De begrippen structuur en relatie in de sociologie: een inleidende beschouwing

The concepts of structure and relation, in sociology. An inquiry into the idea of structure in sociology tells us that this concept is applied in two meanings, which are to be clearly distinguished: 1st In the sense of a statistical idea of structure (differential frequency); 2nd as a definition for various stratifications. This second idea of structure was practically exclusively based upon a linear relation of order. The one-sided application of this term and the intricacy of society make us look out for other forms of relations. The equivalential relation, the total linear relation of order, the total cyclical relation of order, and the partial relation of order are reviewed here. Over and above this the possibility of tracing the forms of relations, present in society, in an empirical way, with the aid of the matrix method, is given serious consideration.