Sciences that are classified as social. How do social sciences differ from humanities?

- — EN social science The study of society and of the relationship of individual members within society, including economics, history, political science, psychology, anthropology, and …

social science- social sciences human personality and society. humanitarian. ▼ philology… Ideographic Dictionary Russian language

Management Science- (more precisely, a complex of sciences dealing with management issues) social, public science about the principles and patterns of management social production at its various levels. The degree of scientific management is determined... Economic-mathematical dictionary

management science- More precisely, a complex of sciences dealing with management issues, social, public science about the principles and patterns of managing social production at its various levels. The degree of scientific management is determined by the depth of knowledge... ... Technical Translator's Guide

Special view cognitive activity, aimed at developing objective, systematically organized and substantiated knowledge about the world. Interacts with other types of cognitive activity: everyday, artistic, religious, mythological... Philosophical Encyclopedia

A voluntary association of citizens that arose on their initiative to realize their interests. Political science: Dictionary reference book. comp. Prof. Science Sanzharevsky I.I.. 2010 ... Political science. Dictionary.

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY- - social psyche - a set of group, collective, mass mental phenomena, states and processes in society, forming a system of psychosocial reflection of reality. Based on O.p. economic,... ... arise and develop Political psychology. Dictionary-reference book

I Science sphere human activity, the function of which is the development and theoretical systematization of objective knowledge about reality; one of the forms of social consciousness. In the course of historical development, N. turns into... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Main article: Science Contents 1 History of science in Russia 2 Russian science the day before October revolution... Wikipedia

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Concepts such as natural sciences, physical sciences, social sciences, etc., are often encountered by intelligence officers in their work. Due to the fact that there is no generally accepted definition of these concepts, it makes sense to give them an approximate classification in accordance with the meaning that the author of this book puts into them.
IN this section These concepts are considered in the general view and the place of each of them is determined. The author does not try to draw a line between related areas of scientific knowledge, for example, between mathematics and logic or anthropology and sociology, since there is still a lot of controversy here.
The author believes that the advantage of his classification lies primarily in the fact that it is convenient. It is also clear and consistent with common (but not generally accepted) practice. The classification could be more accurate and not contain repetitions. However, the author believes that it is more useful than a detailed classification that takes into account all the subtleties. In cases where one concept overlaps another, it is so obvious that it is unlikely to mislead anyone.
At the very beginning, it can also be noted that in some universities the sciences studied are divided into natural, social and humanities. This classification is useful, but does not at all establish clear boundaries between individual sciences.
Leaving aside the humanities, the author proposes the following classification: Natural sciences
A. Mathematics (sometimes classified as the physical sciences).
B. Physical sciences - sciences that study energy and matter in their relationship: astronomy - a science that studies the universe beyond our planet; geophysics - includes physical geography, geology, meteorology, oceanography, sciences that study the broad structure of our planet; physics - includes nuclear physics; chemistry.

IN. Biological Sciences: botany; zoology; paleontology; medical sciences - includes microbiology; agricultural sciences - considered as independent sciences or relate to botany and zoology. Social sciences are sciences that study human social life. History.
B. Cultural anthropology. Sociology.
G. Social Psychology.
D. Political science.
E. Jurisprudence. F-Economics. Cultural geography*.
We have given the classification of social sciences in the most general form. First come the less precise descriptive sciences, such as history and sociology, then the more specific and precise sciences, such as economics and geography. The social sciences sometimes include ethics, philosophy and pedagogy. It is obvious that all the named sciences - both natural and social - can, in turn, be divided and subdivided ad infinitum. Further division would in no way affect the above general classification, although the names of many sciences would additionally appear in the existing headings.

