Main trends of research in the social and human ... - unesdoc - Unesco

Foreword XXXIII
case, but so too has the notion of process both in the selection and in the inter-
pretation of topics, leading to consideration of microsociological variates
within macrosociological propositions, which, in their turn, lead to linear
explanation diagrams in the work of Inkeles, strategic diagrams in that of
Moore, and the dialectic type in that of Smelser, depending on the way the
variables being compared appear.
The quest for theory is the third trend of sociological thought discussed. Ad-
mittedly, in the sense of this term as used in the exact sciences, i.e., a hypothesis
frequently expressed in mathematical terms and subject to verification by experi-
ment, there are, in general, no theories in the social sciences. In this field, the
processes of classification, the strict formulation of problems and attempts at
interpretation take their place. This absence of theory is reflected in R. K.
Merton’s notion of ‘theories of the middle range’, which calls for a use of ana-
lysis that goes beyond simple fact-gathering to systematic interpretation, though
avoiding undue speculation. Marxism, on the other hand, might be regarded
as a theory of global society. It has its basic concepts (class, modes of produc-
tion), its method (dialectic analysis) which is of general application. The author
shows how ‘concrete’ communist sociology, while leaving the Parties a monop-
oly in theoretical formulation, attempts to establish a correlation between
theory and the data furnished by observation. Empiricism is finding its way
into research in the USSR and in neighbouring countries, where studies are being
made of workers’ attitudes to work, personality, leisure, the aspirations of
youth, and small groups; in the last case, research is still in its early days but
attention is beginning to be given to the r6le of these groups as mediators be-
tween society as a whole and the individual, etc. It is by no means unlikely that
‘concrete sociology’ may be able to make a valuable contribution to social
planning, at the preparatory stages as well as at the implementation stage,
which would give it considerable importance. On such bases, we can see the
beginnings of a reconciliation between sociologists of Eastern and Western
countries, the former showing an increased interest in empirical research, the
latter developing increased awareness of the theoretical frames of research and
of the desirable systematization of research findings. This analysis should be
considered in conjunction with the author’s treatment of two other attempts to
embrace society in all its aspects : the critical theory of Adorno and the Frank-
furt group, and the sociological dialectics of Gurvitch, whose work unfailingly
brings to mind Parsons’ ‘pattern variables’.
The author, in dealing with another theory, functionalism, which was first
formulated by Durkheim, then taken up by the British anthropologists and by
many modern sociologists (Parsons, Davies, Bourricaud), bringing in Merton’s
classic distinction between latent and manifest functions, is rather harsh; he
finds its formulations so general that they do not really appear to provide an
explanation of the empirical findings. However, he adds facetiously, we cannot
live either with or without functionalism, and he draws attention to some recent
trends which might give new significance to the theory. The author also takes up
the problem of conflict which leads to the concepts of dysfunction and anomie
(so far removed from traditional functionalism revolving about equilibrium and