Visnyk of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University. Series "Sociological studies of contemporary society: methodology, theory, methods"

Systemicity as a Characteristic of Society in the Interpretation of Yelena Yakuba: Heuristic Possibilities for Contemporary Sociology

Alexander Golikov — 2022-06-30

The article analyzes systemicity as a metaphilosophical and world view characteristic for society in the sociological conception of Kharkiv sociological school’ founder Yelena Alexandrovna Yakuba. Carrying out an epistemological analysis of systemicity in the concept of Y. Yakuba, the author demonstrates various aspects and manifestations of this property, and also analyzes the actual and potential connections with the general theoretical sociological and philosophical heritage. The features of the interpretation of society as a system by E. Yakuba are studied, a comparison with other interpretations of the system and systemicity is made. It is emphasized that ignoring the ontological systemic nature of society (which is not identical with the genetic systemicity) in modern sociology leads to a number of epistemological and methodological effects. Y. Yakuba's arguments regarding systemicity as a property of society are given and analyzed. The author singles out a number of such arguments, carrying out a detailed analysis of each of them separately. Special emphasis is placed on the analysis of how systemicity manifests itself, what it consists of, what is its phenomenality and epiphenomenality. It is shown that in the concept of Y. Yakuba, society is a real phenomenon, it is connected with the individual not directly, but through a whole network of elements of the social structure. At the same time, personality as a social product manifests itself in any person, the question is only in the degree of manifestation. The measure of this manifestation is the status, and an indicator of the status is the role as a set of actions that the individual occupying this position should perform. Statuses and roles are studied as ones integrating various human acts into the social order. It is the point, from which, as the author shows, the problem of social activity arises. Here, the most important plot is the connection of systemicity as a property of society with activity and subjectivity as a property of the action of its members. A number of conclusions are formulated regarding systemicity as a category, its place in the sociological concept of Y. Yakuba, as well as its heuristic potential in modern sociology.

The Concept of Social Connection by Agnesa Zvonytska

Ekateryna Bataeva — 2022-06-30

The article considers the problems of the sociological concept of social connection by the first Ukrainian female researcher, A. Zvonytska, and establishes connections between her and modern sociological theories. It is noted that A. Zvonytska singled out three aspects of sociality, which can be conditionally called cognitive, actional, and communicative (social connection must be established by individuals consciously, and it can manifest itself in their joint activities, which must be coordinated). A. Zvonytska considers three moments in the process of establishing a social connection: 1) the moment of acquisition by an individual of knowledge and properties from the surrounding psychological environment, or the projective moment, 2) the refraction of this acquired knowledge and properties in personal consciousness, or the subjective moment; 3) the assumption of the existence of these subjectively refracted properties in the surrounding personalities as well, or the aective moment. The negative consequences of breaking social ties in a situation of social conflict or social crisis are analyzed. The content of the regularities regarding the course of social conflicts formulated by A. Zvonytska is studied: 1) the deeper the social connection and closer relations in a social group, the sharper and stronger the social crisis occurs in it; 2) the stronger and more frequent the violation of norms that are imperative in the eyes of each conflict side, the stronger the indignation grows; 3) in the situation of the post-conflict state of society, hatred is replaced by social fatigue and a state of depression and apathy. It is emphasized that, according to A. Zvonytska, sympathy plays a significant role in the restoration of social connection. The social connection deepens sympathy, which in turn deepens social connection. It was concluded that sympathy becomes a social factor of cohesion of social groups and is the result of awareness of the similarity of the subjective experience of individuals.

Sadomasochism in everyday life

Oleksandr Zubariev — 2022-06-30

The article examines the phenomenon of sadomasochism in the context of everyday life. It is noted that the constructivist understanding of everyday life is based on the interpretation of social action proposed by M. Weber. Obviously, in Weber's typology, the highest type is the goal rational social action, which assumes a model of a rational person who is guided by rational motives and chooses the most optimal project of action to achieve the set goal. Whereas affective social action is on the margins of sociology's interest. Meanwhile, as Z. Freud demonstrates, the everyday is not some kind of sterile-rational reality, in the everyday the unconscious manifests itself in tricks, erroneous actions, descriptions, etc., which may well be based on unconscious sadomasochistic desires. The author turns to the history of the study of sadomasochism, considering the concepts of such authors as R. von Krafft-Ebing, Z. Freud, E. Fromm, Z. Lew-Starowicz, L. Eidelberg, H. Murray. The article examines the concepts of sadomasochism such modern author as Martin Kantor, who proceeds from the fact that sadomasochism cannot be reduced only to sexual sadomasochism or the practice of BDSM, in fact it is a much broader social phenomenon. According to M. Kantor, in a broad sense, sadomasochism manifests itself in power, control, dominance and submission, a dynamic that is pervasive in our lives, from home to work. We see such examples of sadomasochism as sadomasochistic mothers, children, and fathers in the family circle; sadomasochistic marriages and divorces; corporate sadomasochism; sadomasochistic companies; sadomasochistic workers; sadomasochistic writer's block іn the everyday life. In this perspective, the everyday appears before us as a reality where people act not to achieve rational goals, but because of the desire to dominate and submission.

