Society is one huge group of people who can be united by common moral principles, attitude towards the world and themselves. In such a group, always one system values and worldviews, the same political and aesthetic views. They have one common territory with a certain political foundation, economic directions and organizational moments.
Key concepts of society
The concept of society includes various areas: political, analytical, ethnic, moral and philosophical. Too many components and categories exist relative to this definition.
A special feature of any society is the observance of the whole Talmud of the most different rules, duties, requirements. If a member of society does not want to adhere to the foundations of his social group, he is faced not only with condemnation and a negative attitude towards himself, but can also receive serious punishment from the supreme authority and the guardians of order.
Historical aspects
People from the earliest times tried to unite in the largest possible groupings. This was due to the fact that there were many dangers for people of antiquity: natural disasters, wild animals, various diseases, the human factor of other communities.
Naturally, the larger the group of people, the more complex the relationship in it. It is difficult to organize a common life. Because of this, the first laws began to form, which were supposed to make the existence of people in society not only safe, but also efficient and enjoyable.
The family is the basis for creating society
When people formed tribal communities with a strict format of rules, they provided themselves with complete security, life in the company of like-minded people, where there is no place for aggression and enmity, theft and betrayal. Many are interested in the question, In fact, this is an association of people who are close in spirit, with a subsequent increase in their number.
The nuances of modern society
Modernity has made significant changes in the structure and psychology of society. Groups of people now interact very differently. This trend is dictated by both complexity and multi-component nature, as well as a completely different base, on the basis of which further relationships develop.
AT modern world society is a set of relationships between people of different moral and intellectual groups, styles and ways of life, different kinship and habitat.
Characteristics of modern social interaction:
1. Members of the community officially reside in the same territory, but at the same time they can quickly and categorically change their location, influencing the structure of their society and changing the nature of new social groups.
2. Various activities in structure and direction are successfully carried out, but in the end everything works for one common goal - to provide society with all the necessary components of a comfortable modern life.
3. Society is not always a fair distribution of the obtained benefits for all its members.
4. Complex distribution job duties and productivity of general labor to achieve the goals of the general direction.
5. Constant change in power structures and the specifics of society.
6. Society is in the process of constant change and complex relationships between people.
7. Fear of retribution and justice.
Apparently, society is a certain environment for the existence of a modern person with its own complexities, constantly emerging dangers and biological patterns. Modern philosophers, analysts, politicians and scientists determine the meaning this concept and its key areas are completely different. But all opinions are unanimous in terms of characterizing the activities of members of society and the distribution of responsibilities between people at different stages.
Basic concepts: society, society, society as a social system, vertical structure of society, social needs, social abilities, social values, social activity, social relations, social institutions, spheres of life of society, ecology, economics, medicine, management, science, pedagogy, art, physical education.
The concept of society as an integral social system
Society is the most complex self-organizing, self-regulating, self-restoring and self-developing system, the vital activity of which is determined by a large number external and internal factors. Many subsystems and elements are included in it, and in any country such a system has its own specifics.
There are many definitions of society in the literature, which can be classified in a certain way, then select the object "society", including in it the general and natural from the object "society", i.e. modeling society into a society.
Let's start with how sociology interprets the concept of "society". E. Durkheim considered society as a supra-individual spiritual reality based on collective ideas. According to M. Weber, society is the interaction of people, which is a product of social, i.e. other people-oriented actions.
The prominent American sociologist T. Parsons defined society as a system of relations between people, the connecting beginning of which are norms and values.
From the point of view of K. Marx, society is a historically developing set of relations between people that develop in the process of their joint activities.
The very concept of "society" in its modern sense appeared quite recently, the term "society" was previously used, although the concept of "social" has been known since ancient times. These concepts need to be specified.
Socium ("society") is the main, largest and most complex, "highest" real subject of the historical process. Intuitively, we all have a fairly good idea of what this word means, and in colloquial speech we can easily use as synonyms the words: "country", "people", "society", "state" - to designate the indicated variety of the human collective.
