Essence of the main functions of sociology. Methods of sociological research

1.2. History of sociology The study of social phenomena and processes has a long tradition. Already in the writings of the philosophers of the ancient world, the first attempts were made to solve such problems as building an ideal state and improving the social structure of society.

Politics around sociology Presenting your anti-sociology as sociology, building your "theory" on the destruction of all sociological approaches in the field of music and expressing the "need of the day" in this - it's like wanting to make a small revolution in your field

20. A Technological Approach to Sociology Although our topic is historicism, that is, a method with which I disagree, it will be useful to discuss successful methods so that the reader can see the essence of my position and the point of view underlying criticism. For reasons of convenience, I will call these

1. THE MEANING OF "UNDERSTANDING" SOCIOLOGY In the behavior (Verhalten) of people ("external" and "internal"), as in any process, connections and regularity are found. Only human behavior has, at least in its entirety, such connections and regularities that can be understood.

Chapter 6 The End of Sociology

Preface to Sociology I draw the limits of the perfection of human society. Of course, my drawings can neither be complete nor correct. Infinity separates the truth from our feeble imagination. I give sketches of the distant future, but I do not know which path leads to it.

Functions of sociology

Sociology implements all the functions inherent in social science: epistemological, critical, descriptive, prognostic, practical-transformative, ideological.

Theoretical-cognitive the function of sociology is manifested in the most complete and concrete knowledge of social reality. In fulfilling this function, sociology accumulates knowledge about certain aspects of social life, systematizes them, and seeks to give a holistic view of the problems of the development of modern society. The theoretical-cognitive function of sociology also includes the disclosure of the nature of people's social existence, the characteristics of their behavior and consciousness, spiritual activity, and lifestyle. Obviously, without specific knowledge about the processes taking place within individual social communities, groups or associations, it is impossible to ensure effective social management.

Critical function sociology is to study the negative phenomena in the life of society and find ways to eliminate them. Sociology shows, on the one hand, what needs to be preserved in social life, and on the other hand, what requires radical changes. Investigating the processes of social disorganization, sociology puts them a kind of social diagnosis and gives recommendations for restoring the social health of society.

Descriptive function sociology consists in systematization, description of the material received by researchers in the form of various analytical notes, scientific reports, articles, books. Οʜᴎ should reflect the real characteristics of the studied social object. Naturally, this work assumes a high level of professional ethics of the scientist, because on the basis of the received materials, practical conclusions are drawn and managerial decisions are made. These materials will serve as a reference point and a source of comparison for future generations of researchers.

predictive function sociology - drawing up scientific forecasts for the development of social processes in all spheres of society. Such forecasts are of a long-term or current nature.
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They are especially important in the transitional period of the development of society. And here sociology is capable of:

determine what is the range of opportunities that open up for the participants in the events;

present alternative scenarios of likely processes associated with each of the selected solutions;

Practical-transformative function sociology is to develop practical recommendations on the basis of empirical and theoretical research aimed at improving the efficiency of social management mechanisms. These recommendations are used both for the social planning of the life of cities, villages, individual enterprises and collectives, and for improving economic and political relations and the activities of the relevant social institutions. The role of this function of sociology is constantly growing, because the complication of modern society requires a more targeted impact on social processes.

Ideological function sociology is connected with the fact that sociological theories and concepts to some extent express the interests of certain social groups, political parties and movements. The choice of a research topic, the development of a problem, and the interpretation of the results obtained are often determined by the sociologist's sociopolitical position and depend on his value orientations and political interests. According to a number of leading sociologists, sociological science should be ideologically neutral. For this reason, the sociologist's task is not to replace the scientific approach with an ideological one, but to conduct an objective analysis of social phenomena and processes.

Functions of sociology - concept and types. Classification and features of the category "Functions of sociology" 2017, 2018.