The functioning of the social services market in the conditions of war: Challenges and prospects for development (Kharkiv case study)

Svitlana Gorbunova-Ruban — 2022-06-30

The article analyzes the problems of the functioning of the market of social services in Kharkiv city in the conditions of russia's full-scale war against Ukraine. A review of scientific publications and research devoted to the analysis of various aspects of the functioning of the domestic market of social services is provided. The author's definitions of the concept of «social services» (a set of measures to assist individuals and social groups who are in difficult life circumstances and cannot overcome them on their own, in order to solve existing problems and improve their lives) and «market of social services» (a system of relations between demand and supply of social services, the field of interaction between those who provide these services (state, municipal, public organizations and institutions), and those who consume them, which ensures overcoming/minimizing difficult life circumstances in which individuals and social groups are located). A brief excursion into the history of the formation and development of the social services market in Kharkiv community is made. The algorithm of formation of the social services market in Kharkiv is considered, in particular: 1) studying the demand for specific social services through the analysis of written and oral appeals of citizens to local authorities, as well as the results of sociological surveys of Kharkiv residents on the studied issue, 2) search for social service providers; 3) determination of opportunities to meet the needs of the population for social services by existing state and municipal social services, as well as public organizations of the city. The problems of the functioning of the social services market of Kharkiv caused by the russian-Ukrainian war are analysed. Numerous examples of overcoming these problems in the first months of this war are given. A conclusion is made about the institutionalization of the social services market of Kharkiv, and its viability under martial law.

On the Evolution of Republican Democracy

Volodymyr Kuklin — 2022-06-30

The paper is devoted to the process of penetration of democratic ideas and principles of state building in Europe, that is considered using examples from the past. Various forms of democracy are presented in the composition of the aristocratic, bourgeois estates, as well as all citizens, and the stability of such democracies is considered. The reasons for the emergence of democracies, as well as the mechanisms of their destruction are discussed. Also, the paper discusses the principles of the state structure of modern developed democracies and countries of the developing world - imperfect democracies, where republican institutions to a greater extent imitate their democratic counterparts. Based on statistical data, assumptions about the nature of changes in the social structure of such states in the direction of their greater democratization are presented. To analyze the trends in the social development of countries, a fifteen-year period of crisis-free development of the world economy at the beginning of the 21st century was chosen. It is noted that in a number of imperfect democracies two economies are being formed, a modern one, where the owners of assets are oligarchs, and an archaic one, where the bulk of the poor are employed. In the final part of the work the nature of the destruction of oligarchic rule is considered. In particular, these are the processes of expansion of the modern innovative economy into marginal geographical areas and industries of countries. The growth in the capitalization of assets, the increase in the number and wealth of their owners and top managers leads to increased competition and to the suppression of the influence of individual oligarchic clans. New groups of the low-income population are being drawn into production. The number and wealth of the middle class is growing. Increases his ability to participate in political life. We can talk about the tendencies of strengthening democracy and development of republican institutions in many countries of the world. Particular attention is paid to the conditions for the transition of oligarchic imperfect democracies to authoritarian regimes.

Large Families in a Risk Society: from Normativity to Deviance

Dmitiy Sopilnyak — 2022-06-30

The article examines the phenomenon of large families from the perspective of modernity, namely the transition of large families from the position of establishing social order, from the position of normativity to the position of deviation and the gradual reduction of this type of family. The theoretical basis of the work is the theory of social systems by Niklas Luhmann, which is used to analyze the large family as an element of the "family" system, as a process of communication "before" and "after", as an independent system. It is emphasized that a large family can be considered as a self-referential, autopoietic system. It is noted that communication is an operation of the social system. In view of the latter, the empirical part of the article analyzes the results of the sociological study "Modern Kharkiv Family in the Dimension of Sociology" conducted in May-July 2020 by the staff of the Faculty of Sociology of V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University. Particular attention is paid to the processes of internal and external communication of representatives of large families. Based on the analysis of empirical information, it is proved that in a modern risk society, such as Ukrainian society, large families are an element of social risk. The author concludes that there is a possibility of a decrease in the number of large families, which will undoubtedly affect the deterioration of the already difficult demographic situation in modern Ukrainian society. The author identifies areas for further research and publications on the selected issues.