The Mentality of the Russian Officer : Challenges of the Twenty-First Century

The CPSU Program states that the party poses the task of assuring the uprooting of all violations of law and order, the elimination of crime, and the removal of all its causes. Socialist society is, as a matter of fact, in a position to resolve this problem. However, it cannot be resolved by legal means alone. The best laws cannot by themselves guarantee the elimination of crime. In societies based on exploitation, war has been waged against crime for centuries and millennia on the basis of legal norms by the use of punishments, and crime continues to exist.     

The Social Ailments of Russian Society as an Object of Sociological Study

Social systems, like biological systems, sometimes manifest dysfunctions that could be considered forms of "social disease." The article explores ills such as bureaucratism and censorship, family breakdown and social confict, and examines how such systemic phenomena differ from individual manifestations.     

The Banality of the Past: A Sociological Perspective on Popular Russian Historical Novels of the 1990s

Abortion has always been a significant form of birth control in Russia, and currently the replacement of abortion by contraceptive devices is proceeding very slowly. The high incidence of abortion in adolescents and women who are pregnant for the first time poses the threat of future infertility and worsening health. Russia still has a high level of maternal mortality; one out of four cases is linked to the consequences of abortion, especially criminal abortion.     

网络文学的社会学价值

随着国际互联网的触点延伸和无远弗届 ,数字化生存方式给予文学的巨大影响已日渐凸显 :文学网站不断涌现 ,网络写手新人辈出 ,网络上发布作品的绝对数量已经远远超出同期发表的纸介印刷文学 ,一批网络作品一次次抢占文坛热点。这样 ,处于边缘化状态的传统文学在迷茫的消费文化市场上尚未缓过神来的时候 ,又不得不面对另一个新的严峻现实 :网页挤占书页、读屏多于读书、纸与笔让位于光与电 ,已成为“蛛网覆盖”时代的一道引人瞩目的文学景观。面对网络文学的风起云涌 ,人们对这匹“文坛黑马”心存疑虑 ,评价不一。有人认为网络文学是数字化技术催生的文学“新星” ,甚至是时下落寞的文学苦旅中升起的一颗文学“救星” ,也有人认为这个“技术的劳什子”只能是加速文学式微的“克星” ,数字媒体所引发的文学变革将会和历史上用纸介印刷替代简牍布帛一样 ,从许多方面改写文学成规 ,乃至打造出全新的文学社会学和艺术美学。其实对网络文学质疑与争论的焦点并不在于网络与文学是否联姻 ,而在于网络文学的价值律能否构成意义的存在 ,使文学更加“文学”。时下许多网络原创文学的稚嫩、粗糙、苍白和良莠不齐 ,人们还难以建立起对它的充分信任 ,而当一种文学仅仅止于传播媒体的改变却无从实现艺术提升和意义重建     

超越启蒙心态

我们要超越启蒙心态 ,批判吸收其内在逻辑 ,从多种精神资源中吸收养料 ,建立一种共同体观。同时要认识到现代化不是一个同质的、西化的过程。儒家思想重视内在超越性 ,主张天人合一 ,具有重要的精神意义和生态价值。     

The Place of Construction in Sociological Realism

In the contemporary epistemological debate on social reality, characterized by the crisis of post‐modern theories and the emergence of new forms of realism, are there any approaches not acknowledging some specific ontological character to the construction of social objects? The question is apparently rhetorical, but the implication of this problem are not obvious. In the sociological literature the opposition between reality and construction is not clearly defined. Sometimes it is considered a dichotomy, in other situations the synthesis of alternative theses in a dialectical horizon. The more systematic attempt considers reality and construction as analytical macro‐dimensions where the relation between social ontology and epistemology operates. From this stance, the acknowledgement of the role of social construction in a wider realist horizon is the true overtaking of postmodern philosophy. If it is true that facts exist beyond representations, it is also true that representations themselves have a specific effect on reality, who continually re‐structures itself around specific relations of emergent power. Stating that reality is socially constructed is an evident limit of postmodern theories. On the other hand, stating that only facts exist constitute an impoverishment of realism and its replacement in neo‐positivism. Social phenomena are real because they are based on specific properties of the inter‐subjective construction of social reality. This thesis represents the revitalization of an advanced, anti‐positivistic realism and the definition of the specificity of social objects. The aim of this essay is to search for a specific place of construction within the development of realist social ontology.     

The Individualism-Holism Problem in Sociological Research

This paper treats the problem of which type of units, individuals or whole societies, should be used when explaining societal phenomena. It is argued that factors operating at the individual level in principle form societies, and that societal phenomena therefore should ideally be explained at this level. However, it is also argued that many societal phenomena cannot in practice be analyzed at the individual level in a clear and strict way, but rather must be analyzed holistically, because it is not known how they are related to individual factors due to the complexity of societies. For societies to be described and analyzed in a clear and strict way, they must as a rule be much simplified, and such simplification is often made easier by abandoning the individualistic perspective. If researchers still wish to describe a connection between individual factors and a societal phenomenon, they often must do so in vague terms. There are also other problems with the individualistic perspective that make it difficult to use. However, using the holistic perspective may be risky, as shown by two hypothetical examples.     