Introduction

sociology forecast fact practical

The term "sociology" (from Latin societas - society and Greek logos - teaching) was first introduced by the French thinker O. Comte in 1838, i.e. much later than the real study of society began, and it meant in the most general form what is considered in the first approximation to this concept even now - the science of society O. Comte proposed the word "sociology" to refer to the science studying society.

Currently, there is a notion that sociology is the science of the interactions of social communities within the framework of social institutions, organizations, structures and systems. This is the science of social processes, meaningful social actions of people, their behavior. This is the science of the interaction between the individual, the social community and society. This is the science of society as an integral system.

In general, the study of society began at the earliest stages of its development, long before the formation of sociology. This first stage can be called pre-scientific. It is appropriate to call the initial stage of sociology proper methodological, since it was within its limits that in the second half of the 19th century. developed the methodology of the new science. Finally, the 20th century can be called an empiric-theoretical stage in the study of society and the development of sociology, since it was in the 20th century. empirical research began on truly scientific grounds and the first sociological theories were built.

O. Comte, the founder of a new philosophical direction - positivism - was prepared for this by his previous work and the development of science. He believed that human thinking went through three stages in its development. At first it was religious (theological) and explained everything that happened by the action of the gods. Then it became philosophical (metaphysical) and deduced everything from intelligible ideas and essences. In the new time that followed the Renaissance, thinking became scientific (positive) and it draws conclusions on the basis of empirical verification of theoretical constructions, discovering the laws of nature. Such thinking is affirmed in the study of nature, then in the study of society. First, the natural sciences arose - astronomy, physics, chemistry, biology, then a science that studies society should appear. For her, O. Comte proposed the name "sociology", which literally means "the science of society."

O. Comte believed that sociology should be based on facts and explore, like natural science, social phenomena empirically and analytically. This will allow it to get away from speculative abstract constructions and become a "positive" science, capable of positively solving the problems of society, a science. Constantly comparing sociology with natural science, which dominated at that time, O. Comte calls it social physics, meaning the creation of a positive science of society, as a result of which the discovery of its fundamental laws would become possible.

Speaking about the emergence of sociology as a science, it should be remembered that sociology is a system of internally organized and verified knowledge about the facts that make up the life of people in modern society. This means that knowledge about any sociological phenomenon must be based on verified and confirmed information and scientific evidence. This provision is especially relevant for sociological knowledge, which must be freed from the power of myths, delusions, traditions and layers of ordinary knowledge based on the observations of everyday life.

The goal of sociology is to obtain reliable, true information that makes it possible to draw up an objective picture of both the modern world and the specific society in which people who consume this information live.

Sociology acquires the ability and ability to clarify the social situation, make it more understandable and adequate to the ongoing deep processes, but only on the basis of accurate information - both statistical and sociological. Mastering sociological knowledge, sociologically "enlightening", people learn more about the life of society, about the state of social processes, about their own work, family, education, conditions and various forms of activity; at the same time, they can influence them by showing initiative and activity, and ongoing sociological research is of considerable theoretical and practical importance for evaluating the results of certain political decisions and actions.

Thus, there are sufficient grounds to conclude that sociology is a very "vital" science. Of course, it has purely theoretical problems of its own scientific development, which are of interest, first of all, to sociologists themselves. But the main meaning of this science lies in the constant appeal to social life and its systematic study at the level of society as a whole, its specific social processes and structures, institutions and organizations, social communities and groups, activities and behavior of people, social relations and interactions. As soon as sociology appears before us in this capacity, the question arises about its functions, which will be discussed below.

Functions of sociology

The variety of connections of sociology with the life of society, its social purpose are determined primarily by the functions that it performs.

Sociology performs diverse functions in which its purpose and role are manifested. In the most general form, these functions can be divided into three groups - cognitive, prognostic and managerial.

This division is based, on the one hand, on the objective necessity of a diverse and differentiated inclusion of sociology in the system of society and social sciences, on the other hand, on the identification of various forms of sociological activity in accordance with the nature and content of the work of a sociologist.