What should be understood by social sciences?
In its most general form, Stuart Chase defines social science as “the application scientific method for the study of human relationships."
We can now move on to a definition and a more detailed consideration of the social sciences. This is not an easy matter. Typically the definition consists of two parts. One part concerns the subject (that is, the characteristics of these sciences as social), and the second part concerns the corresponding method of research (that is, the characteristics of these disciplines as scientific).
A scientist working in the field of social sciences is interested not so much in convincing someone of something or even predicting the course of events in the future, but in systematizing the elements that make up the phenomenon under study, in identifying the factors that play a decisive role in the development of events under given conditions,
and, if possible, in establishing genuine cause-and-effect connections between the phenomena being studied. It does not so much solve problems as it helps those involved in solving them to better understand the meaning of problems. what are the problems here we're talking about? The social sciences do not include everything that concerns material world, life forms, universal laws nature. And, conversely, they include everything that concerns the activities of individual individuals and entire social groups, the development of decisions, the creation of various public and government organizations.
The question arises: by what method should any given problem in the field of human relations be solved? We are least likely to be bound by the following answer: such a method is one that comes as close as possible to the “scientific method” within the limits allowed by the nature of the issue we are studying in the field of human relations. He, of course, must have that
Some characteristic elements of the scientific method, such as the definition of key terms, the formulation of basic assumptions, the systematic development of research from the construction of a hypothesis through the collection and evaluation of facts to conclusions, the logic of thinking at all stages of the research.
It is perhaps especially important to note that the social scientist can only hope to maintain complete impartiality in relation to the subject under study. As a member of society, the scientist is almost always extremely interested in the subject he is studying, since social phenomena directly and in many respects affect his position, his feelings, etc. A scientist in this field must always be extremely precise and strict in his scientific work, as far as the subject under investigation allows.
Thus we can conclude that the essence of the social sciences is the study of the group life of people; these sciences use the method of analysis; they shed light on complex social phenomena and help to understand them; they are instruments in the hands of those who direct the individual and collective activities of people; in the future, perhaps, with the help of social sciences it will be possible to accurately predict the development of events - even today some social sciences (for example, economics) make it possible to predict relatively accurately general direction developments (for example, changes in the product market). In short, the essence of the social sciences is the systematic application of as precise methods of analysis as the situation and the subject of study allow to increase our knowledge of the behavior of individuals and social groups.
Cohen, however, notes:
“The social and natural sciences should not be considered completely unrelated to each other. On the contrary, they should be considered as sciences that study separate aspects of the same subject, but approach them with various positions. The social life of people takes place within the framework of natural phenomena; however, certain characteristic features public life make it the subject of study for the whole group
sciences that can be called the natural sciences of human society. In any case, observations and history indicate that many phenomena simultaneously relate to both the realm of the material world and social life...”
Why should an information officer read a lot of social science literature?
Firstly, because social sciences study the activities of various social groups, that is, precisely what represents special interest for reconnaissance.
Secondly, because many ideas and methods of the social sciences can be borrowed and adapted for use in intelligence information work. Reading literature on the social sciences will broaden the horizons of an information officer and help him form a broader and deeper understanding of the problems of information work, as it will enrich his memory with knowledge of relevant examples, analogies and contrasts.
Finally, reading social science literature is useful because it contains a large number of provisions with which information workers cannot agree. Faced with situations that sharply diverge from ours ordinary views, we mobilize our mental abilities to refute these positions. The social sciences have not yet fully developed. Many of their positions and concepts are so vague that they are difficult to refute. This makes it possible for various extremists to be published in serious magazines. Speaking out against dubious positions and theories always keeps us on our guard and encourages us to be critical of everything.
Positive and negative sides social sciences
The study of social sciences is generally useful because it helps us understand human behavior. In particular, it can be noted that thanks to the great positive work of many scientists in every social science, developments have been made
perfect methods for studying specific phenomena studied by this science have been developed. Therefore, strategic intelligence can borrow valuable knowledge and methodology from each social science research work. We believe that this knowledge can be valuable even in cases where it is not completely objective and accurate.
Experimentation and quantitative analysis
Studying various phenomena history, economics, politics and other sciences that study human social life have been carried out for thousands of years. However, as Stuart Chase notes, the consistent application of the scientific method to study these phenomena, as well as attempts to express the results of research in quantitative terms and discover general patterns of social life, have been made only recently. It is not surprising, therefore, that the social sciences are still immature in many respects\ In respectable special works Along with extremely pessimistic assessments of the prospects for the development and usefulness of social sciences, one can also find very optimistic statements on this matter.
Over the past fifty years, significant efforts have been made in the social sciences to make research objective and accurate (expressed in quantitative terms), to separate opinions and subjective judgments from objective facts. Many express the hope that someday we will study the patterns of social phenomena to the same extent as we have now studied the patterns of phenomena in the external world that represent the subject of the natural sciences, and will be able, having certain starting data, to confidently predict the development of events in the future.