True, all these terms denote what we need, only in their overlapping, synonymous sense, and in themselves have other, particular meanings (each word has its own separately). In order not to be confused, we will agree to call the type of collective of interest to us by the Latin word "society" accepted in science (the exact equivalent of the Russian "society"),
There are many definitions of society in the scientific literature. For example, in the dictionary of social pedagogy, L. V. Mardakhaev gives the following definition: "Society (from lat. society- common, joint) - a large stable social community, characterized by the unity of the conditions of people's life in some significant respects and, as a result, by the commonality of culture.
In his work "Sociology of the City" L. A. Zelenov sets out a more constructive definition of society, which makes it possible to understand its structure, content and significance for pedagogical science.
In his opinion, society is a collection of people with their needs, abilities, activities, relationships and institutions - this is subject area sociology.
What interests social pedagogy in society? First of all, its pedagogical resources and capabilities, which are significant for solving the problems of human socialization, i.e. pedagogical potential of society in all its temporal manifestations:
- – implementation pedagogical potential of society in the development of personality;
- – development(restoration) of the potential of society in the interests of personal development;
- – study of pedagogical potential of the society, significant for the development of the individual.
What is society? It is clear that this organized group people, functioning as a system, and not just a mechanical collection of individuals. In other words, within a society, people coordinate their actions with each other according to detailed rules. Thus, society is endowed with a certain unity of action, which gives us the right to consider it as a subject of the historical process (of course, simplified). It can be seen that over the boundaries of society, any regular coordination of actions on such general rules is no longer supported: any international alliances easily arise and fall apart, and humanity as a whole has not yet shown any organized unity of action (although, perhaps, it is moving towards this).
Thus, society is the largest set of people in terms of scale, which can be considered as a single subject of historical action(whereas the individual is the smallest of such sets). As a result, we say: England strove for something, "for Rome, something was unacceptable" etc. and we understand each other perfectly, although, of course, we are aware that we strive, achieve, avoid, in a word, carry out goal-setting conscious activity, may in fact, only certain people, and "actions" and "will" of society are in fact the result of the most complex interference of individual human actions and wills.
Calmly applying such simplifications and presenting history as a chain of successive events in the development of society means giving the general outlines of something concrete. In general, all this can be said about any team - from society to football team. Distinctive features of society as a specific (and most important) form of human organization are as follows.
First of all, the coordination and regulation of certain forms of human activity in society is the most comprehensive and relates to the most important aspects of human existence. The society regulates family ties, personal security, opportunities for enrichment and growth of power and influence, the need for sacrifices on the part of its members; in human collectives at all other levels of organization, much more limited and less material aspects human life.
Secondly, membership in the society is hereditary, normally servile and indissoluble by the mere desire of the given person. You can leave a chess club or a party of your own free will without any restrictions, but not society.
Thirdly, due to the first two factors, the members of the society turn out to be psychologically “their own” for each other, they experience affection, closeness and solidarity for each other immeasurably greater than the “average” closeness between people, as if calculated without taking into account the boundaries of societies. The boundary of one's own society is the main boundary of "ours" and "theirs" in the world for the vast majority of people.
On what does the unity of society rest, or, in other words, what is main social factor? The easiest way is to say that this is a single power common to all members of society, and to define "society" simply as a collection of people. However, such a definition will be necessary, but clearly insufficient. Because, for example, the territory of the occupying power and the countries occupied by it are subject to a common authority, neither they themselves nor an outside observer will consider them parts of one society. In 1942, no one would have thought to classify the Poles and Belarusians as members of the Greater German society on the grounds that they were subject to the same authority as the Germans. In fact the socio-forming factor is the mutual obligations of the people who make up the society – commitments aimed at improving the chances of survival for each of them. These obligations operate precisely and only within the boundaries of society.
Any society dooms some of its members to military deprivation and death in the name of all others; making this kind of sacrifice is considered obligatory, avoiding it is treason. Beyond the boundaries of society, such relations do not arise, and the ruling elite's sacrifice of "their own" to "them" is itself regarded as treacherous irresponsibility. AT this example we are talking about mutual assistance that members of society are obliged to provide to each other in an emergency at the cost of the heaviest personal sacrifices; however, obligatory mutual assistance of a less intense type is already permanent and necessary condition the existence of society. Thus, the first cornerstone of society is the obligation of mutual assistance..