The delimitation of these groups of functions should not, of course, be excessively rigid, excluding their interconnection and interaction.

All groups of functions of sociology are considered in the course of any ongoing sociological research.

People turn to the results of sociological research quite often. And when they want to know the opinion of the majority of people on a particular issue, and when it is necessary to make a decision. Sociological data are often taken into account when holding elections or when certain consumer goods are put on the market. However, often these materials give a distorted picture that does not correspond to the true state of affairs. Then the data of sociology make it possible to manipulate knowledge, to make decisions that run counter to public opinion, which discredits sociology itself. Cases like the latter usually result from the fact that a sociological study was carried out in violation of the general methodological principles for constructing a research program. Therefore, it is very important to correctly (scientifically) formulate the initial methodological provisions, determine adequate goals and objectives, and choose high-quality methods for collecting reliable social information.

Like any intellectual activity, sociology begins with knowledge. Cognitive function sociology consists in the study of social phenomena in order to obtain adequate scientific ideas about their essence and content, connection with other phenomena, the nature and patterns of development. Sociology attaches paramount importance to the study of social relations that develop between various subjects, the analysis of the objective and subjective aspects of their activities, as well as the analysis of the functioning of social institutions.

The system of ideas and concepts about social processes is fixed at the levels of sociological knowledge. On each of them, these processes are reflected with varying degrees of depth. At the level of general sociological theories, more ambitious scientific generalizations and conclusions are made in comparison with special (private) sociological theories. The function of specific sociological research is to collect primary data characterizing the daily practice of people, and in their empirical analysis.

The cognitive function of sociology also lies in the fact that, on the basis of an analysis of social processes, to develop scientific forecasts for their further development in the sphere of the material, political or spiritual life of society. Also, forecasts can be of a long-term or current nature: at the level of general sociological theories, we can talk about deep foresight of trends in the development of society in the near and distant future; within the framework of social sociological theories, useful forecasts can be developed. The cognitive function of sociology is realized through description, study, explanation, analysis, diagnostics of social reality, acting as one or a whole group of interrelated social facts. The more ambitious the sociological knowledge of a particular problem in terms of goals and objectives, the more likely it is that sociology will deal with a large number of complex social facts. In the course of the cognitive function, the task of sociology is to reveal the connections between them, which manifest themselves in the form of certain tendencies. Therefore, it makes sense to concretize the group of cognitive functions through - descriptive, explanatory, diagnostic.

The beginning of any sociological research necessarily begins with a description of social facts and processes. To describe is first of all to count. Count things and facts that are at some distance from each other. Numerical tables have a certain form. Statistics show that the most memorable appearance is the one that allows you to count yourself. It is important to understand what is usually not understood. The sociology of religion makes it possible to count the number of people who come to Mass; but what is the meaning of the resulting figure? It is much more important to single out the true believers, because attending Mass does not yet indicate the degree of a person's faith.

When conducting sociological research, in his descriptive work, the sociologist often relies on data provided by others, such as administrative and economic statistics. In countries where statistics are developed, the way these data are presented is not always suitable for the sociologist, who is forced to process and reinterpret them. In countries with “incomplete statistics”, the work becomes much more delicate.

One of the important conditions for describing a problem situation is the choice of such research methods that will allow collecting the greatest amount of necessary information about the object and subject of research. The larger the object, for example, some major social phenomenon, the more extensive the information should be and the greater the number of respondents it should cover.

In order to describe certain social facts and processes, it is necessary to obtain, process, analyze and generalize relevant sociological information. This information is obtained using collection methods. The main methods of collecting information are: observation, questioning (questionnaire), interviews and analysis of documentation. One of the leading places among these methods of collecting information is the survey method. This is due to a number of its advantages. It allows you to get a significant amount of information at once. The collection of information using the survey method is convenient, does not require special material and physical costs. Polling even a large array of respondents is quite simple to implement in technical terms. Attention to the survey method is determined by the fact that verbal information is easy to process, easy to register and has a universal character.