Spengler says: "The first sociologists... regarded the science of studying society as a kind of social physics." Significant progress has been made in applying to the social sciences the methods successfully developed for the natural sciences. And yet, it is clear to everyone that, due to their inherent internal characteristics, the social sciences have disabilities foresight. Spengler, of course, introduces an element of healthy and sharp criticism into this issue when, not without irony, he says the following:
“Today, methodology is exorbitantly exalted and has become a fetish. Only he is considered a true scientist who strictly adheres to the following three canons: Only those studies are scientific that contain quantitative (statistical) analysis. The only goal of any science is prediction. A scientist as such does not dare to express his opinion about what is good and what is bad...”
Next, Spengler describes the difficulties arising in this connection and ends the following conclusion:
“From what has been said it follows that the social sciences are fundamentally different from the physical sciences. The three canons indicated cannot be extended to any of the social sciences. No claims to the accuracy of research, no feigned objectivity can make social science as accurate as the natural sciences. Therefore, a scientist working in the field of social sciences is destined to be an artist, relying on his common sense, and not on a methodology known only to a handful of initiates. He must be guided not only by data laboratory research, but in to a greater extent common sense and ordinary standards of decency. He cannot even create the appearance that he is a natural scientist.”

Thus, at the present time and within the foreseeable future, the following most important obstacles stand in the way of the development of social sciences and the implementation of foresight with their help, which the natural sciences do not know.
Phenomena studied by the natural sciences can be reproduced again (for example, steam pressure when water is heated to 70 degrees Celsius). A scientist in this field does not need to start all the research from the beginning. He can work by relying on the achievements of his predecessors. The water we take will behave exactly the same as during the experiments performed earlier. On the contrary, the phenomena studied by social sciences, due to their characteristics, cannot be reproduced. Every event we study in this area is new to a certain extent. We begin our work with information only about similar phenomena that have occurred in the past, as well as about available research methods. This information constitutes the contribution that the social sciences have made to the development of human knowledge.
In the natural sciences, most factors important to research can be measured with some degree of accuracy (e.g. temperature, pressure, stress electric current etc.). In the social sciences, the results of measuring many important factors are so uncertain (for example, quantitative indicators of the strength of incentives, the abilities of a military commander or leader, etc.) that the value of all such quantitative conclusions is practically very limited.
The question of measuring and quantifying research results is of critical importance for the social sciences, and especially for intelligence information work. I do not mean to say that many of the most important factors for intelligence work cannot be measured. However, these types of measurements are time-consuming, difficult, and often of dubious value. The results of measurements made in the social sciences are more difficult to use than the results of measurements made in the natural sciences. This position has such great importance for information work, will be discussed in more detail later in this chapter.

Quantitative indicators are very useful. They are more helpful in predicting future developments. However, the whole matter cannot be reduced to these indicators. Most judgments, including on the most important issues, are not related to measurements and are not based on a quantitative consideration of all considerations for and against. We never measure our trust in friends, our love for our homeland, or our interest in our own profession in any specific unit. The same is true with the social sciences. They are useful primarily because they help us understand the internal connections and key factors of many phenomena that are of critical importance for intelligence. Further, the social sciences are useful by the methods that they have developed. Very useful research Sorokin's book on this issue.
The importance of social sciences for strategic intelligence information work
Let us see what is the value of social sciences for an information officer. Why does he turn to social sciences for help, what’s wrong with them? What, in general, is the help which the information officer can obtain from the social sciences and cannot obtain from other sources? Petty writes:
(The effectiveness of strategic intelligence information work depends in the future on the use and development of social science... Modern social sciences have a body of knowledge, the bulk of which, after the most rigorous testing, turns out to be correct and has proven its usefulness in practice."
Gee summarizes his views regarding the future of the social sciences as follows:
“Despite the fact that the development of social sciences is organically associated with countless difficulties, they are the ones that most occupy the minds of mankind in our century. It is they who promise to render the greatest service to humanity.”