The Life Values of the Russian Population

Based on the results of an international comparison, today's average Russian is characterized by a higher degree of caution (or even fear) and a more pronounced need to be protected by a strong state; and is an individual who has less need for novelty, creativity, freedom, and independence and is less inclined to take risks. At the same time, Russians exhibit a strong sense of self-interest, personal success, and power rather than concern for others, which may be the result of a rapid abandonment of Soviet welfarism. In general, though, data do not show Russians to be uniquely submissive to authority. Magun and Rudnev conclude that the current balance between the values of competitive individualism and solidarity in Russian society is not optimal.     

The Market as an Object of Sociological Investigation

Sociologists often complain that economists produce distorted pictures of the economy and society, and in particular that they exaggerate the role of market relations. The representatives of sociology justly point out that, in addition to the market, other economic structures affect affairs of state and of households. Indeed, the market itself is presented by traditional economists in an excessively abstract manner or one derived from obsolete historical models. However, a sociologist can pose the question differently. Rather than reproaching economists and engaging in merciless criticism of market models, would it not be better for sociology to attempt to work out its own, specifically sociological understanding of what the market is? Especially as one paradox of economic theory is precisely the absence of a substantive theory of the market [1, pp. 342-44]. We might add that in Western economic sociology a new branch, market sociology, is gaining momentum. A number of directions are under development: the sociology of industrial markets [2], the sociology of the labor market [3], the sociology of international markets [4], and so on. This article presents an approach offered by economic sociology to the study of markets in Russia, some of the postulates of which are discussed in [5]. First, let us examine the empirical aspects of the problem.¹     

"施舍行为"的社会学思考

施舍行为是一种助人行为,是中华民族的传统美德.但是随着现代社会的迅速发展,人们却对城市中的各类乞讨者无动于衷,甚至避而远之,这似乎与中国这个礼仪之邦不相符.究竟是什么引起了中国人的心理和行为的变化呢?当我们把目光投向社会,把施舍行为当作一种社会行为来研究时,就会发现社会转型、文化变迁对社会心态、人际关系的改变与施舍行为的变化有着密切的联系.     

社会学浪漫主义探视.

唯善主义倾向、“个人主义”价值观、非功利主义气质、人文主义方法论等,是浪漫主义的一般特征,社会学浪漫主义也具有这些特征。同时,浪漫主义在社会学领域又特殊地表现为秩序型、建构型、女性学、批判型、现代性以及后现代的浪漫主义特征,浪漫主义被社会学化了。社会学浪漫主义的两种机缘态度体现出两种基本取向：情感浪漫主义与理性浪漫主义。浪漫主义社会学的意义不在于它的理论模式,而在于它的现实风格。     

西方情感社会学理论的发展脉络

西方情感社会学理论的历史演进过程可以分为形成、发展和成熟三个阶段。形成时期虽然理性主义占统治地位，但与此同时情感的研究颇有步步为营之势，非理性主义思潮也偶露峥嵘。在情感社会学发展时期，社会危机论、情欲革命论、批判理论、冲突论成为情感研究的主流导向和强势声音；成熟阶段的情感社会学研究朝着学科化和现实化两个方向发展。情感社会学的发展脉络呈现出五大特征（或五大态势）。     

现代性的主题分化与社会学研究范式整合

自1839年孔德提出“社会学”一词以来,社会学作为一门学科已经历了160多年的历史,这段历史既是社会学从萌芽走向成熟的过程,也是社会学不断表露危机并在理论建构中克服危机的过程。时至今日,现实世界的日新月异与社会学理论多元纷呈的局面使得社会学既朝气蓬勃,又范式林立而欠缺统一。社会学究竟应以何种面貌出现的问题,也就成了众多学者所关注的课题。笔者以为,追本溯源,在对社会学的催生婆———现代性的思考中,似乎可以汲取一些对此课题有益的启示。一、范式孕育:元现代性及其主题分化有关现代性问题的提出与讨论是随着现代社会的发展而…     

大陆社工人才流失现象的社会学解读

社会工作人才是现代社会的＂安全阀＂和＂稳定器＂,是促进社会和谐的有力支撑。社工人才大量流失严重影响了社会工作的进一步发展。社会工作专业作为一门新兴的专业,其社会认同度仍然很低。社会工作的职业定位问题不解决,是制约其发展的最大瓶颈。很多社工流向了资本收益较高的行业或职业。