Математика как инструмент социальных исследований: к новому пониманию социальной реальности

Логос. 2023. Т. 33. № 4. С. 117–145.

Barabashev A. G.

The present conditions of mathematics application in social sciences and in social applied analytics, is explored. The statement was made that mathematics in social sciences and in social analytics is understood as a set of instrumental methods, that help to obtain results, in contradiction to understanding of mathematics as critical doubt (the requirement of rigor as a doubt of methods correctness). In social sciences and analytics the results are obtained, not critically reasoning. Mathematics in social research is understood as useful methods, and not as theories that ensure the rigor of the application of mathematical methods.

The understanding of the object of mathematics that is elaborated in social sciences also is far from classical concepts of philosophy of mathematics: mathematical objects as ideal entities, as formal constructions, as a priory synthetic, does not dominate. It is revealed that under the influence of practice of mathematical methods application in social research, the new image of social reality and of social ontology appears.  Social reality starting to be understood as measured and the social relations as based on social comparability, because the relations are drawn up from the networks of social actors actions that are possessed by quantitatively comparable rights and responsibilities, values, opinions, beliefs, priorities etc. Moreover, some researchers believe that for social phenomena that do not have measurable indicators, social reality has not yet formed, it is still amorphous, not homogeneous, has not acquired properties of stability, resistance to disturbing influences. Finally, the applicability of mathematics in social research is pushing researchers toward belief that social ontology, whether or not it is understood in an essentialist way, or in “flat ontology” construction (Bruno Latour), is presented in quantitative forms.

Keywords: социальные исследования, социальная онтология, социальная реальность, social research, social ontology, философия математики, social reality, philosophy of mathematics, methodology of mathematical applications, mathematical methods in social sciences, методология применения математики, математические методы в социальных науках