Popov E.A. Risks of the modern Russian sociology: margin of error in science or in the style of social thinking of sociologists?

Abstract: This article is dedicated to the examination of possible risks in development of the modern Russian sociology. Focus is made on the analysis of situations associated with the risks that are substantiated by the specificity of scientific development as a whole, and sociology in particular. Among these risks are the following: the dilution of the scientific status, flaws in the research culture, substitution of the very principles of scientificity, tip in the balance towards scientific technologies, and others. The attention is also given to the risks of the pseudoscientific character, for example the politicization of sociology or economism of the research results. The author poses a question on the correlation between the appearance of the stated risks and the emergence of the sociological margin of error in conduction of certain applied researches or occurrence of the flaws in the style of social thinking of sociologists. The main conclusions consist in the following statements: consideration of the detected risks for the development of sociology can affect preservation of values of such science as sociology; the peculiarities of manipulation of these applied researches, the low professional culture of sociologists, and their separation from the professional community can be attributed to such risks.

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