Let us give an example of another kind. In the 80s. of the last century, the Arab countries, conspiring with each other, raised the price of oil. For millions of people around the world, this was a heavy blow: from now on, they had to buy what they needed for more high price. However, in the oil-buying countries, it never occurred to anyone to be offended by the Arabs: their act was considered unpleasant and inconvenient for the West, but completely normal and legitimate in itself. But hardly anyone would be indignant if the oil-buying countries put pressure on the Arabs, up to the military, to lower the price again (this, by the way, partially happened). Now imagine a deputy of the State Duma Russian Federation from, say, Yaroslavl region who will offer to charge from Far East a triple tribute for energy supplies under the threat of a blockade: the residents there will still have no way out, and the west-central regions of the country will receive more gold and fish. It is quite obvious that such a proposal will not pass (yet) even in the State Duma of the Russian Federation. Thus, what is considered quite acceptable to do in the struggle for one's interests across the boundaries of society is perceived as the nonsense of a madman and is immediately extinguished in conflicts within these boundaries. The Romans formulated it very precisely: "What is criminal for a private person, then society is allowed."
In general, the natural solution to the antagonistic conflict of interests between different societies will historically be war, and in any case, in their actions towards each other, they will be guided only by their own interests. If the same conflict happens between members of the same society, it will be localized and resolved according to certain rules, and the actions of the parties will be strictly limited, and they will have to take into account the interests of each other in a certain way and not encroach on certain positions of the enemy; otherwise, their common power will fall upon them with heavy punishment.
In this case, it is about mutual obligations of non-aggression, which are the second cornerstone of any society.
It is the organization and guarantees of the fulfillment of these obligations that the unified power of society serves. Without such power, they become an empty sound: there will be no one and nothing to provide mutual assistance and mutual non-aggression of members of society. However, if any general power does not set itself the goal of ensuring such relations between subjects subject to it, it does not form a society. That is why it would never have occurred to anyone to count the citizens of Germany and Belarusians in 1942 as "their" for each other, members of the same society.
So, the largest subject of the historical process, possessing the unity of actions, is society (society) - a group of people that continues and reproduces itself in time, "their own" for each other, i.e. hereditarily obliged to each other by non-aggression (regulated and limited resolution of conflicts) and uncompensated mutual assistance (emergency in various forms and permanent in the form of taxes and duties), guaranteed and organized by the unified power of society. Society is a "field" of mutual hereditary oath of mutual assistance and non-aggression.
Thus, it is the society that ensures the satisfaction of the fundamental desires of a person, his needs for security and help in case of need. In other words, the society does for its adult member what the family does for the child, which is where the standard for almost any culture comparison of one's society with a mother or father comes from.
(from Latin socium - general; Eng. socium; German sozium; French socium) - social reality, the object of sociology as a science; society viewed from the perspective of general forms of human influence. In science, there is no unambiguous solution to the question of the relationship between the concepts of "society" and "society". Some sociologists identify these concepts, others believe that the concept of "society" is broader than the concept of "society", others see in "society" only a separate property of the public. But at the same time, it is generally recognized that the content of the concept of "society" includes social ties and relationships, social actions, interactions and relationships, individuals and their associations, social institutions and organizations, culture, social values and norms, social regulation. Society is a large stable social community, characterized by the unity of the conditions of people's life in some significant respects and, as a result, by the commonality of culture, the space for the interaction of social communities. Society is an organized group of people functioning as a system. Within society, people coordinate their actions with each other according to certain rules. Thus, the society is endowed with a certain unity of action, and beyond its borders, any regular coordination of actions according to such general rules is no longer carried out. Thus, society is the largest set of people in terms of scale, which can be considered as a single subject of historical action. In fact, only individual people can carry out goal-setting conscious activity, and the “actions” and “will” of society are the result of the most complex interference of individual human actions and will. We have the right to represent history as a process of interaction between individual societies only because in society the mentioned interference occurs according to predictable, uniform and general rules. The overall result here is not just an objective resultant game of individual forces and will, but the result of their conscious, constant and regulated mutual agreement. The distinctive features of society as a certain form of human organization are as follows. Firstly, the coordination and regulation of certain forms of human activity in society is the most comprehensive and concerns the most important aspects of human existence. The