Social Sciences. Types of Sciences

Social Sciences- sciences that study society and human relations. The social sciences include psychology, economics, political science, sociology, and geography. Appointment O.n. implies the use of the same principles that apply ... ... Terminological dictionary of a librarian on socio-economic topics

This article or section needs revision. Please improve the article in accordance with the rules for writing articles ... Wikipedia

SOCIAL SCIENCES- a complex of disciplines that study both society as a whole, its structure, dynamics, development, history, and its individual subsystems (economics, politics, state, civil society, legal structure, spiritual life). Main categories ... ... Philosophy of Science: Glossary of Basic Terms

See Social Sciences... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

Social Sciences- SOCIAL SCIENCES. On the eve of the Soviet war philosophers, historians, economists, jurists, linguists, literary critics and others. on the basis of Marxist-Leninist teachings developed the problems of socialist. basis and superstructure, transformation of the social ... ... Great Patriotic War 1941-1945: Encyclopedia

Scientific interdisciplinary journal of the Russian Academy of Sciences, since 1976 (originally published under the name "Social Sciences", modern name since 1991), Moscow. Founder (1998) Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences. 6 issues per year… encyclopedic Dictionary

- "Social Sciences", a quarterly scientific journal of the Russian Academy of Sciences in English, since 1970, Moscow. Prints a selection of original articles prepared by scientists from 30 institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Published and distributed also in the USA ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Philosophy As an integral part of world philosophy, the philosophical thought of the peoples of the USSR has traveled a long and difficult historical path. In the spiritual life of primitive and early feudal societies on the lands of the ancestors of modern ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

In the most general sense, the norm is the rule of conduct. In sociology, a norm or social norm is a form of behavior recognized by a given society. In some groups, the norm prescribes behavior that differs from the generally accepted in society. Such ... ... Wikipedia

Nauki, 25 This article is about the Goodwin casino in St. Petersburg. For other uses of the term, see Goodwin. This article is about the Sovremennik cinema in St. Petersburg. For other meanings of this term, see Sovremennik. This article is about the monument at the site ... ... Wikipedia

Books

• , . Social and natural sciences in the historical relationship of their methods, essays on the history and methodology of the social sciences. Scientific notes of the Imperial Moscow University. Department…
• Social and natural sciences in the historical relationship of their methods, . This book will be produced in accordance with your order using Print-on-Demand technology. Social and natural sciences in the historical relationship of their methods, essays on the history and ...

1. Natural and social sciences and humanities

Natural and social and humanitarian sciences study man. Its biological nature is being studied natural science, and the social qualities of a person - public.
Natural and social sciences differ markedly from each other.
Natural study nature that has existed and can exist independently of man. Public sciences cannot study society without studying the activities of the people living in it, their thoughts and aspirations. If in natural sciences object and subject are different, then in public- object and subject are the same => public sciences cannot be objective.
Like other areas of scientific research, the social sciences are aimed at comprehending the truth, discovering the objective laws of the functioning of society, the tendencies of its development.

2. Classification of social sciences and humanities

• historical sciences(national history, general history, archeology, ethnography, etc.)
• Economic Sciences(economic theory, accounting, statistics, etc.)
• Philosophical Sciences(history of philosophy, logic, ethics, aesthetics, etc.)
• Philological sciences(linguistics, literary criticism, journalism, etc.)
• Legal Sciences(history of legal doctrines, constitutional law, etc.)
• Pedagogical Sciences(general pedagogy, history of pedagogy and education, etc.)
• Psychological sciences(general psychology, personality psychology, etc.)
• Sociological Sciences(theory, methodology and history of sociology, demography, etc.)
• Political science(theory of politics, political technologies, etc.)
• Culturology(theory and history of culture, museology, etc.)

3. Sociology, political science, social psychology

Sociology- the science of general and specific social laws and patterns of development and functioning of historically defined social systems, the mechanisms of action and forms of manifestation of these laws in the activities of people, social groups, classes, peoples.

In other words, sociology is the science of society as an integral system, the laws of its formation, functioning and development.

Political science (in the narrow sense) - one of the sciences that studies politics, namely, the general theory of politics, which studies the specific patterns of relations between social subjects regarding power and influence, a special type of interaction between those in power and those under control, those who control and those who are controlled.

Political science (in the broadest sense) includes all political knowledge and is a complex of disciplines that study politics: the history of political thought, political philosophy, political sociology, political psychology, etc.

In other words, in this interpretation, political science acts as a single, integral science that comprehensively studies politics. It draws on applied research that uses a variety of methods, including those found in sociology and other social sciences.

Social Psychology - studies the patterns of behavior and activities of people, due to the factor of inclusion in social groups, as well as the psychological characteristics of these same groups.

4. Specificity of philosophical knowledge

Eternal problems of philosophy - the questions that human thought posed a long time ago, they retain their significance.

Philosophy is always turned to history. The created new philosophical systems do not cancel the previously put forward concepts and principles, but continue to coexist with them in a single cultural and cognitive space, therefore philosophy is always pluralistic, is diverse in its schools and directions.

