Some ideas on methodological aspects of the research of values in sociology

The article examines different ways of studying values, which gives an opportunity to broaden the horizons of the dominating empirical quantitative approach in modern Russian sociology to the study of this problem. A holistic approach to the study of values in the context of post non-classical science, focusing on the methodology of K. Wilber, is formulated. There are only a few publications by other authors in the area of post non-classical science which demonstrate that there is a gap that needs to be filled focusing on the topic under study. The fact that the most widespread types of rationality in the modern science are classical and non-classical ones also determines the specifics of the study of value consciousness. In such studies an individual is implicitly viewed as a "product" of the social and economic system, where the system is a primary determinant of other factors. Also, on the basis of the analysis of such studies, one can make a conclusion that values (or "value orientations") are regarded as some sort of external objects that, like physical characteristics, can be identified and measured mostly with the help of the closed type of questions in a questionnaire. Most often quantitative research is conducted which, as it is known, provides average statistical knowledge about the studied phenomena and does not give an opportunity to study the inner world of an individual in its depth and wholeness. Also, values are usually understood as evaluations of certain facts by respondents. The article aims at proving that a more holistic picture of the studied phenomena can be provided also by qualitative research, as well as interdisciplinary and integral studies. Positive aspects and resources of philosophical and psychological knowledge that can enrich the study of values are also discussed. The integral approach of K. Wilber is also analyzed. Wilber's model makes it possible to classify the existing approaches to the study of values and to determine more clearly their limitations. It also helps to avoid social and economic reductionism, empiricism, and to study values at a higher level of abstraction and synthesizing. The use of Wilber's methodology can be viewed as a novelty in the area of sociological research as it is mostly unknown among Russian sociologists (in contrast to psychologists).

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