Modern social sciences are developing mainly in the fundamental and applied areas. This is the main levels of sociological knowledge. The first level is also called general theoretical. At this level, philosophical questions of the development and functioning of society and man are developed, the categorical apparatus and the concept of social are determined, methods for studying social processes and phenomena are solved, epistemological questions are solved, and much more.
It is clear that theoretical concepts alone are not enough for the full development of sociological knowledge, it should be based on accurate, specific data, facts that are the essence of the process of changing modern society. Thus, the levels of sociological knowledge are replenished with another - empirical. At this level, in the sciences of society and man, various facts, information, data, opinions of respondents who are members of various communities are collected, their subsequent processing and interpretation.
Empirical research and general sociological concepts are dialectically interconnected, because a theory that is not supported by concrete facts becomes meaningless, non-life, and practice that is not related to theoretical conclusions cannot explain the essence of the phenomena occurring in society.
With the development of the sciences of society and man, the requirements for solving social problems at a practical level increased, and the need arose to study and theoretically explain social phenomena. However, fundamental research failed to apply its theoretical apparatus to the study of such very different concepts as “state”, “family”, “deviant behavior”, “projection” and others. As a result, discrepancies between theoretical constructions and practical research began to be observed.
The existing levels of sociological knowledge could not explain many social phenomena and phenomena, but this problem was ultimately solved by the formation of another group of theories, which were called "mid-level theories." The term itself was introduced by R. Merton. These theories rank between general theoretical concepts and empirical practices. In the modern sciences of society and man, they firmly entered the scientific arsenal and organically supplemented the levels of sociological knowledge.
Sociologists believe that the emergence of theories of an average level gives a number of advantages, the main of which can be considered:
- the possibility of creating a solid theoretical base for studying various fields of human activity without the use of bulky, sometimes unnecessarily complicated fundamental theories;
- a stronger interaction with the practical life of individuals and social groups;
- Demonstration of research opportunities for scientists and specialists in other fields of knowledge.
Scientists distinguish the following functions of sociological knowledge:
- cognitive, consisting in acquiring new information about the most diverse spheres of life, about possible ways of social development;
- practical, which consists in the fact that knowledge of the laws of development of society and man makes it possible not only to know social reality, but also have managerial potential;
- a control function to reduce social tension in society;
- ideological, consisting in the fact that the obtained scientific data (knowledge) can be used to develop value orientations, patterns of behavior, certain positive attitudes;
- futurological, which consists in predicting possible ways of developing social processes and trends in social development.