Philosophizing- This is a kind of speculative activity. Philosophy is different from science. Philosophical knowledge is multilayered. Within philosophy, relatively independent areas of knowledge were formed quite a long time ago: the doctrine of being - ontology; the doctrine of knowledge epistemology; the science of morality ethics; a science that studies the beautiful in reality, the laws of the development of art - aesthetics.

Philosophical knowledge includes such important areas for understanding society and man as philosophical anthropology- the doctrine of the essence and nature of man, of a specifically human way of being, as well as social philosophy.

Social philosophy makes its full contribution to the development of a wide range of problems: society as an integrity; patterns of social development; the structure of society as a system; the meaning, direction and resources of social development; the ratio of the spiritual and material aspects of the life of society; man as a subject of social action; features of social cognition.

Homework

1. The very term "socio-humanitarian knowledge" indicates that social science includes two types of knowledge: Social sciencies, focused on the study of structures, general connections and patterns and humanitarian knowledge with its installation on a concretely individual description of the phenomena and events of social life, human interactions and personalities.
2. For the social sciences, people are elements of the objective picture that these sciences determined, then for humanitarian knowledge On the contrary, the forms of scientific activity clarify their meaning as schemes included in the joint and individual life of people.
3. Social and humanitarian scientific disciplines have one common and at the same time the main link - a person. A certain number of people make up a society (it is studied by the social sciences), in which each person plays a role (this is studied by the humanities).

We have established that strategic intelligence information includes scientific information on matters entirely within the natural sciences and political information on matters entirely within the social sciences. There are also some other types of information, such as geographic or vehicle information, which contain elements of both sciences.
In order to make the best use of the methods used in the natural and social sciences in information work, it is necessary to distinguish between these two groups of sciences and to know their strengths and weaknesses.
History and geography, for example, are the oldest fields of study. However, the idea of ​​combining them, economics and some other disciplines into a new independent group under the general name "social sciences" arose quite recently. The fact that these disciplines have been called "sciences" and that an attempt has been made to turn them into exact sciences has produced some positive results, while at the same time creating considerable confusion.
Since information officers are constantly dealing with ideas, concepts, and methods taken from the social sciences, it is useful for them to briefly become familiar with the subject of these sciences in order to avoid the confusion mentioned above. That is the purpose of this section of the book.
Approximate classification
In what follows, the author makes extensive use of Wilson Gee's excellent overview of the social sciences.

Concepts such as the natural sciences, the physical sciences, the social sciences, and so on, are encountered all the time by scouts in their work. Due to the fact that there is no generally accepted definition of these concepts, it makes sense to give them an approximate classification in accordance with the meaning that the author of this book puts into them.
In this section, these concepts are considered in the most general form and the place of each of them is determined. The author does not try to draw a line between adjacent areas of scientific knowledge, for example, between mathematics and logic or anthropology and sociology, since there is still a lot of controversy here.
The author believes that the advantage of his classification is, first of all, that it is convenient. It is also clear and consistent with common (but not generally accepted) practice. The classification could be more precise and not contain repetitions. However, the author believes that it is more useful than a detailed classification that takes into account all the subtleties. In cases where one concept overlaps another, it is so obvious that it can hardly mislead anyone.
At the very beginning, it can also be noted that in some universities the sciences studied are divided into natural, social and humanitarian. This classification is useful, but by no means establishes clear boundaries between the individual sciences.
Leaving aside the humanities, the author proposes the following classification: Natural sciences
A. Mathematics (sometimes classified as a physical science).
B. Physical sciences - sciences that study energy and matter in their relationship: astronomy - a science that studies the universe beyond our planet; geophysics - includes physical geography, geology, meteorology, oceanography, sciences that study the structure of our planet in a broad sense; physics - includes nuclear physics; chemistry.

B. Biological sciences: botany; zoology; paleontology; medical sciences - includes microbiology; agricultural sciences - are considered as independent sciences or belong to botany and zoology. Social sciences - sciences that study the social life of a person History.
B. Cultural anthropology. Sociology.
D. Social psychology.
D. Political science.
E. Jurisprudence. J- Economy. Cultural Geography*.
The classification of social sciences is given by us in the most general form. First come the less precise descriptive sciences, such as history and sociology, then the more definite and exact sciences, such as economics and geography. The social sciences sometimes include ethics, philosophy, and pedagogy. It is obvious that all the named sciences - both natural and social - can in turn be divided and subdivided ad infinitum. Further division would in no way affect the above general classification, although the names of many sciences would additionally appear in the existing headings.

