G. Mead, J. Baldwin, etc.), ethnomethodology (G. Garfinkel, G. Sachs, etc.)

The convergence of micro- and macrosociology, currently observed in science, but in the opinion of many scientists, has a fruitful effect on the development of a qualitatively new level of sociological knowledge.

Sociological knowledge is structured in the world literature and on other grounds: according to the predominance of trends, schools, concepts, paradigms, etc. Among them stand out academic sociology, dialectical sociology, understanding sociology, phenomenological sociology, etc.

Thus, sociological knowledge is a complexly structured, multi-level, polysectoral field of scientific knowledge about complex social phenomena and processes, about the patterns of formation and development of large and small social groups and communities, and the social system as a whole. All levels of sociological knowledge organically interact with each other, forming a single and integral structure.

In order not to form a misconception about sociology (that it is a worldview science), you need to know that it is based on a solid practical base and, moreover, it itself serves as a reliable theoretical support for social practice, therefore it can be structurally defined on a theoretical and practical level.

The structure of sociological knowledge is understood as a system of interrelated ideas, concepts, views, approaches, theories about social reality at different levels, steps, based on the degree of generalization or specification of the explanation of social reality. A feature of the structure of sociological knowledge is that it is a certain ordered system of knowledge about society as a dynamically functioning social organism. The structure of sociological ideas, assumptions and scientific knowledge is formed depending on the range of objects studied by sociology, the depth and breadth of scientific generalizations and conclusions, which are carried out on the basis of an analysis of data on certain social phenomena and processes.

Structural elements of sociological theory is knowledge about society, which includes an understanding of the laws of its development, its main areas of life. An important element is knowledge about the functioning and development of individual spheres of social life (economic, political, social, spiritual, etc.), as well as the conditions and opportunities for life and self-affirmation in each of these spheres of an individual or group. The components of the structure of sociological knowledge are also scientific views, theories of the social structure of society, the social composition of the population, the activities of social institutions existing in society (state, law, economics, religion, culture, family, etc.).

It is necessary to single out a number of specialized sections that deal with the study of certain areas of public life, and some area of ​​​​general theories. So, in modern sociology, the following sections are distinguished, which are sometimes called concrete sociology, or sociology of the middle level:

a) sections that explore social institutions, which include the sociology of the family, the sociology of education, the sociology of politics, the sociology of law, knowledge, ideology, science, religion, art, the army, war, industry, labor;

b) sections, specifically explore different types social communities, for example, the study of small groups, territorial communities, cities, villages, studies of the social strata of the population, professional categories, castes;

c) specialized studies of social processes and phenomena (the processes of displacement, disorganization, crime, alcoholism, prostitution, the formation of market relations and entrepreneurship, the phenomena and processes of mass communication - the press, radio, television, cinema - and their influence on the formation of the so-called mass culture; the process of population migration, the movement of persons in geographical space and the transition to other communities and cultures, as well as the processes of transition from one layer or class to another.

The system of scientific knowledge of sociology has a complex structure that reflects various types and levels of research into social reality. Sociology is a complex structure of scientific knowledge. The elements of this structure (or three levels of sociological knowledge) are:

■ general sociological theory;

■ special sociological theories or theories of the middle level;

■ specifically sociological research.

In addition, there are theoretical and practical (applied) levels of studying social life.

The theoretical level in the structure of sociological knowledge is occupied by a general sociological theory based on social philosophy. Being a socio-philosophical theory of society, it connects philosophy with all social and human sciences. General sociological theory gives an idea of ​​society as a whole as an integral system, an organism, a system of social mechanisms, formulates the principles of social cognition, basic methodological requirements system analysis, principles of historicism, analysis of phenomena in relation to others. In this context, sociology can be viewed as a theoretical and methodological basis for other social sciences. It is from these positions that theoretical sociology can be regarded as the science of the laws of the development of human society. There are several concepts and approaches to explaining the nature of social development mechanisms.

Formative - where a factor in the trends in the development of social relations is recognized as a change in socio-economic formations, which are determined by the mode of production, in which "being determines consciousness", in which the class struggle and the economic dominant are the driving forces of all transformations (K. Marx, F. Engels, V. Lenin).

Sociocultural - when the main factor in the development of society is the existence of various cultures that peculiarly go through various stages of their development, in which "consciousness determines being", and the spiritual, cultural dominant is the main factor in social change (M. Weber, V. Sombart, N. Danilevsky , O. Spengler, A. Toynbee).

The civilizational approach determines the type of civilization in which society is located in a given historical period of development as an important factor in the development of social relations (O. Comte, P. Sorokin, W. Rostow, J. Galbraith, R. Aron).