society regulates family ties, personal security, opportunities for enrichment and growth of power and influence, the need for sacrifices on the part of its members; in human collectives of all other levels of organization, much more limited and less essential aspects of human life are subject to regulation. Secondly, membership in society is hereditary. You can leave a chess club or a party of your own free will without any restrictions, but not society. Thirdly, due to the first two factors, the members of the society turn out to be psychologically “their own” for each other, they experience affection, closeness and solidarity for each other immeasurably greater than the “average” closeness between people, as if calculated without taking into account the boundaries of society. The boundary of one's own society is the main boundary of "one's own" and "alien" in the world for the vast majority of people. On what does the unity of society rest, what is the main socio-forming factor? The easiest way is to say that this is a single power common to all members of society, and to define "society" simply as a collection of people. However, such a definition is clearly insufficient. From the fact, for example, that the territory of the occupying power and the countries occupied by it are subject to common authority, neither they themselves nor an outside observer will consider them parts of one society. In fact, the socio-forming factor is the mutual obligations of the people who make up the society - obligations aimed at improving the chances of survival of each of them. These obligations operate precisely and only within the boundaries of society. Any society dooms some of its members to military deprivation and death in the name of all others; making this kind of sacrifice is considered obligatory, avoiding it is treason. Beyond the boundaries of society, such relations do not arise, and the ruling elite’s sacrifice of “their own” to “them” is itself regarded as treacherous irresponsibility. We are talking about mutual assistance that members of society are obliged to provide to each other in an emergency at the cost of the heaviest personal sacrifices; however, obligatory mutual assistance of a less intense type is already a constant and necessary condition for the existence of society. Thus, the first cornerstone of society is the obligation of mutual assistance. If a conflict occurs between members of the same society, it will be localized and resolved according to certain rules, and the actions of the parties will be strictly limited, and the parties will have to take into account the interests of each other in a certain way, otherwise their common power will fall upon them with heavy punishment. In this case, we are talking about mutual obligations of non-aggression, which constitute the second cornerstone of any society. The organization and guarantee of the fulfillment of these obligations is the unified power of society. Without such power, there will be no one and nothing to provide mutual assistance and mutual non-aggression of members of society. Society, thus, is a "field" of mutual hereditary oath of mutual assistance and non-aggression. Thus, it is the society that ensures the satisfaction of the fundamental desires of a person, his needs for security and assistance in case of need. The main psychological paradox of society lies in the fact that society, in essence, acting as a structure that gives and is even perceived as such, is directly felt by the individual as a force, mainly taking. The blessings of society are like air: in their absence, one suffocates, but one does not feel their presence. With restrictions and sacrifices, which constitute the inevitable contribution that every member of society pays for these benefits, the situation is exactly the opposite. In general, humanity has developed two models for resolving this paradox. Within the framework of the first one, society exacts from the individual according to the openly declared rule “the debt is red in payment”. An individual must sacrifice various goods in favor of society only because he owes his very survival and the possibility of acquiring these goods to this society. Such a model softens the conflict of personal and social principles, since it relies solely on the initial “merits” of society to the given person himself, that is, firstly, it puts the personality at the forefront, and, secondly, makes the society itself a personal value. On the other hand, members of society react extremely sharply to situations in which the sacrifices required of them seem (or actually are) disproportionate to the previous “merits” and the future acquisitions of society. Such an approach to business sometimes turns out to be inconvenient from the point of view of the future of the entire society and always - for its ruling elite. The second model is based on the fact that a sacrifice for the benefit of society is proclaimed a blessing in itself. This approach opens up great opportunities for society to quickly mobilize in any emergency (and even ordinary) situation. On the other hand, it contradicts a whole range of basic personal and social instincts of a person, and it is possible to put it into practice only in conditions of irrationalization. public consciousness and increased emotional tension.
Society? In everyday life, this term is often used as a synonym for the words "people", "country", "state". However, they all denote what we need, only in a synonymous sense. Each of them has other, particular meanings.
Socium is a Latin word for a certain type of community. In Russian, its exact equivalent is the word "society". His life is built around the conduct of a single economic activity starting from prehistoric times. In historical times, the obligatory payment of taxes and the fulfillment of duties were also added to this. In turn, society, represented by the state, provides assistance in the form of subsidies to support the economy of individual lands (regions).