Story. The importance of studying human history speaks for itself. Intelligence information is undoubtedly one element of history - past, present and future, if we can talk about future history at all. Somewhat exaggerating, we can say that if an intelligence researcher has solved all the mysteries of history, he needs to know little more than the facts of current events in order to understand the situation in a particular country. Many historians do not consider hysteria a social science and do not understand that it owes much to the research methods used in these sciences. In most classifications, however, history is classified as a social science.
Cultural anthropology. Anthropology, literally the science of man, is divided into physical anthropology, which studies the biological nature of man, and cultural. Judging by the name, cultural anthropology can include the study of all forms of culture - economic, political, etc. relations of all peoples of the world. In fact, cultural anthropology studied the culture of ancient and primitive peoples. It did, however, shed light on many contemporary issues.
Kimball Young writes, “In time, cultural anthropology and sociology will be combined into one discipline.” Cultural anthropology can help the information officer learn the customs of backward peoples with which the United States or other nations have to deal; understand the problems that Kurteniya is likely to face by exploiting certain backward peoples living in its territory.
Sociology is the study of society. First of all, she studies national character, customs, established ways of thinking of peoples and culture in general. In addition to sociology, these issues are also studied by psychology, political science, law, economics, ethics and pedagogy. Sociology plays a minor role in the study of these issues. Sociology has made its main contribution to the study of those group public relations that are not primarily of a political, economic or legal nature.
It turned out that sociology is less involved in the study of primitive culture than cultural
anthropology. Nevertheless, sociology can help solve many problems related to the field of cultural anthropology. An information officer can expect that sociology will help him to better understand the role of folk customs, national character and "culture" as factors determining the behavior of people, as well as the activities of social groups and institutions that are not political or economic organizations. "Such public institutions include, for example, the church, educational institutions, public organizations. Sociology covers all issues, including such an important issue as population, classified as sociological intelligence information, which constitutes one of the types of strategic information. It is clear that some of the problems studied sociology, are sometimes of paramount importance for solving information problems.
Social psychology studies the psychology of a person in his relationships with other people, as well as the collective reaction of people to external incentives and the behavior of social groups. JI. Brown writes:
“Social psychology studies the interaction of organic and social processes of which human nature is the product.” Social psychology can help to understand the “national character of a people”, discussed later in this chapter.
Political science is concerned with the development, structure and operation of organs state power(see Munro).
Scientists working in this field of science have achieved great success in the study, for example, of those factors that have a significant impact on the outcome of elections and the activities of government bodies, including such factors as the actions of public groups opposing their government. Thorough research in this area has provided reliable information, which in many cases can be used to solve special information problems. Information workers political science can help identify the key factors of a future political campaign and determine the effects of each of them. With the help of political
science can identify strengths and weaknesses various forms board, as well as the consequences to which they may lead under given circumstances.
Jurisprudence, that is, jurisprudence. Intelligence can benefit from certain procedural principles, especially the principle of having both sides represented in a court case. Lawyers often make good information workers.
Economics deals social phenomena related primarily to meeting the material needs of individuals and social groups. She studies categories such as supply and demand, prices, material values. One of essential foundations the power of the state both in peacetime and in war time is industry. Exceptional importance economic science for studying the situation abroad is obvious.
Cultural geography (sometimes called human geography). Geographical science can be divided into physical geography, which is the study of physical nature, such as rivers, mountains, air and ocean currents, and cultural geography, which deals primarily with phenomena related to human activities, such as cities, roads, dams, canals, etc. Most issues related to cultural geography economic geography. It is closely related to the economy. Cultural geography is directly related to a number of types of strategic information and provides a large amount of information for strategic intelligence, which collects information about geography, means of transport and communications, and the military capabilities of foreign states.
Comparison of social sciences with biology
Those who are optimistic about the prospects for the development of social sciences say in support of their position that a scientist working in this field should be compared, from the point of view of his ability to establish general patterns of social phenomena and to foresee, with a biologist rather than with a chemist. Biologist,
like a sociologist, he deals with various and by no means uniform manifestations of living matter. However, he made significant progress in establishing general patterns and foresight, based on the study of a large number of phenomena. Similar comparison a sociologist with a biologist cannot be considered entirely correct. The significant differences between them are as follows. When making generalizations and predicting future events, a biologist often deals with averages. For example, we can experimentally establish the yield of wheat in several areas placed under different conditions (different degrees of irrigation, fertilizer, etc.). In this case, when determining the average yield in equally Each individual ear of wheat is taken into account. Prominent figures do not play any role here. In a wheat field there are no leaders who force individual ears to develop in a certain way.
In other cases, a biologist deals with establishing a certain probability of certain phenomena or quantities, for example, determining mortality as a result of an epidemic. It can correctly predict that the mortality rate will be, for example, 10 percent, in part because it does not have to specify exactly who will fall into that 10 percent. The advantage of a biologist is that he deals with large numbers. He is not interested in whether the patterns he discovers and the predictions he makes apply to individuals.
In the field of social sciences the situation is different. Although at first glance it seems that a scientist is dealing with thousands of people, the outcome of a particular phenomenon often depends on the decision of a very narrow circle of people who influence the many thousands of people around them. For example, fighting qualities the soldiers of Lee's army and McClellan's army were approximately equal. The fact that the use of these
soldiers gave different results, is explained by significant differences in the abilities of General Lee and his closest officers, on the one hand, and General McClellan and his closest officers, on the other. In the same way, the decision of one man - Hitler - plunged millions of Germans into a second world war.
In the field of social sciences, a scientist in some cases (but not always) is deprived of the opportunity to act with certainty, relying on big numbers. Even in those cases where outwardly it seems that he bases his conclusions on taking into account the actions of a large number of people, then he comes to final conclusions from the understanding of the fact that in fact decisions are very often made by a small circle of people. A biological researcher does not have to deal with such factors operating in society as imitation, persuasion, coercion and leadership. Thus, in solving many problems, social scientists cannot be inspired by the advances in the field of foresight achieved by biologists who deal with large groups of different individuals, whom they, however, consider as a whole, without taking into account the relationships of leadership and subordination that exist in a given group. In other cases, sociologists may, like biologists, ignore individuals and deal only with entire groups of people. We must take full account of the differences that exist in the field of research between sociologists and biologists.
conclusions
To summarize, it should be said that significant advances in the field of social sciences have been achieved because scientists have sought to make their work clearer (by clarifying, for example, the terminology used) and more objective, due to the fact that when planning their work and evaluating their findings results they began to apply the method mathematical statistics. Some successes in discovering patterns and predicting future developments have been achieved in cases where scientists have been dealing with large numbers
and situations in which the outcome was not influenced by the relationship between leadership and subordination, and also when scientists could limit themselves to the study of certain qualitative indicators of the members of a given group as a whole and they did not need to predict the behavior of pre-selected individuals. And yet, the outcome of many events and phenomena studied by social sciences depends on the behavior of certain individuals.