It should be noted that the proposed approaches are limited to a certain extent and have their drawbacks, however, taken together, they still reflect a number of general patterns of social development "identified" in various specific historical conditions, and quite objectively reflect various aspects of society.

Special sociological theories clarify the provisions of the general sociological theory regarding the understanding and interpretation of the mechanisms of social interaction, but for them, too, the general sociological theory serves as a methodological basis.

There are several types of these theories:

■ those who study the development of communities;

■ sectoral, which consider the mechanisms of life of communities in certain areas (sociology of labor, economic sociology)

■ theories that analyze individual elements of the social mechanism (social control, organizations).

Special sociological theories concretize the provisions general theory, making the transition from general concepts to specific (with which you can study, measure the process). They have a much narrower cognitive spectrum than general sociological ones, and mainly relate to individual spheres of public life, social groups and institutions, and combine the theoretical and empirical (practical) levels of research. They occupy an intermediate place between fundamental sociological theories and empirical generalization of primary sociological information, acting as a kind of connection, a catalyst for their interdependence. Among the theories of the middle level, the most interesting for future specialists in economic, managerial, legal profile, in our opinion, may be the following: economic sociology, sociology of management, sociology of entrepreneurship, legal sociology, etc.

The third level of sociological knowledge is presented in the form of specific sociological research and analysis. This is the collection of facts, data, their systematization and analysis. These are measurements of specific social phenomena and processes based on certain approaches, principles, concepts. At this level, specific social processes and phenomena are measured on the basis of general sociological and specifically sociological approaches and principles. The subject of research here is the actions, deeds, characteristics of the behavior of social groups and individuals, as well as the reflection of the facts of social reality in the minds of people. This level can be called a means of implementing the criterion of clarity of scientific knowledge about real social reality. It should be noted that the allocation of levels of sociology is quite arbitrary and is in close relationship (Fig. 3).

A sociological analysis of a specific social situation (various elements of the social structure) makes it possible to strictly scientifically determine the nature of the theoretical and practical problems that are solved in the process of sociological research. First, a sociologist, relying on a general sociological theory, must reveal the totality of objective social factors (economic, political, ideological), which to a certain extent affect the course of a particular situation and determine the structure of social relations in various social groups. The fulfillment of this task requires from the sociologist an integrated approach to the phenomena that are being studied. Further, an important task of the sociologist is to establish dependencies between the action of objective social factors and the subjective ideas of people, the consciousness of social groups. This, in turn, makes it possible to reveal a specific mechanism for the manifestation of social patterns, to identify possible deviations in the development of social processes. The implementation of these successive tasks makes it possible to formulate new theoretical conclusions and develop practical recommendations for solving this problem.

5. Structure of sociological knowledge

Sociology, developing, became more complicated; at present, three levels of knowledge are distinguished in it.

1. Macro level. Within the framework of this level, society is studied as an integral system, as a single organism, complex self-governing, self-regulating, consisting of many parts, elements. Macrosociology primarily studies: the structure of society (which elements make up the structure of early society and which are modern), the nature of changes in society. They single out, for example, a linear character, which, according to its authors, consists in the constancy of development from lower to higher forms, from simple to complex societies. This is the path of progress. Another point of view is that society developed, though from lower to higher forms, but not evenly, but in leaps, with long delays, retreats and other uneven movements. The third point of view is that society developed in cycles - in one place a civilization is born, develops and dies, then the same thing was repeated in another part of the Earth.

2. Meso-sociology, or sociology of the middle level, within which it is considered the most important goal to study the groups of people existing in society, such as classes, nations, generations, as well as stable forms of life organization created by people, called institutions: the institution of marriage, family, churches, educations, states, etc. More than 100 institutes.

3. Microsociology - the third level of the study of society. Adherents of microsociology believe that the most important thing is to understand, to know the activity of an individual, motives, nature of actions, incentives and obstacles.

So in sociology there are three levels of knowledge, understanding of society. But over the past time, sociology has turned into a very complex structure, which resembles a large branched tree, where many applied or branch branches of sociological knowledge have developed. AT organizational structure Sociology as a science has three independent levels:

1. the level of fundamental research, the task of which is to increase scientific knowledge by constructing theories that reveal universal patterns and principles;

2. the level of applied research, which sets the task of studying actual problems on the basis of existing fundamental knowledge of practical value;

3. social engineering - the level of practical implementation of scientific knowledge.