The description of a problematic situation in any sociological study is a very responsible and time-consuming moment. The entire further course of the research process largely depends on how correctly the problem is described. In essence, this is the discovery and fixation of that social material that requires its further study and analysis.

Following the description, it becomes necessary to explain the established social facts and identify the links between them. Explanation, i.e. disclosure of the essence of an established social fact is an important concept, since the final result of any sociological research depends on how accurately the essence of an established social fact is revealed.

A natural continuation of the description and explanation is diagnostic function, the meaning of which is in the definition of a specific social problem that requires its study, in the characteristics of its relevance and practical significance, in identifying its features and characteristics, in showing a social contradiction that needs to be resolved.

Thus, when conducting a sociological study, a sociologist first describes the situation, then explains the cause-and-effect relationship, and then puts a kind of “social diagnosis”, which, in essence, is the rationale for further research of the formulated problem.

Practical function sociology is to develop, on the basis of an empirical analysis of social phenomena and processes, practical recommendations, for example, on strengthening incentives and increasing the efficiency of people's activities in the sphere of material production, improving economic and political relations and the activities of relevant social institutions.

Ultimately, these recommendations are aimed at improving the mechanism of social management, increasing its effectiveness at all levels - from managing a team to managing society's affairs. To a greater or lesser extent, all modern societies do this, especially the most civilized ones. None of them allows the development of the economy, social class and national relations, or the political system of society to take its course. Their development is carried out under a certain influence of the relevant management structures, the activities of which are provided scientifically. The complication of modern societies and the conditions of their development (economic, environmental, political, etc.) increases the need for a targeted impact on social processes. Sociology can and often does play its role here, which performs a significant amount of work, from conducting so-called sociological measurements of the functioning of various aspects of society and obtaining primary sociological information to developing scientifically substantiated conclusions and recommendations.

Sociological forecasts regarding the immediate and distant future of society, scientific predictions of the development of the economy, social, political and spiritual spheres of society are of great practical importance.

Cognitive functions find their organic continuation in predictive functions. For sociology, their implementation is extremely significant. Without this, science loses its sense of the new, its vision of the future results of changing the social process. To carry out cognitive functions without focusing on a sociological forecast means to impoverish the possibilities of science.

One of the main principles of social forecasting is the responsibility of its implementation, since social forecasting includes such important aspects as social planning, design and construction, and is associated with modeling the future process. Sometimes they separate the predictive function and the function of social design and construction. In general, the prognostic function is concretized through the functions of social design, construction and planning.

Under function social design refers to the development of a specific model of a social process or a social system (subsystem) with its own parameters and specifics of functioning.

The function of social construction covers broader research activities than social engineering. It is a general mental construction of a new social object, regardless of specific parameters and standards. It is only about the image of the future object, its model.

An example of design is the creation of various models of social objects on a computer basis (including models of new economic and social mechanisms based on the transition to a market economy). Social construction in this case means the creation of a general model for the transition to the market. Neither social design nor social construction are purely sociological functions. These are functions of a broader activity related to the work of mathematicians, economists, systems analysts, etc., but which also includes the work of sociologists.

The sociological version of the prognostic function is social planning function, the implementation of which is the development of targeted comprehensive programs for the development of certain areas of public life, industries, regions, cities, etc.

One of the functions of sociology is - ideological. The fact is that sociology in one form or another expresses the interests of certain social groups, classes, political parties and movements. This cannot be avoided, even if the goal is to completely get rid of the ideological approach in specific sociological research and in the formulation of the provisions of social sociological and general sociological theories. After all, a sociologist occupies a certain social class position and often belongs to one political party or another. He comprehends the social processes studied by him, social relations and the activities of various subjects from the standpoint of a certain worldview, the formation of which depends on his social position.

