Sociology is the science of society. The sphere of studying the discipline includes individual institutions (morality, law, state, etc.), processes, and also community of people. The concept itself was introduced into science in the mid-19th century by the founder of positivism, Auguste Comte (French scientist).
Object, subject and functions of sociology
The first concept reflects what the research is aimed at. The object of sociology, like other social sciences, is a social reality. Moreover, it often coincides with the field of research and other disciplines (law, ethnography, history, philosophy and others).
The object and subject of political sociology are different concepts. What determines the first will not be enough to determine the second. The subject of science is all the connections, relationships that make up the object of study. Discipline, in general, studies the integrity of society as a single organism, the relationship in it.
The object of sociology is a certain sphere of reality. It has relative integrity and completeness.
The object of sociology is mainly society. The study aims to identify contradictions, problems subject to scientific analysis. At the same time, the object of sociology can be any side of social reality. But this will be possible only after it is included in the process of cognition, comprehended and highlighted.
The object of sociological knowledge is endowed with many quantitative and qualitative characteristics. It can be studied by various social disciplines. So, for example, the community explores philosophy, political economy, psychology, history, political science. At the same time, the sociologist identifies in the object precisely those relationships and characteristics that are necessary in the process of studying the phenomena of society, research, formation, functioning, and the development of social structures. The system can be detected at different stages of reality. In this regard, in the process of developing a single issue or problem, it is likely that various social objects will be addressed.
The study of the essential properties and relationships involved in another part of the discipline. The subject thus provides for the object and is determined by its (object) properties, as well as the nature of the problems that the researcher faces. At the same time, the level of scientific knowledge and cognition methods that the researcher has is also of no small importance.
It should be noted that one social object is sometimes studied to solve different problems, the subject of research at the same time designates boundaries. It is within their study. According to tradition, defining the field of knowledge, highlight the main, those or other social phenomena. As a rule, these include social relations, human interaction, processes, communities, and so on.
Objectively, a society includes various communities. This is an inherent (characteristic) feature of the union of people. This feature is associated with a large number of common, specific factors. Between communities, within themselves, between a person and a community, real diverse relationships arise. Moreover, each relationship associated with one or another social phenomenon is subordinated to the action of certain trends and patterns. They constitute the main subject of study of sociological science.
Different researchers determine the scope of study in different ways. This is mainly due to the fact that attention is focused on the unequal sides of the life of the individual and the community: relationships, behavior and activities. Sociology includes various directions. They are determined by different approaches to the study of the social life of the whole society.