What is meant by social sciences?
In its most general terms, Stuart Chase defines the social sciences as "the application of the scientific method to the study of human relationships."
Now we can move on to the definition and more detailed consideration of the social sciences. It's not easy. The definition usually consists of two parts. One part concerns the subject (that is, the characteristics of these sciences as social sciences), and the second part concerns the corresponding research method (that is, the characteristics of these disciplines as scientific).
A scientist working in the field of social sciences is interested not so much in convincing someone of something or even predicting the course of events in the future, but in systematizing the elements that make up the phenomenon under study, in determining the factors that play a decisive role in the development of events under given conditions,
and, if possible, in establishing genuine causal relationships between the phenomena under study. It does not so much solve problems as it helps to better understand the meaning of problems for those who are involved in solving them. what problems are we talking about here? The social sciences do not include everything that concerns the material world, forms of life, universal laws of nature. And, conversely, they include everything related to the activities of individuals and entire social groups, the development of decisions, the creation of various public and state organizations.
The question arises: what method should be used to solve any given human relations problem? The answer that will bind us least of all is that such a method is that which approximates as closely as possible to the "scientific method" within the limits permitted by the nature of the question we are studying in the field of human relations. He, of course, must have that
some characteristic elements of the scientific method, such as the definition of key terms, the formulation of basic assumptions, the systematic development of research from the construction of a hypothesis through the collection and evaluation of facts to conclusions, the logical thinking at all stages of the study.
It is perhaps particularly important to note that the social scientist can only hope to maintain complete impartiality with regard to the subject under investigation. As a member of society, a scientist is almost always extremely interested in the subject he studies, since social phenomena directly and in many respects affect his position, his feelings, etc. A scientist in this field must always be extremely precise and rigorous in scientific work, as far as allows the object he is studying.
Thus, we can conclude that the essence of the social sciences is the study of the group life of people; these sciences use the method of analysis; they shed light on complex social phenomena, help to comprehend them; they are tools in the hands of those who direct the individual and collective activities of people; in the future, the social sciences may be able to accurately predict developments - even today, some social sciences (such as economics) allow relatively accurate prediction of the general direction of events (such as changes in the commodity market). In short, the essence of the social sciences is the systematic application of methods of analysis as precise as the context and subject matter permits, in order to expand our knowledge of the behavior of individuals and social groups.
Cohen, however, remarks:
“Social and natural sciences should not be considered completely unrelated. On the contrary, they should be considered as sciences studying separate aspects of the same subject, but approaching them from different positions. The social life of people takes place within the framework of natural phenomena; however, certain characteristic features of social life make it the subject of study for a whole group
sciences that can be called the natural sciences of human society. In any case, observations and history testify that many phenomena simultaneously belong both to the field of the material world and to social life...”
Why should an information officer read a lot of social science literature?
First, because the social sciences study the activities of various social groups, that is, just what is of particular interest to intelligence.
Secondly, because many of the ideas and methods of the social sciences can be borrowed and adapted for use in information intelligence work. Reading literature on the social sciences will expand the horizons of the information officer, help him to form a broader and deeper understanding of the problems of information work, as it will enrich his memory with knowledge of relevant examples, analogies and contrasts.
Finally, it is useful to read the social science literature because it contains a large number of propositions that information workers cannot agree with. When confronted with propositions that diverge sharply from our usual views, we mobilize our mental faculties to refute these propositions. The social sciences have not yet fully developed. Many of their positions and concepts are so vague that they are difficult to refute. This makes it possible for various extremists to publish in serious journals. Speaking out against dubious propositions and theories always keeps us on our guard, prompts us to be critical of everything.
Positive and negative aspects of the social sciences
The study of the social sciences is generally useful because it helps us understand human behavior. In particular, it can be noted that thanks to the great positive work of many scientists in every social science,
These are perfect methods for studying the specific phenomena studied by a given science. Therefore, strategic intelligence can borrow valuable knowledge and research methodology from every social science. We believe that this knowledge can be valuable even when it is not completely objective and accurate.
Experimentation and quantitative analysis
The study of various phenomena by history, economics, politics and other sciences that study the social life of a person has been carried out for thousands of years. However, as Stuart Chase notes, the consistent application of the scientific method to the study of these phenomena, as well as attempts to quantify the results of the study and discover the general patterns of social life, have been made only recently. It is not surprising, therefore, that the social sciences are still immature in many respects. Along with extremely pessimistic assessments of the prospects for the development and usefulness of the social sciences, one can come across very optimistic statements on this score in solid specialized works.
Over the past fifty years, significant efforts have been made in the social sciences to make research objective and accurate (expressed in quantitative terms), to separate opinions and subjective judgments from objective facts. Many express the hope that someday we will study the laws of social phenomena to the same extent as we have now studied the laws of the phenomena of the external world, which are the subject of the natural sciences, and that we will be able, having certain starting data, to confidently predict the development of events in the future.