The conclusions and generalizations formulated by the sociologist concerning certain aspects of social life affect not only the interests of the social group to which he belongs, but also the interests of other social groups, including classes. Thus, these conclusions and generalizations acquire an ideological content, a certain ideological connotation.

Of course, it is wrong when the scientific approach is replaced by an ideological one, which was often observed in the recent past of Soviet sociology. For a sociologist, an objective analysis of social phenomena is always important. However, his social status is a moment of this analysis itself, which will inevitably affect his conclusions and generalizations regarding the studied social phenomena and processes. In this sense, sociology is always ideologically oriented. And in order to prevent ideological distortions, it is necessary to avoid excessive ideologization and politicization, both in the course of sociological research and in formulating conclusions and generalizations, including theoretical ones. It is also useful to correlate them with universal human values.

The functions of sociology, as well as the structure of sociological knowledge, indicate its place in the system of social sciences and the humanities.

Thus, general sociological theories that reveal the social structure of society, the laws of its development, the interaction of objective and subjective factors of the historical process, play an important ideological and methodological role in explaining the problems of history, political science, jurisprudence, social psychology, ethics and other sciences. General theoretical sociology helps to consider the problems of these sciences in a broad social context, to identify the place and role of the phenomena they study in society and in the historical process. Thus, it develops general theoretical approaches and methodology for scientific analysis and interpretation of these phenomena.

Of certain importance for a number of sciences are the provisions and conclusions formulated at the level of special sociological theories. They can relate to the problems of work, life, various types of people's activities. These issues are also considered by other sciences, including economic, ecological, pedagogical, etc. However, special sociological theories have their own perspective of considering these problems. In this sense, they supplement the data of other sciences, equip them with their own conclusions and contribute to a comprehensive study of the relevant phenomena.

Special sociological theories reveal the social aspects of labor, political and other activities of people, the conditions of their social (say, urban or rural), family and personal life. They reflect the possibilities of social self-affirmation of the individual and various social groups in the system of economic, political, legal and other social relations. We are talking about the specific aspects of these relations, first of all, about the possibilities of people's life activities contained in them, the satisfaction of their urgent needs and interests. Reasonable conclusions drawn at the level of special sociological theories may have one or another meaning for various social sciences and the humanities.

Finally, concrete sociological research. They are carried out in the framework of many social and human sciences in order to obtain operational data on certain processes of social life or to reveal people's attitudes towards these processes. Sociology develops techniques and methods for such empirical research and processing of their results. Thus, it contributes to the fact that these studies, in whatever area of ​​scientific knowledge they are carried out, make it possible to obtain the most adequate information about the phenomena and processes under study. This makes it possible not only to comprehensively consider individual phenomena of social life, having operational information, but also to more specifically reveal their place and role in a particular social system and society as a whole, to identify the interaction of macro- and microprocesses in the life of society.

The implementation of the cognitive function, for example, allows sociology to expand and concretize knowledge about the essence of society, its structure, patterns, main directions and trends, ways, forms and mechanisms of its functioning and development. The enrichment of scientific sociological knowledge occurs both on the basis of the internal improvement of theoretical sociology and as a result of the dynamic development of the very object of knowledge of this science - social reality. And here a special role belongs to empirical sociology and the special sociological theories directly related to it.

Sociology acts as an important tool for improving management, which gives reason to talk about its implementation managerial functions. Their essence lies in the fact that sociological conclusions, recommendations, proposals, assessments of the state of a social object, created social technologies serve as the basis for the development and adoption of managerial decisions.

Sociological research is the basis for making important management decisions, in some cases of considerable national importance.

The category of managerial includes organizational and technological function of sociology. We are talking about the development, construction by it (or with the help) of social technologies. Social technology is understood both as a program of transformative activity, and this activity itself, based on the adopted program, designed to radically change the situation. Unlike the recommendations and proposals often made by sociologists, social technologies have different goals. If the former, as a rule, are aimed at improving certain aspects of social practice, solving specific problems in the framework of improving the existing system, then the latter should contribute to deep qualitative transformations of social processes and include a set of organizational measures aimed at this.

