The multilevel structure of sociology

Sociology in the social sciences occupies a separate place. This is due, first of all, to the fact that she studies social relations, patterns of functioning and mechanisms for the development of social communities. In addition, it acts as a methodology and theory for most humanitarian disciplines. The variety of processes and phenomena occurring in public life led to the need to view social reality as a multi-level system. Therefore, we can say that the structure of sociology is multistage.

It is necessary to understand that the structure of sociological knowledge is the ordering of knowledge about the society as a dynamically developing system that includes interrelated ideas, views on the processes taking place in it. That is why the subject and structure of sociology are in close interweaving with each other. The subject of sociology is society as a single system that has properties and connections in the structure of social relations.

Currently, there are different approaches that allow you to determine the number of levels of sociology. For example, in the simplest approach, science is divided into fundamental and applied. According to other theories, the structure of sociology is determined by seven levels. These include: theories and methodological bases, specialized knowledge, applied level and associated with socioengineering, sociological research, methods aimed at obtaining sociological information, as well as knowledge about the organization of specialized services.

However, the three-level structure of sociology in the present period is the most relevant. It provides such levels as theoretical, special, empirical.

The theoretical level includes sociology, which is aimed at an objective scientific study of its subject in order to obtain theoretical knowledge about it. At this level, there is a causal explanation of the facts by the laws of society, as well as forecasting a possible outcome of events. The received knowledge allows to establish communication between separate public subsystems. The structure of sociology at this level has the following components:

• A system of general and specialized laws that show typical, stable links in society and its institutions.
• A system of certain axioms and postulates about the social side of society.
• The logic of evidence and relevant conclusions, which are used to justify forecasts and trends.
• Justification of approaches to the subject and subject of science.
• The system of methods and procedures of cognition, through which the completeness of descriptions and predictions of social phenomena is ensured.

The intermediate level of special sociology determines its scientific functions. It is based on the categorical apparatus, as well as the principles that define the integral direction of science, and at the same time acquire the standard ways of obtaining knowledge, a special theory. This is a transition from theoretical to empirical research, respectively, there is a synthesis of two levels of cognition. So, for example, if at the first level the personality is a set of social relations, then in a special theory this concept is detailed and refined. Accordingly, the individual begins to be seen as the carrier of social roles, which determine its place in the system of social relations.

The structure of sociology at the third level allows us to establish the relationships between a large number of dependent variables. Variables are understood to mean phenomena, processes that can be represented as a variable quantity. Empirical sociology aims to conduct research using techniques, techniques and special methods. With its help it becomes possible to give a more complete description of the collected facts.