Spengler says: "The first sociologists ... considered the science of the study of society as a kind of social physics." Significant progress has been made in applying to the social sciences the methods successfully developed for the natural sciences. Nevertheless, it is clear to all that, due to their inherent features, the social sciences have a limited capacity for foresight. Spengler certainly brings an element of healthy and sharp criticism to this question when, not without irony, he says the following:
“Today, methodology is exorbitantly exalted and turned into a fetish. Only he is considered a true scientist who strictly adheres to the following three canons: Only those studies are scientific, which contain quantitative (statistical) analysis. The only goal of any science is foresight. The scientist as such does not dare to express his opinion about what is good and what is bad ... "
Spengler goes on to describe the difficulties involved in this connection and ends with the following conclusion:
“It follows from what has been said that the social sciences are fundamentally different from the physical sciences. These three canons cannot be extended to any of the social sciences. No pretensions to the accuracy of research, no pretense of objectivity, can make social science as exact as the natural sciences. Therefore, the social scientist is destined for the artist, relying on his own common sense, and not on the methodology known only to a handful of initiates. He should be guided not only by laboratory data, but to a greater extent by common sense and the usual standards of decency. He can't even give the appearance of being a natural scientist."

Thus, at the present time and within the foreseeable future, the development of the social sciences and the realization of foresight with their help are faced with the following most important obstacles, which the natural sciences do not know.
Phenomena studied by natural sciences can be reproduced again (for example, steam pressure when water is heated to 70 degrees Celsius). It is not necessary for a scientist in this field to start all research from the very beginning. He can work, relying on the achievements of his predecessors. The water that we take will behave in exactly the same way as during the experiments set earlier. On the contrary, the phenomena studied by the social sciences, due to their peculiarities, cannot be reproduced. Every event we study in this area is, to a certain extent, new. We begin our work with only data on similar phenomena that have taken place in the past, as well as on the available research methods. This information constitutes the contribution that the social sciences have made to the development of human knowledge.
In the field of natural sciences, most of the factors important for research can be measured with a certain degree of accuracy (for example, temperature, pressure, electrical voltage, etc.). In the field of social sciences, the results of measuring many important factors are so uncertain (for example, quantitative indicators of the strength of motives, the abilities of a military commander or leader, etc.) that the value of all such quantitative conclusions is practically very limited.
The question of measuring and quantifying the results of research is of paramount importance for the social sciences, and especially for the information work of intelligence. I do not want to say that many of the most important factors for the information work of intelligence cannot be measured. However, measurements of this kind are time-consuming, difficult, and often of dubious value. The results of measurements in the social sciences are more difficult to use than the results of measurements made in the natural sciences. This provision, which is of such great importance for information work, will be considered in more detail later in this chapter.

Quantitative indicators are very useful. They are more helpful in predicting future developments. However, the whole matter cannot be reduced to these indicators. Most judgments, including those on critical issues, are not related to measurements and are not based on a quantitative account of all considerations for and against. We never measure our trust in friends, our love for our country, or interest in our own profession in any units. The same is true of the social sciences. They are useful primarily because they help us to understand the internal connections and key factors of many phenomena that are of the greatest importance for intelligence. Further, the social sciences are useful in the methods they have developed. A very useful study on this issue is Sorokin's book.
The importance of the social sciences for the information work of strategic intelligence
Let's see what the value of the social sciences is for the information officer. Why does he turn to the social sciences for help, what is so special about them? What, in general, is the help that an information officer can get from the social sciences and cannot get from other sources? Petty writes:
(The effectiveness of the information work of strategic intelligence in the future depends on the use and development of social science ... Modern social sciences have a body of knowledge, the bulk of which, after the most rigorous verification, turns out to be correct and has proven its usefulness in practice. ”
Gee summarizes his views on the future of the social sciences as follows:
“Despite the fact that the development of the social sciences is organically fraught with innumerable difficulties, it is precisely these that occupy the minds of mankind most of all in our age. It is they who promise to render the greatest service to humanity.”

