The society in which we live generates manyquestions about the meaning of life, the reasons for the emergence of certain relations and phenomena of public life. Sociology as a science of society, the laws of its development, social relations and social institutions accumulates the thoughts and ideas of philosophers, politicians, educators, naturalists, writers and representatives of other fields of scientific knowledge.
Sociology as a science is different from otherssocial sciences using scientific methods for the study of society, significant practical use of sociological research in the functioning of society.
In Russia, directly sociological theoriesbegan to form from the middle of the nineteenth century. Sociology as a science develops in various directions that form scientific schools. When analyzing the history of society, its structure, the specifics of the development of social relations, sociologists choose different general scientific approaches: demographic, psychological, group, cultural, and others.
It should be noted that throughoutperiod of development of Russian sociology, the formation of sociological concepts and theories have been greatly influenced by the works of Western sociologists. These include the founder of sociology, O. Kont, who proposed the term "sociology", the concept of "system", and substantiated the stages of historical development. No less influential for Russian sociology were the ideas of E. Durkheim, M. Weber. And the works of Karl Marx became fundamental for the political ideology of Russia for almost seven decades of historical period. However, it is possible to talk about the mutual influence of domestic and Western sociology. Russian sociologists N.Ya. Danilevsky, N.K. Mikhailovsky, P.L. Lavrov, V.I. Lenin, G.V. Plekhanov, P.A. Sorokin made a significant contribution to the development of world sociological thought.
Among the most common areas of developmentSociology distinguishes social philosophy. It is based on the search for universal laws of the development of society. The central idea to which representatives of various trends within the framework of this direction (O. Shpengler, A. Toynbee, N. Danilevsky, P. Sorokin) addressed was the idea of cultural and historical types of society based on the cultures of different nations (for example, Egyptian, Babylonian, Greco-Roman, Mayan culture, Russian-Siberian, Slavic, Jewish and others). Some sociologists suggest the impossibility of long-term coexistence of different cultures, which should be developed along an individual path.
Another direction in the development of sociology is Marxism.- united in itself conflictological theories based on the economic struggle, ideological confrontation of various social groups. Marxism in the interpretation of Lenin and his supporters played a decisive role in the historical development of Russia.
In Western sociology, neo-Marxism stood out(Germany, the 30s of the twentieth century). From the ideas of alienation of man, the rejection of ideology, neo-Marxism in modern sociology argues the idea of the impossibility to eliminate conflicts between social groups: the struggle for power, for spiritual leadership, rivalry in the redistribution of income, which are the main reasons for the development of society.
Modern sociology as a science is activelyformed within the framework of the technocratic trend, quite popular in Western and domestic sociological circles. One of the trends is the globalization of modern sociology. The pure isolation of the European and American lines of the development of sociological science, which appeared in the middle of the twentieth century, is erased today. Human problems make sociologists unite their efforts. On the other hand, it is obvious that the evolutionary and conflictological principle of the development of society takes place in history. Therefore, the integration of various sociological theories becomes an objective necessity in the development of sociology. There is no doubt that the importance of sociology for the development of modern society is great. It influences the formation of public opinion, political decision-making.
Various branches of sociological knowledge are actively developing in the structure of modern sociology: the sociology of youth, the sociology of organizations, the sociology of knowledge, the sociology of religion, and others.