Society is the most complex and largest subject. It is not just a collection of people, but their organized group. Within society, people coordinate their actions and coordinate them according to certain rules. That is, society is endowed with unity of action, which will allow it to be considered as an independent subject. historical development.
What is society for individuals? AT this aspect several main features of this association of individuals can be distinguished. Distinctive features society are as follows. First of all, the fact that the regulation of any form of human activity in it takes place on a comprehensive scale and concerns the most important aspects of human existence. Society is a system that regulates family ties, security, the possibility of enrichment and strengthening the power of individuals.
Belonging to it is a hereditary property: its individual members are interconnected and cannot dissolve this established unity only at the request of a particular person. It, for example, cannot be left like a party or a sports club.
Members of society are psychologically “their own” for each other, they feel solidarity, spiritual closeness and affection, which in this sense is much stronger than the “average” closeness between people.
What is the unity that characterizes society based on? The definition of this concept is based on the fact that the main socio-forming factor is a single power, which rests on voluntary and mutual obligations aimed at improving the living conditions of each of its members. In order to achieve this goal, society often sacrifices some of its representatives (people who die while defending their country during hostilities). That is, in emergency situations, people are ready to make personal sacrifices in order to help others.
Today, simple (single-level) societies are more common, in which all members are covered by one "social contract". In the Middle Ages and ancient world more common were composite societies, which included different groups, within which their own social obligations operated (unions of tribes, clan societies). Today, analogues of complex archaic societies have been preserved in the form of federations and confederations, in which sovereignty does not manage the affairs of individual subjects directly, but acts only through their representatives.
So, society is the largest subject of the historical process, which has a unity of action. It is capable of reproduction and continuation of itself in the form of a team of people who are “their own” for each other in the spiritual and economic sense. Members of the same society are hereditarily obliged to each other by military non-aggression (limiting the resolution contentious issues and conflicts) and mutual assistance, which is guaranteed by a single organized authority. All this makes it possible to meet the basic desires of people and their need for security.
The concept of society
Definition 1
society- this is a special kind of reality, different from natural or technical and involving predominantly rational interaction between people, as a rule, united in social groups and communities.
Society and social philosophy
Society is the object of socio-philosophical study. The object of socio-philosophical study is social reality taken in its entirety. The subject of social philosophy is the basic patterns of social life, taken in its static (existence of society) and dynamic (development of society) aspects. The basic methods of social philosophy are logical and historical.
The first method involves the conceptual understanding of one or another fragment of social reality, which involves referring to various already existing theories and concepts, comparing them and formulating one's own judgments regarding the subject under study, its essence, functions, relationships with the environment, basic qualities, etc.
The second method focuses on the reconstruction of the course of development of the object under study in the context of an integral sociohistorical process. At the same time, the current state of the object is considered as a natural result of its development. All this determines the main problem of social philosophy - the question of what society is, or, what is the same thing, what is its nature (foundations) and the laws of existence and development.
Characteristics of society
There are five main features that characterize the society.
Self-regulation of society. The social system is characterized by constant adjustment of activity, taking into account the reverse influence environment. At each new stage human activity, during which social relations change, previous efforts to modify their own structure are taken into account. The means of self-regulation of the social system are spontaneous mechanisms for the reproduction and development of its structure, as well as conscious and planned management.
Openness of society. The interaction of society and the environment (nature) consists in such forms of exchange as information, energy, material, etc., and between different societies it is realized through the purposeful activity of people, during which the natural and social environment and material and spiritual culture is formed. The openness of society consists in creating and maintaining conditions favorable for the life of people, as well as for the development of joint activities and much more.
Information content of society. Human activity is based on information processes, and a number of its types are unthinkable without relying on social information, which makes it possible for each generation to rely on the experience of their ancestors, timely diagnosis of the existing state of social contradictions, and forecasting future differences. To expand these tasks, the subjects of social management rely on targeted and comprehensive programs.
Indeterminacy. Social development is characterized by the fact that the subsequent states of society depend on the previous ones. The formed social institutions and value-normative complexes influence the life of future generations. There is no fatal determination in the social system. The objective regularities characteristic of society predetermine only the general vector of social change, while the determination of their specific forms, methods, and rates depends rather on specific conditions.
Hierarchy. Society is a multifaceted system that combines different levels and links.