Story. The importance of studying human history speaks for itself. Intelligence information is undoubtedly one of the elements of history - past, present and future, if we can talk about future history at all. Somewhat exaggerating, we can say that if the intelligence researcher has solved all the mysteries of history, he needs to know little else, besides the facts of current events, in order to understand the situation in a particular country. Many historians do not consider hysteria a social science and do not realize that it owes much to the research methods used in these sciences. Most classifications, however, classify history as a social science.
Cultural anthropology. Anthropology, literally - the science of man, is divided into physical anthropology, which studies the biological nature of man, and cultural. Judging by the name, cultural anthropology can include the study of all forms of culture - economic, political, etc. relations of all peoples of the world. In fact, cultural anthropology studied the culture of ancient and primitive peoples. It has, however, shed light on many contemporary problems.
Kimball Young writes "In time, cultural anthropology and sociology will be combined into one discipline." Cultural anthropology can help the information officer learn the customs of backward peoples with which the United States or other states have to deal; to understand the problems that Courtania is likely to face in exploiting one or another of the backward peoples living in its territory.
Sociology is the study of society. First of all, it studies the national character, customs, the established way of thinking of peoples and culture in general. In addition to sociology, these issues are also studied by psychology, political science, jurisprudence, economics, ethics and pedagogy. Sociology plays a minor role in the study of these questions. Sociology has made its main contribution to the study of those group social relations that are not primarily of a political, economic, or legal nature.
It turned out that sociology is less concerned with the study of primitive culture than cultural
anthropology. Nevertheless, sociology can help solve many problems related to the field of cultural anthropology. The information officer may rely on sociology to help him gain a deeper understanding of the role of folk customs, national character and "culture" as factors in determining the behavior of people, as well as the activities of social groups and institutions that are not political or economic organizations. “Such public institutions include, for example, the church, educational institutions, public organizations. Sociology covers all issues, including such an important issue as population, classified as sociological intelligence information, which is one of the types of strategic information. It is clear that some of the problems studied sociology, are sometimes of paramount importance for solving information problems.
Social psychology studies the psychology of a person in his relationships with other people, as well as the collective reaction of people to external motives, the behavior of social groups. J.I. Brown writes:
"Social psychology studies the interplay of organic and social processes whose product is human nature." Social psychology can help to understand the "national character of the people", discussed later in this chapter.
Political science is concerned with the development, structure and operation of public authorities (see Munro).
Scientists in this field of science have made great strides in studying, for example, those factors that have a significant impact on the outcome of elections and the activities of government bodies, including such a factor as the actions of social groups that oppose their government. Careful research in this area has yielded reliable information, which in many cases can be used to solve special information problems. For information workers, political science can help identify key factors in a future political campaign and determine the outcome of each. With the help of political
science can determine the strengths and weaknesses of various forms of government, as well as the consequences to which they can lead under given circumstances.
Jurisprudence, that is, jurisprudence. Intelligence can benefit from certain procedural principles, especially the principle that both parties are represented when a case is brought to trial. Lawyers often make good information workers.
Economics is concerned with social phenomena related primarily to meeting the material needs of individuals and social groups. She studies such categories as supply and demand, prices, material values. One of the most important foundations of the power of the state, both in peacetime and in wartime, is industry. The exceptional importance of economics for studying the situation abroad is obvious.
Cultural geography (sometimes called human geography). Geographical science can be divided into physical geography, which studies physical nature, such as rivers, mountains, air and ocean currents, and cultural geography, which deals primarily with human activities, such as cities, roads, dams, canals, etc. Most of the questions of economic geography are related to cultural geography. It is closely related to the economy. Cultural geography is directly related to a number of varieties of strategic information and provides a large amount of information for strategic intelligence, which collects information about geography, means of transport and communications, and military capabilities of foreign states.
Comparison of social sciences with biology
Those who are optimistic about the prospects for the development of the social sciences say, in support of their position, that a scientist working in this field should be compared, in terms of his ability to establish the general laws of the phenomena of social life and foresee, rather with a biologist than with a chemist. Biologist,
like a sociologist, he deals with various and by no means the same type of manifestations of living matter. Nevertheless, he achieved significant success in establishing general patterns and foresight, relying on the study of a large number of phenomena. Such a comparison of a sociologist with a biologist cannot be considered entirely correct. The essential differences between them are as follows. When making generalizations and predicting future events, a biologist often deals with averages. For example, we can experimentally establish the yield of wheat on several plots placed under different conditions (different degrees of irrigation, fertilization, etc.). In this case, when determining the average yield, each individual ear of wheat is equally taken into account. Outstanding personalities do not play any role here. There are no leaders in a wheat field who would force individual ears to develop in a certain way.
In other cases, a biologist deals with establishing a certain probability of some phenomena, quantities, for example, determining mortality as a result of an epidemic. He can correctly predict that the mortality rate will be, for example, 10 percent, in part because he does not have to specify who exactly will fall into the number of those 10 percent. The advantage of the biologist is that he deals with large numbers. He is not interested in whether the patterns he discovers and the predictions he makes apply to individuals.
In the social sciences, things are different. Although at first glance it seems that a scientist is dealing with thousands of people, the outcome of this or that phenomenon often depends on the decision of a very narrow circle of people who influence the masses of many thousands around them. For example, the fighting qualities of the soldiers of Lee's army and McClellan's army were approximately equal. The fact that the use of these
soldiers gave different results, due to significant differences in the abilities of General Lee and his closest officers, on the one hand, and General McClellan and his closest officers, on the other. Similarly, the decision of one man - Hitler - plunged millions of Germans into World War II.
In the field of the social sciences, the scientist in some cases (but not always) is deprived of the opportunity to act with certainty, relying on large numbers. Even when outwardly it seems that he bases his conclusions on taking into account the actions of a large number of people, then he comes to final conclusions from the understanding of the fact that in fact decisions are very often made by a small circle of people. The biological researcher does not have to deal with such social factors as imitation, persuasion, coercion, and leadership. Thus, in solving many problems, social scientists cannot be inspired by the advances in foresight achieved by biologists who deal with large groups of different individuals, whom they, however, consider as a whole, without taking into account the relations of leadership and subordination that exist in a given group. In other cases, sociologists may, like biologists, ignore individual individuals and operate only on whole groups of people. We must take full account of the differences that exist in the field of research work between sociologists and biologists.
conclusions
Summing up, it should be said that significant progress in the field of social sciences has been achieved due to the fact that scientists have sought to make their work clearer (by specifying, for example, the terminology used) and more objective, due to the fact that when planning their work and evaluating the results obtained results, they began to apply the method of mathematical statistics. Some success in discovering patterns and in anticipating future developments has been achieved when scientists have dealt with large numbers.
and situations in which the outcome was not influenced by the relationship of leadership and subordination, as well as when scientists could limit themselves to the study of certain qualitative indicators of members of a given group as a whole and did not need to predict the behavior of pre-selected individuals. Yet the outcome of many events and phenomena studied by the social sciences depends on the behavior of certain individuals.

