What is sociology, its history and subject matter

The definition of any science - and sociology in this is not an exception - begins with the definition of its key foundations, laws, categories and methodology. From the very name - "soci" (society, community) and "logos" (science, knowledge) - we can conclude that sociology is the science of society. But how to separate it from other social sciences, for example, political science, social psychology and others? What, in fact, is sociology? The definition of this science is given, among others, in the Webster dictionary: "Sociology is the science of the history of development, the laws of organization and the problems of the collective life of people as units of society, representing certain social groups and communities."

But before we can answer the question, what is sociology, we must clearly understand what is a social group and community? Is every group of people such? People become a social group only by virtue of uniting into this collective because of historically established stable ties. Not any, situational, like, for example, passengers on the ship or viewers in the cinema, namely steady. Thus, a social group can be called a family, an educational or labor collective. But also common are people who can not and do not know each other directly - age groups, social strata and classes, nationalities, religious communities, after all, the state and the nation.

The definition of what sociology is with respect to these communities and groups can be characterized as follows: this science studies the patterns of the formation of these groups, their functioning in the construction of the state mechanism and the relationship between them. This is the subject of sociology. Of course, even Aristotle called man "zoon politikon" - that is, "animal social", but sociology as a science is quite young. It originated only in the XIX century, and since then other areas that have formed into independent social sciences have "budged away" from it.

The first who introduced the term "sociology" into scientific use was Auguste Comte in 1842. In his work "The Course of Positive Philosophy" he explained what sociology is and described this science. Being an adherent of the principle of "stability and progress", O.Cont threw on the physical concepts of the equilibrium and symmetry of all structural elements of society. Thus, sociology, according to Comte, is the knowledge of society as a certain structural organism in which each "molecule" can be studied from the standpoint of the public good, and sociology itself can be regarded as social statics and social dynamics. He suggested exploring social processes following the example of natural sciences. Therefore, Comte's method is also called social physics.

A major contribution to the definition of what sociology is was made by K. Marx. After analyzing the society of the modern period of the "industrial revolution", Marx developed a brilliant and not yet refuted doctrine of socio-economic formations. The main "driving belt" in the processes that drive society, he called material and economic relations. Merit of Marx is the fact that he defines society as a dynamically developing structure, which is the product of historical development.

Scientists Max Weber and Emil Durkheim developed their own sociological theories that formed the basis of sociology. What are these motives, combining different in terms of abilities and level of development of people in the same social groups - they asked themselves a question. According to Weber, this is the achievement of the individual's own goals through the collective effort of the entire group of people. E. Durkheim answers this question differently: to act in this way, and not otherwise, the individual forces "collective consciousness", that is, the norms and rules adopted in society, the society, the country to which the individual belongs.