Book review: S.A. Kravchenko Sociological Knowledge through the Prism of "Time Arrow"

Abstract

The review presents an analysis of the authorship concept of S.A. Kravchenko from a point of evaluation of the research instruments used when studying the historical change of sociological theories. It is focused on demonstrating the connection between the processes of societal and cultural complication dynamics on the one hand, and sociology as a reflection on the topic of trends of social development on the other hand. Special attention is given to categorical apparatus, allowing the author to build up a logical sequence of alternating sociological paradigms. Key terms such as "meta-paradigm", "rediscovery", and "turn" are discussed, allowing for deep characterization of the continuation of sociology generations. A description of the history of sociological science in terms of continuity change of generations is considered as an original approach providing an opportunity to identify the main trends of the historical development of the science of society: long-term coexistence of contradictory concepts, the prevalence of complex circuits of succession over cumulative accumulation of knowledge, and strengthening of the interdisciplinary component. This approach also allows the prospects for the development of sociology to be outlined, but there are some doubts expressed in the review concerning the possibility of transitioning from the expansion of the field of interdisciplinary research to the process of general integration of scientific disciplines. In conclusion, the contribution of this book – described from a point of promoting the theory of sociology and the "sociology of sociology" – is emphasized.

Keywords

• sociology
• the dynamics of society
• the dynamics of culture
• metaparadigm
• concepts
• monograph