Sociology as a science: the main directions of development and modern trends.

The society in which we live raises many questions about the meaning of life, the causes of the emergence of various relations and phenomena of social life. Sociology as a science about society, the laws of its development, social relations and social institutions accumulates the thoughts and ideas of philosophers, politicians, educators, natural scientists, writers and representatives of other areas of scientific knowledge.

Sociology as a science differs from other social sciences in the application of scientific methods to the study of society, the significant practical use of sociological research in the functioning of society.

In Russia, sociological theories began to be formed from the middle of the nineteenth century. Sociology as a science develops in various directions, which 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, culturological and others.

It should be noted that during the whole period of the development of Russian sociology, the work of Western sociologists influenced the formation of sociological concepts and theories. They can be attributed to the founder of sociology, O. Kont, who proposed the term "sociology", the concept of "system", 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 the foundations for the political ideology of Russia during almost seven-year-old historical period. However, we can 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 trends in the development of sociology, social philosophy is singled out. It is based on the search for universal laws of social development. The idea of cultural and historical types of society, based on the cultures of different peoples (for example, the culture of the peoples of the world) is the central idea, which was used by representatives of various trends in this direction (O. Spengler, A. Toynbi, N. Danilevsky, P. Sorokin) 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 must develop on an individual path.

Another direction in the development of sociology - Marxism - has brought together conflictological theories based on economic struggle, the ideological confrontation of various social groups. Marxism in the interpretation of VI Lenin and his supporters played a decisive role in the historical development of Russia.

In Western sociology, neo-Marxism (Germany, the 30s of the twentieth century) was distinguished. From the ideas of alienation of man, the rejection of ideology, neo-Marxism in modern sociology confirms the idea of the inability to eliminate conflicts between social groups: the struggle for power, for spiritual leadership, rivalry in the redistribution of incomes, which are the main reasons for the development of society.

Modern sociology as a science is actively formed within the framework of a technocratic direction, 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 development of sociological science, manifested in the middle of the twentieth century, is being erased on the present day. Common human problems compel sociologists to join forces. On the other hand, it is obvious that both 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. Undoubtedly, the importance of sociology for the development of modern society is great. It influences the formation of public opinion, the adoption of political decisions.

In the structure of modern sociology, various branches of sociological knowledge are actively developing: the sociology of youth, the sociology of organizations, the sociology of knowledge, the sociology of religion, and others.