Social Sciences

Philosophy. Philosophy studies society from the point of view of its essence: structure, ideological foundations, correlation of spiritual and material factors in it. Since it is society that generates, develops and transmits meanings, the philosophy that explores meanings pays central attention to society and its problems. Any philosophical research necessarily touches on the topic of society, since human thought always unfolds in a social context that predetermines its structure.

Story. History examines the progressive development of societies, giving a description of the phases of their development, structure, structure, features and characteristics. Different schools of historical knowledge emphasize different aspects of history. The focus of the classical historical school is religion, culture, worldview, the social and political structure of society, a description of the periods of its development and the most important events and actors in social history.

Anthropology. Anthropology - literally, "the science of man" - as a rule, explores archaic societies in which it seeks to find the key to understanding more advanced cultures. According to evolutionary theory, history is a single linear and unidirectional stream of development of society, and so on. "primitive peoples" or "savages" live to this day in the same social conditions as all mankind in ancient times. Therefore, by studying "primitive societies", one can obtain "reliable" information about the initial stages of the formation of societies that have passed in their development and other, later and "developed" stages.

Sociology. Sociology is a discipline whose main object is society itself, studied as a holistic phenomenon.

Political science. Political science studies society in its political dimension, exploring the development and change of power systems and institutions of society, the transformation of the political system of states, the change of political ideologies.

Culturology. Cultural studies considers society as a cultural phenomenon. In this perspective, social content manifests itself through the culture generated and developed by society. Society in cultural studies is the subject of culture and at the same time the field in which cultural creativity unfolds and in which cultural phenomena are interpreted. Culture, understood in a broad sense, embraces the totality of social values ​​that create a collective portrait of the identity of each particular society.

Jurisprudence. Jurisprudence mainly considers social relations in the legal aspect, which they acquire, being fixed in legislative acts. Legal systems and institutions reflect the prevailing trends in social development, combine the worldview, political, historical, cultural and value orientations of society.

Economy. Economics studies the economic structure of various societies, explores the impact of economic activity on social institutions, structures and relationships. The Marxist method of political economy makes economic analysis the main tool in the study of society, reducing social studies to clarifying their economic background.

Social science. Social science summarizes the approaches of all social disciplines. The discipline "Social Science" contains elements of all the above scientific disciplines that help to understand and correctly interpret the main social meanings, processes and institutions.

Social (social-humanitarian) sciences- a complex of scientific disciplines, the subject of study of which is society in all manifestations of its life and a person as a member of society. The social sciences include such theoretical forms of knowledge as philosophy, sociology, political science, history, philology, psychology, cultural studies, jurisprudence (jurisprudence), economics, art history, ethnography (ethnology), pedagogy, etc.

Subject and methods of social sciences

The most important subject of research in social science is society, which is considered as a historically developing integrity, a system of relations, forms of associations of people that have developed in the process of their joint activities. Through these forms, the comprehensive interdependence of individuals is represented.

Each of the disciplines mentioned above examines social life from different angles, from a certain theoretical and philosophical position, using its own specific research methods. So, for example, in the tool for studying society is the category "power", due to which it appears as an organized system of power relations. In sociology, society is viewed as a dynamic system of relations social groups different degrees of generality. Categories "social group", "social relations", "socialization" become a method of sociological analysis of social phenomena. In cultural studies, culture and its forms are considered as valuable aspect of society. Categories "truth", "beauty", "good", "benefit" are ways of studying specific cultural phenomena. , using categories such as "money", "commodity", "market", "demand", "supply" etc., explores the organized economic life of society. studies the past of society, relying on the surviving various sources about the past, in order to establish the sequence of events, their causes and relationships.

First explore the natural reality by means of a generalizing (generalizing) method, identifying Nature laws.

Second through the individualizing method, non-repeatable, unique historical events are studied. The task of the historical sciences is to understand the meaning of the social ( M. Weber) in various historical and cultural contexts.

AT "philosophy of life" (W. Dilthey) nature and history are separated from each other and contrasted as ontologically alien spheres, as different spheres being. Thus, not only the methods, but also the objects of knowledge in the natural and human sciences are different. Culture is a product of the spiritual activity of people of a certain era, and in order to understand it, it is necessary to experience it. the values ​​of this era, the motives of people's behavior.

