From «Problems» to «Risks»: Evolution of the Conceptual Apparatus of Social Sciences

The paper studies the transformation of the conceptual apparatus of contemporary social sciences, characterized by a shift from a sociallyproblematic to a risk-predictive analysis of social transformations. It is shown that these conceptual and theoretical changes are conditioned by the internal logic of the development of sociology, which has gradually passed over in the analysis of social phenomena from the study of the adverse effects of social changes and the symptoms of social deviations to the causes of socially problematic situations.

Keywords: social problems and deviations, institutional factors, sociocultural determinants, social risks, uncertainty, prediction.