Society is such a complex object that science alone cannot study it. Only by combining the efforts of many sciences can we fully and consistently describe and study the most complex formation that exists in this world, human society. The totality of all sciences that study society as a whole is called social studies. These include philosophy, history, sociology, economics, political science, psychology and social psychology, anthropology and cultural studies. This basic sciences, consisting of many subdisciplines, sections, directions, scientific schools.

Social science, having emerged later than many other sciences, incorporates their concepts and specific results, statistics, tabular data, graphs and conceptual diagrams, and theoretical categories.

The entire set of sciences related to social science is divided into two types - social And humanitarian.

If the social sciences are the sciences of human behavior, then the humanities are the sciences of the spirit. You can say it differently, the subject social sciences society is the subject humanities- culture. The main subject of social sciences is study of human behavior.

Sociology, psychology, social psychology, economics, political science, as well as anthropology and ethnography (the science of peoples) belong to social sciences . They have a lot in common, they are closely related and form a kind of scientific union. Adjacent to it is a group of other related disciplines: philosophy, history, art history, cultural studies, literary studies. They are classified as humanitarian knowledge.

Since representatives of neighboring sciences constantly communicate and enrich each other with new knowledge, the boundaries between social philosophy, social psychology, economics, sociology and anthropology can be considered very conditional. At their intersection, interdisciplinary sciences are constantly emerging, for example, social anthropology appeared at the intersection of sociology and anthropology, and at the intersection of economics and psychology - economic psychology. In addition, there are such integrative disciplines as legal anthropology, sociology of law, economic sociology, cultural anthropology, psychological and economic anthropology, historical sociology.

Let's get acquainted more thoroughly with the specifics of the leading social sciences:

Economy– a science that studies the principles of organization economic activity people, relations of production, exchange, distribution and consumption that are formed in every society, formulates the basis for the rational behavior of the producer and consumer of goods. Economics also studies the behavior of large masses of people in a market situation. In small and large - in public and privacy- people cannot take a single step without affecting economic relations. When negotiating a job, buying goods on the market, counting our income and expenses, demanding payment of wages, and even going on a visit, we - directly or indirectly - take into account the principles of saving.

