Theoretical synthesis in sociology: historical, methodological and typological aspects

The article presents the results of developing the problems of history, methodology, and typology of theoretical synthesis in sociology based on a review and analysis of its various interpretations. The authors observed a change in the nature of the reflection on the practice of this immanent method of theorizing in the theoretical discourse of sociology. During the twentieth century, there was a transition from a predominantly implicit to an explicit and declarative application of theoretical synthesis in sociology. The excessive hopes of sociologists for the general integration, unification, and cumulation of sociological theorizing through synthesis have given way to disappointment with the results obtained. Subsequently, sociologists demonstrate the application of the theoretical synthesis method for the implementation of more modest scientific projects. Along with attempts at general theoretical synthesis, there are more and more attempts at specialized theoretical synthesis to solve practical problems. Such differentiation of theoretical synthesis can be considered as a certain typology of it according to its subject scope. The strategies of positivist synthesis are hypothetically differentiated into its early positivist (O. Comte), instrumental-positivist (W. Wallace, J. Turner, etc.) and post-positivist (T. Fararo, J. Skvorets) versions (however, this assumption requires a separate, deeper development).