Management should also include control-analytical and consulting functions. The first one consists in monitoring the implementation of the proposals and recommendations of sociologists, the implementation of certain social technologies and the analysis of new social processes that are the result of the transformations that have taken place. The control-analytical function in the sociologist's system of activity, if the latter is considered consistently, as a certain cycle (setting the goals and objectives of the study, conducting it, processing and analyzing data, summing up, monitoring the implementation of formulated ideas and proposals), plays an important role. Thanks to the implementation of this function, sociologists can judge the effectiveness of their own activities and set new tasks related to its optimization.

Speaking of advisory function as a variety of managerial functions, we can say that it consists in providing all kinds of - theoretical, practical, "enlightenment" - assistance to a large number of persons interested in receiving it from a sociologist conducting empirical research. A sociologist advises representatives of various categories of people, disseminates sociological knowledge, and introduces the results of his own research and materials from other works. In some cases, consulting activities are closely related to teaching. In essence, by such activity, the sociologist instills a taste for sociological research and an understanding of its necessity.

The functions of sociology are related to the fact that science is not limited to the knowledge of social reality. It develops proposals and recommendations for policy and practice aimed at improving social life, at increasing the efficiency of managing social processes. Sociology not only describes social life, its manifestations in various spheres and at different levels, but also evaluates them from the standpoint of humanism and universal values. And here the enrichment and improvement of the theory is not an end in itself, but a necessary prerequisite and condition for the rationalization and optimization of social life in the interests of the free and comprehensive development of the individual.

The fact that within the framework of sociology not only theoretical and fundamental, but also empirical and applied research is carried out, emphasizes the particularly close connection and close interaction of sociological theory and social policy and practice. First of all, on the basis of empirical sociological research, the social ill health of society, the growth of social tension, etc., are revealed, and in connection with this, political and practical measures must be developed to overcome and prevent them. Of particular importance in this regard are social foresight, planning and forecasting as specific forms of realizing the practical-political function of sociology.

Conclusion

It should be noted that, thanks to the implementation of its groups of functions, sociology at all levels and in all its structural elements ensures, first of all, the growth of new knowledge about various spheres of social life, reveals the patterns and prospects for the social development of society. This is served both by fundamental theoretical research, which develops methodological principles for the cognition of social facts and processes and generalizes significant factual material, and directly by empirical research, which supplies this rich factual material, specific information about certain areas of social life.

A characteristic feature of sociology is the unity of theory and practice. A significant part of sociological research is focused on solving practical problems. Sociological research provides concrete and necessarily reliable information for the implementation of effective social control over social facts and processes. Without this information, the possibility of social tension, social crises and cataclysms increases. In the overwhelming majority of countries, executive and representative authorities, political parties and associations make extensive use of the possibilities of sociology to conduct a targeted policy in all spheres of public life.

The practical orientation of sociology is also expressed in the fact that it is able to develop scientifically based forecasts about the trends in the development of social facts and processes in the future. It is especially important to have such a forecast in transitional epochs of the development of society. In this regard, sociology is capable of:

Determine what is the range of opportunities, probabilities that open up to the participants in events at this historical stage;

Present alternative scenarios for future processes associated with each of the selected solutions;

Of great importance in the life of society is the use of sociological research for planning the development of various spheres of public life. Social planning is developed in all countries of the world, regardless of social systems. It covers the widest areas, ranging from certain processes of the life of the world community, individual regions and countries, and ending with the social planning of the life of cities, villages, individual enterprises and collectives.

Thus, the results of sociological research can be used in the interests of any social groups to achieve certain social goals. Sociological knowledge often serves as a means of manipulating people's behavior, forming certain behavioral stereotypes, creating a system of value and social preferences, and so on. But sociology can also serve to improve mutual understanding between people, to form a sense of closeness in them, which ultimately contributes to the improvement of social relations.

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