Sociology– a science that studies the relationships that arise between groups and communities of people, the nature of the structure of society, problems social inequality and principles of social conflict resolution.

Political science- a science that studies the phenomenon of power, the specifics social management, relations arising in the process of carrying out government activities.

Psychology- the science of patterns, mechanism and facts mental life humans and animals. The main theme of psychological thought in antiquity and the Middle Ages is the problem of the soul. Psychologists study stable and repetitive behavior in individual behavior. The focus is on problems of perception, memory, thinking, learning and development of the human personality. IN modern psychology many branches of knowledge, including psychophysiology, zoopsychology and comparative psychology, social psychology, child psychology and educational psychology, age-related psychology, labor psychology, creativity psychology, medical psychology and etc.

Anthropology - science of human origin and evolution, education human races and about normal variations physical structure person. She studies primitive tribes that have survived today from primitive times in the lost corners of the planet: their customs, traditions, culture, behavior patterns.

Social Psychology studies small group (family, group of friends, sports team). Social psychology is a frontier discipline. She was formed at the intersection of sociology and psychology, taking on tasks that her parents were unable to solve. It turned out that a large society does not directly influence the individual, but through an intermediary - small groups. This world of friends, acquaintances and relatives closest to a person plays an exceptional role in our lives. We generally live in small, not big worlds- in a specific house, in a specific family, in a specific company, etc. The small world sometimes influences us even more than the big one. That is why science appeared, which took it closely and very seriously.

Story- one of the most important sciences in the system of social and humanitarian knowledge. The object of its study is man and his activities throughout the existence of human civilization. The word "history" Greek origin and means “research”, “search”. Some scholars believed that the object of studying history is the past. The famous French historian M. Blok categorically objected to this. “The very idea that the past as such can be an object of science is absurd.”

Emergence historical science dates back to the times of ancient civilizations. The "father of history" is considered to be ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who compiled a work dedicated to the Greco-Persian wars. However, this is hardly fair, since Herodotus used not so much historical data as legends, legends and myths. And his work cannot be considered completely reliable. Much more reasons considered the fathers of history by Thucydides, Polybius, Arrian, Publius Cornelius Tacitus, Ammianus Marcellinus. These ancient historians used documents, their own observations, and eyewitness accounts to describe events. All ancient peoples considered themselves historiographers and revered history as a teacher of life. Polybius wrote: “lessons drawn from history most surely lead to enlightenment and prepare us for engaging in public affairs; the story of the trials of other people is the most intelligible or the only teacher that teaches us to courageously endure the vicissitudes of fate.”

And although, over time, people began to doubt that history could teach subsequent generations not to repeat the mistakes of previous ones, the importance of studying history was not disputed. The most famous Russian historian V.O. Klyuchevsky wrote in his reflections on history: “History teaches nothing, but only punishes for ignorance of the lessons.”

Culturology I am primarily interested in the world of art - painting, architecture, sculpture, dance, forms of entertainment and mass spectacles, institutions of education and science. The subjects of cultural creativity are a) individuals, b) small groups, c) large groups. In this sense, cultural studies covers all types of associations of people, but only to the extent that it concerns the creation of cultural values.

Demography studies population - the entire multitude of people who make up human society. Demography is primarily interested in how they reproduce, how long they live, why and in what numbers they die, and where large masses of people move. She looks at man partly as a natural, partly as a social being. All living things are born, die and reproduce. These processes are influenced primarily by biological laws. For example, science has proven that a person cannot live more than 110-115 years. This is its biological resource. However, the vast majority of people live to be 60-70 years old. But this is today, and two hundred years ago the average life expectancy did not exceed 30-40 years. Even today, people in poor and underdeveloped countries live less than in rich and highly developed countries. In humans, life expectancy is determined both by biological and hereditary characteristics, and by social conditions (life, work, rest, nutrition).

3.7 . Social and humanitarian knowledge

Social cognition- this is knowledge of society. Understanding society is a very complex process for a number of reasons.

1. Society is the most complex of the objects of knowledge. In social life, all events and phenomena are so complex and diverse, so different from each other and so intricately intertwined that it is very difficult to detect certain patterns in it.

2. In social cognition, not only material (as in natural science), but also ideal, spiritual relationships are studied. These relationships are much more complex, diverse and contradictory than connections in nature.