Sociology has grown in complexity. There was a division into theoretical and empirical. The specificity of theoretical sociology is that it relies on empirical research, but theoretical knowledge prevail over empirical ones, because

6. SPECIFICITY OF SOCIOLOGICAL METHODS OF KNOWLEDGE

A method in sociology is a way of constructing and substantiating sociological knowledge, a set of techniques, procedures and operations for empirical and theoretical knowledge of social reality. The method includes certain rules that ensure the reliability and reliability of knowledge. As for the specific methods of cognition, it is believed that they are similar to the methods of social psychology, statistics, history, ethnography, cybernetics, and other sciences.

In all these studies, sociology acts as a scientific system, since the main goal is to obtain scientific knowledge about society as a whole or about its individual fragments. Therefore, it solves the problems of studying society on the basis of scientific methods of cognition of reality. If philosophy solves social problems speculatively, on the basis of a chain of logical reflections, then theoretical sociology relies on empirical research. According to sociologists, social life should be studied not speculatively, but on the basis of the methods of empirical (experimental) science. The scientific (or positivist) method means the reliance of theoretical sociology on the body of empirical data collected in observation, experiment and comparative research, data - reliable, verified, beyond doubt.

Comte created the methodological basis of sociology. According to Comte, the main methods were: observation of social facts, experiment, comparative method (he meant comparing the lives of various groups, nations, etc.). Comte's main thesis is the need for strict verification of those provisions that sociology considered. He considered true knowledge to be those obtained not theoretically, but through social experimentation.

The specificity of sociological methods of cognition is due to the specificity of the object of research - society. On the issue of the specifics of society as an object of knowledge, there are two main theoretical directions: positivist orientation and antipositivist orientation with multiple ramifications in each direction.

1. Representatives of the first direction (from O. Comte to modern positivists) sought to bring society under the general scientific denominator, i.e. sought to present it as part of the objective (natural) reality, studied on the basis of general scientific methods. And sociology seemed to them one of the scientific disciplines, which, like all natural Sciences reveal the laws that explain the structure and change of society.

2. Representatives of the second direction (from Dilthey to modern antipositivists) sought to take society out of the framework of natural reality, endowing it with purely specific features that require some special methods of cognition when studying.

The material unity of the world, the dialectical connection of all forms of motion of matter determine the principles

7. Functions of sociology

Sociology, as an independent branch of knowledge, implements all the functions inherent in social science: epistemological, critical, descriptive, prognostic, transformative, informational, worldview. In general, the functions of the humanities are usually divided into two groups: epistemological, that is, cognitive, and actually social. The epistemological functions of sociology are manifested in the most complete and concrete knowledge of various aspects of social life. Social features reveal ways and means of optimizing them. Functions exist and operate only in interconnection and interaction.

The main epistemological function of sociology is epistemological, critical. Its essence lies in the fact that sociology accumulates knowledge, systematizes it, seeks to compose the most complete picture of social relations and processes in the modern world. The theoretical-cognitive function of sociology includes objective knowledge about the main social problems of the development of modern society. As for applied sociology, it is designed to provide reliable information about the various processes taking place in different social spheres of society, namely, about changes in the social structure, family, national relations, etc. Obviously, without specific knowledge about the processes taking place within individual social communities or associations of people, it is impossible to ensure effective social management. The degree of consistency and specificity of knowledge of sociology determines the effectiveness of the implementation of its social function.

The descriptive function of sociology is systematization, description of research in the form of analytical notes, various kinds of scientific reports, articles, books, etc. They attempt to recreate an ideal picture of a social object, its action, relationships, etc. When studying a social object, it is required high moral purity and decency of a scientist, because on the basis of data, facts and documents, practical conclusions are drawn and managerial decisions are made. These materials are a starting point, a source of comparison for future generations of mankind. Sociology not only cognizes the world, it allows a person to make his own adjustments to it. But a person must always remember that the transformation of society is not an end in itself. And transformations are needed only when they correspond to the needs and values ​​of people, lead to an improvement in the well-being of both society and people. No matter how good the social information received by sociologists is, it does not automatically turn into decisions, recommendations, and forecasts. The cognitive function of sociology is continued in forecasts and transformative functions.

The prognostic function of sociology is the issuance of social forecasts. Usually, sociological research ends with the formation of a short-term or long-term forecast of the object under study. A short-term forecast is based on a revealed trend in the development of a social phenomenon, as well as on a fixed pattern in the discovery of a factor that decisively affects the predicted object. The discovery of such a factor - complex view scientific research. Therefore, in sociological practice, short-term forecasts are most often used. In modern conditions of development of Ukraine, when the scientific substantiation of social problems is given great importance, social forecast occupies an important place in research on the development of a social object. When a sociologist studies a real problem and seeks to identify the best ways to solve it, it is natural