Understanding how direct, direct comprehension of historical events is opposed to inferential, indirect knowledge in the natural sciences.

Understanding sociology (M. Weber) interprets social action, trying to explain it. The result of such an interpretation are hypotheses, on the basis of which the explanation is built. History thus appears as a historical drama, the author of which is the historian. The depth of understanding of the historical era depends on the genius of the researcher. The subjectivity of the historian is not an obstacle to the knowledge of social life, but a tool and method for understanding history.

The separation of the sciences of nature and the sciences of culture was a reaction to the positivist and naturalistic understanding of the historical existence of man in society.

Naturalism considers society from the standpoint vulgar materialism, does not see fundamental differences between cause-and-effect relationships in nature and in society, explains social life by natural, natural causes, using natural scientific methods for their knowledge.

Human history appears as a "natural process", and the laws of history become a kind of laws of nature. So, for example, supporters geographical determinism(geographical school in sociology), the main factor of social change is the geographical environment, climate, landscape (Ch. Montesquieu , G. Bockl, L. I. Mechnikov) . Representatives social darwinism reduce social patterns to biological ones: they consider society as an organism (G. Spencer), and politics, economics and morality - as forms and methods of struggle for existence, a manifestation of natural selection (P. Kropotkin, L. Gumplovich).

naturalism and positivism (O. Comte , G. Spencer , D.-S. Mill) sought to abandon the speculative, scholastic reasoning characteristic of metaphysical studies of society, and create a "positive", demonstrative, generally valid social theory in the likeness of natural science, which had already basically reached the "positive" stage of development. However, on the basis of this kind of research, racist conclusions were made about the natural division of people into superior and inferior races. (J. Gobineau) and even about the direct relationship between class and anthropological parameters of individuals.

At present, we can talk not only about the opposition of the methods of the natural and human sciences, but also about their convergence. In the social sciences, mathematical methods are actively used, which are a characteristic feature of natural science: in (especially in econometrics), in ( quantitative history, or cliometry), (political analysis), philology (). In solving the problems of specific social sciences, techniques and methods taken from the natural sciences are widely used. For example, to clarify the dating of historical events, especially remote in time, knowledge from the field of astronomy, physics, and biology is used. There are also scientific disciplines that combine the methods of the social sciences and the natural sciences, for example, economic geography.

The rise of the social sciences

In antiquity, most of the social (social-humanitarian) sciences were included in philosophy as a form of integrating knowledge about man and society. To some extent, we can talk about separating into independent disciplines about jurisprudence (Ancient Rome) and history (Herodotus, Thucydides). In the Middle Ages, the social sciences developed within the framework of theology as an undifferentiated comprehensive knowledge. In ancient and medieval philosophy, the concept of society was practically identified with the concept of the state.

Historically, the first most significant form of social theory is the teachings of Plato and Aristotle I. In the Middle Ages, thinkers who made a significant contribution to the development of social sciences include Augustine, John of Damascus, Thomas Aquinas , Gregory Palamu. An important contribution to the development of the social sciences was made by figures renaissance(XV-XVI centuries) and new time(XVII century): T. More ("Utopia"), T. Campanella"City of Sun", N. Machiavellian"Sovereign". In modern times, the final separation of the social sciences from philosophy takes place: economics (XVII century), sociology, political science and psychology (XIX century), cultural studies (XX century). University departments and faculties in the social sciences are emerging, specialized journals devoted to the study of social phenomena and processes are beginning to appear, and associations of scientists engaged in research in the social sciences are being created.

The main directions of modern social thought

In social science as a set of social sciences in the XX century. two approaches have emerged: scientist-technocratic and humanistic (anti-scientist).

The main theme of modern social science is the fate of capitalist society, and the most important subject is post-industrial, “mass society” and the features of its formation.

This gives these studies a clear futurological tone and journalistic passion. Assessments of the state and historical perspective of modern society can be diametrically opposed: from predicting global catastrophes to predicting a stable, prosperous future. worldview task such research is the search for a new common goal and ways to achieve it.

The most developed of modern social theories is concept of post-industrial society , the main principles of which are formulated in the works D. Bella(1965). The idea of ​​a post-industrial society is quite popular in modern social science, and the term itself combines a number of studies, the authors of which seek to determine the leading trend in the development of modern society, considering the production process in various, including organizational, aspects.

In the history of mankind stand out three phase:

1. pre-industrial(agrarian form of society);

2. industrial(technological form of society);

3. post-industrial(social stage).

Production in a pre-industrial society uses raw materials rather than energy as the main resource, extracts products from natural materials, and does not produce them in the proper sense, intensively uses labor, not capital. The most important public institutions in the pre-industrial society are the church and the army, in the industrial society - the corporation and the firm, and in the post-industrial society - the university as a form of knowledge production. The social structure of a post-industrial society loses its pronounced class character, property ceases to be its basis, the capitalist class is supplanted by the ruling class. elite, with a high level of knowledge and education.

