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

Abstract

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.