3. In social cognition, society acts both as an object and as a subject of cognition: people create their own history, and they also know it.

When talking about the specifics of social cognition, extremes should be avoided. On the one hand, it is impossible to explain the reasons for Russia’s historical lag using Einstein’s theory of relativity. On the other hand, it cannot be argued that all the methods by which nature is studied are unsuitable for social science.

Primary and elementary method knowledge is observation. But it differs from the observation that is used in natural science when observing the stars. In social science, cognition concerns animate, endowed with consciousness objects. And if, for example, the stars, even after many years of observation of them, remain completely unperturbed in relation to the observer and his intentions, then in public life everything is different. As a rule, a reverse reaction is detected on the part of the object being studied, something that makes observation impossible from the very beginning, or interrupts it somewhere in the middle, or introduces interference into it that significantly distorts the results of the study. Therefore, non-participant observation in social science does not provide sufficiently reliable results. Another method is needed, which is called participant observation. It is carried out not from the outside, not from the outside in relation to the object being studied ( social group), but from within it.

For all its significance and necessity, observation in social science demonstrates the same fundamental shortcomings as in other sciences. While observing, we cannot change the object in the direction that interests us, regulate the conditions and course of the process being studied, or reproduce it as many times as required to complete the observation. Significant shortcomings of observation are largely overcome in experiment.

The experiment is active and transformative. In an experiment we interfere with the natural course of events. According to V.A. Stoff, an experiment can be defined as a type of activity undertaken for the purpose of scientific knowledge, the discovery of objective laws and consisting of influencing the object (process) being studied through special tools and instruments. Thanks to the experiment, it is possible to: 1) isolate the object under study from the influence of side, insignificant phenomena that obscure its essence and study it in its “pure” form; 2) repeatedly reproduce the course of the process under strictly fixed, controllable and accountable conditions; 3) systematically change, vary, combine various conditions in order to obtain the desired result.

Social experiment has a number of significant features.

1. The social experiment is of a concrete historical nature. Experiments in the field of physics, chemistry, biology can be repeated in different eras, in different countries, because the laws of the development of nature do not depend on the form and type industrial relations, neither from national and historical features. Social experiments aimed at transforming the economy, the national-state structure, the education system, etc., can lead to various historical eras, in different countries not only different, but also directly opposite results.

2. The object of a social experiment has a much lesser degree of isolation from similar objects remaining outside the experiment and from all the influences of a given society as a whole. Here, such reliable isolating devices as vacuum pumps, protective screens, etc., used in the process are not possible physical experiment. This means that a social experiment cannot be carried out with a sufficient degree of approximation to “pure conditions”.

3. A social experiment places increased demands on compliance with “safety precautions” during its implementation compared to natural science experiments, where even experiments carried out by trial and error are acceptable. A social experiment at any point in its course constantly has a direct impact on well-being, well-being, physical and mental health people involved in the "experimental" group. Underestimation of any detail, any failure during the experiment can have a detrimental effect on people and in no way good intentions it is impossible to justify this to its organizers.

4. A social experiment may not be conducted for the purpose of obtaining direct theoretical knowledge. Conducting experiments (experiments) on people is inhumane in the name of any theory. A social experiment is an ascertaining, confirming experiment.

One of the theoretical methods of cognition is historical method research, i.e. a method that identifies significant historical facts and stages of development, which ultimately makes it possible to create a theory of the object and reveal the logic and patterns of its development.

Another method is modeling. Modeling is understood as a method of scientific knowledge in which research is carried out not on the object of interest to us (the original), but on its substitute (analogue), similar to it in certain respects. As in other branches of scientific knowledge, modeling in social science is used when the subject itself is not available for direct study (say, does not yet exist at all, for example, in predictive studies), or this direct study requires enormous costs, or it is impossible due to ethical considerations.

In his goal-setting activities, from which history is formed, man has always strived to comprehend the future. Interest in the future has especially intensified in modern era in connection with the formation of the information and computer society, in connection with those global problems that call into question the very existence of humanity. Foresight came out on top.

Scientific foresight represents such knowledge about the unknown, which is based on already known knowledge about the essence of the phenomena and processes that interest us and about their trends further development. Scientific foresight does not claim absolutely accurate and complete knowledge of the future, or its mandatory reliability: even carefully verified and balanced forecasts are justified only with a certain degree of reliability.

Spiritual life of society

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