Agrarian, industrial and post-industrial societies are not stages of social development, but are coexisting forms of organization of production and its main trends. The industrial phase begins in Europe in the 19th century. Post-industrial society does not displace other forms, but adds a new aspect related to the use of information, knowledge in public life. The formation of a post-industrial society is associated with the spread in the 70s. 20th century information technologies, which radically influenced production, and, consequently, the way of life itself. In the post-industrial (information) society, there is a transition from the production of goods to the production of services, a new class of technical specialists arises, who become consultants, experts.

The main source of production is information(in a pre-industrial society it is raw materials, in an industrial society it is energy). Science-intensive technologies are replaced by labor-intensive and capital-intensive ones. Based on this distinction, it is possible to single out the specific features of each society: pre-industrial society is based on interaction with nature, industrial society is based on the interaction of society with transformed nature, post-industrial society is based on interaction between people. Society, therefore, appears as a dynamic, progressively developing system, the main driving trends of which are in the sphere of production. In this regard, there is a certain closeness between post-industrial theory and Marxism, which is determined by the general ideological prerequisites of both concepts - educational worldview values.

Within the framework of the post-industrial paradigm, the crisis of modern capitalist society appears as a gap between a rationalistically oriented economy and a humanistically oriented culture. The way out of the crisis should be the transition from the domination of capitalist corporations to research organizations, from capitalism to the knowledge society.

In addition, many other economic and social shifts are planned: the transition from an economy of goods to an economy of services, an increase in the role of education, a change in the structure of employment and orientation of a person, the formation of a new motivation for activity, a radical change in the social structure, the development of the principles of democracy , the formation of new policy principles, the transition to a non-market welfare economy.

In the work of the famous modern American futurologist O. Toflera"Shock of the Future" notes that the acceleration of social and technological changes has a shock effect on the individual and society as a whole, making it difficult for a person to adapt to a changing world. The cause of the current crisis is the transition of society to the civilization of the "third wave". The first wave is an agrarian civilization, the second is an industrial one. Modern society can survive in existing conflicts and global tensions only under the condition of a transition to new values ​​and new forms of sociality. The main thing is the revolution in thinking. Social changes are caused, first of all, by changes in technology, which determines the type of society and the type of culture, and this influence is carried out in waves. The third technological wave (associated with the growth of information technologies and a radical change in communication) significantly changes the way and style of life, the type of family, the nature of work, love, communication, forms of economy, politics, and consciousness.

The main characteristics of industrial technology, based on the old type of technology and division of labor, are centralization, gigantism and uniformity (mass character), accompanied by oppression, squalor, poverty and ecological catastrophes. Overcoming the vices of industrialism is possible in the future, post-industrial society, the main principles of which will be integrity and individualization.

Such concepts as “employment”, “job”, “unemployment” are being rethought, non-profit organizations in the field of humanitarian development are gaining ground, there is a rejection of the dictates of the market, of narrow utilitarian values ​​that led to humanitarian and environmental disasters.

Thus, science, which has become the basis of production, is entrusted with the mission of transforming society, humanizing social relations.

The concept of a post-industrial society has been criticized from various points of view, and the main reproach was that this concept is nothing more than apology for capitalism.

An alternative route is suggested in personalistic concepts of society , in which modern technologies (“machinization”, “computerization”, “robotization”) are evaluated as a means of deepening self-alienation of man from of its essence. Thus, anti-scientism and anti-technism E. Fromm allows him to see the deep contradictions of the post-industrial society that threaten the self-realization of the individual. Consumer values ​​of modern society are the cause of depersonalization and dehumanization of social relations.

The basis of social transformations should be not a technological, but a personalist revolution, a revolution in human relations, the essence of which will be a radical value reorientation.

The value orientation towards possession (“to have”) must be replaced by a worldview orientation towards being (“to be”). The true vocation of a person and his highest value is love. . Only in love is the attitude toward being realized, the structure of a person's character changes, and the problem of human existence finds a solution. In love, a person's respect for life increases, the feeling of attachment to the world, merging with being, is sharply manifested, the alienation of a person from nature, society, another person, from oneself is overcome. Thus, the transition from egoism to altruism, from authoritarianism to genuine humanism in human relations is carried out, and personal orientation towards being appears as the highest human value. The project of a new civilization is being built on the basis of criticism of modern capitalist society.

The purpose and task of personal existence is the construction personalistic (communal) civilization, a society where customs and lifestyle, social structures and institutions would correspond to the requirements of personal communication.

It should embody the principles of freedom and creativity, consent (while maintaining the distinction) and responsibility . The economic basis of such a society is the gift economy. The personalistic social utopia opposes the concepts of "affluent society", "consumer society", "legal society", which are based on various types of violence and coercion.

Recommended reading

1. Adorno T. Towards the logic of the social sciences

2. Popper K.R. The logic of the social sciences

3. Schutz A. Methodology of social sciences

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