Society is one huge group of people who can be united by common moral principles, attitudes towards the world and themselves. In such a group there is always a single system of values and worldviews, the same political and aesthetic views. They have one common territory with a certain political foundation, economic directions and organizational issues.
Key concepts of society
The concept of society includes various directions: political, analytical, ethnic, moral and philosophical. There are too many components and categories relative to this definition.
A special feature of any society is the observance of an entire Talmud of various rules, duties, and requirements. If a member of society does not want to adhere to the principles 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 authorities and guardians of order.
Historical aspects
From the earliest times, people tried to unite into groups as large as possible. This was due to the fact that there were many dangers for ancient people: natural disasters, wild animals, various diseases, the human factor of other communities.
Naturally, the larger the group of people, the more complex the relationships within 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 effective and enjoyable.
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 hostility, theft and betrayal. Many people are interested in the question: Essentially, this is the unification of like-minded people, with a subsequent increase in their numbers.
Nuances of modern society
Modernity has brought significant changes to the structure and psychology of society. Groups of people interact very differently now. This trend is dictated both by complexity and complexity, and by a completely different base, on the basis of which further relationships develop.
IN modern world society is the totality of relationships between people of different moral and intellectual groups, styles and ways of life, various kinship affiliations and areas of habitat.
Characteristics of modern social interaction:
1. Community members officially live in the same territory, but at the same time they can quickly and categorically change their location, thereby influencing the structure of their society and changing the nature of new social groups.
2. Activities of different structure and direction are successfully carried out, but in the end everything works towards 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 obtained benefits for all its members.
4. Complex distribution labor responsibilities and productivity of general labor to achieve the goals of the general direction.
5. Constant changes in power structures and the specifics of society.
6. Society is in a 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 modern man with its own difficulties, constantly emerging dangers and biological patterns. Modern philosophers, analysts, politicians and scientists define the meaning of this concept and its key directions in completely different ways. 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 activities, social relations, social institutions, spheres of society, ecology, economics, medicine, management, science, pedagogy, art, physical education.
The concept of society as an integral social system
Society is a complex self-organizing, self-regulating, self-restoring and self-developing system, the functioning of which is determined by a large number of external and internal factors. Many subsystems and elements are included in it, and in any country such a system has its own specifics.
In the literature, there are many definitions of society that can be classified in a certain way, then the object “society” can be distinguished, including the general and natural from the object “society”, i.e. modeling society into society.
Let's start with how sociology interprets the concept of "society". E. Durkheim viewed 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. actions oriented towards other people.
Large American sociologist T. Parsons defined society as a system of relations between people, the connecting principle of which is 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 understanding appeared quite recently; the term “society” was previously used, although the understanding of “social” has been known since ancient times. It is necessary to specify these concepts.
Society (“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 colloquial speech We easily use the words “country”, “people”, “society”, “state” as synonyms - to denote the specified type of human collective.
True, all these terms mean what we need only in their overlapping, synonymous sense, and they themselves also have other, private meanings (each word has its own). In order not to get confused, we will agree to call the type of collective that interests us with 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) is a large stable social community, characterized by the unity of people’s living conditions in some significant respects and, as a result, by a common culture.”
In his work “Sociology of the City,” L. A. Zelenov sets out a more constructive definition of society, which allows us 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 problems of human socialization, i.e. pedagogical potential of society in all its temporary manifestations:
- – implementation the pedagogical potential of society in the development of personality;
- – development(restoration) of the potential of society in the interests of personal development;
- – studying pedagogical potential of society, significant for personal development.
What is society?? It is clear that this is an organized group of 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, in a simplified manner). It can be noted that beyond the boundaries of society there is any regular coordination of actions on such general rules is no longer supported: any international unions easily arise and fall apart, and humanity as a whole has not yet demonstrated any organized unity of action to any degree (although, perhaps, it is moving towards this).
Thus, society is the largest set of people, which can be considered as single subject historical action(while an individual person constitutes the smallest of such sets). As a result we say: " England strove for such and such”, “for Rome such and such was unacceptable” etc. and we understand each other perfectly, although, of course, we are aware of the fact that we strive, achieve, avoid, in a word, carry out goal-setting conscious activity, can in fact, only individual people, and "actions" and "will" of society are in fact the result of the most complex interference of individual human actions and wills.
To calmly apply such simplifications and present history as a chain of successive events in the development of society means to give the general contours of something specific. In general, all this can be said about any team - from society to a football team. Distinctive features society as a specific (and most important) form of human organization are as follows.
Firstly, coordination and regulation of certain forms of human life activity in society are the most comprehensive and relate to the most important aspects of human existence. Society regulates family ties, personal safety, 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 significant aspects of human life are exposed.
Secondly, membership in society is hereditary, normally involuntary and indissoluble at the sole desire of a given person. You can leave a chess club or party of your own free will without any restrictions, but not in society.
Third, Due to the first two factors, members of 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 between “us” and “alien” in the world for the vast majority of people.
What is the unity of society based on, or, in other words, what is the main social-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 will be necessary, but clearly insufficient. Because, for example, the territory of the occupying power and the countries it occupied is subject to a common power, neither they themselves nor an outside observer will consider them parts of the same society. In 1942, no one would have thought of classifying Poles and Belarusians as members of Greater German society on the grounds that they were subject to a common government with the Germans. In fact the social-forming factor is the mutual obligations of the people who make up society – commitments aimed at improving the survival capabilities of each of them. These obligations apply precisely and only within the boundaries of society.
Any society condemns some of its members to military deprivation and death in the name of all others; making this kind of sacrifice is considered obligatory, evading it is considered treason. Beyond the boundaries of society, such relations do not arise, and the ruling elite’s sacrifice of “their own” to “strangers” is itself considered as treacherous irresponsibility. IN in this example we're talking about about the mutual assistance that members of society are obliged to provide to each other in emergency at the cost of the most difficult 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.
Let's give an example of a different kind. In the 80s last century, Arab countries conspired with each other to increase oil prices. For millions of people around the world, this was a heavy blow: from now on they had to buy what they needed at a higher price. However, in 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, even military pressure, so that they lower the price again (which, by the way, partially happened). Now let’s imagine a State Duma deputy Russian Federation from, let's say, Yaroslavl region who will offer to charge Far East a triple tribute for energy supplies under the threat of a blockade: the local residents will still have no way out, and the western-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 State Duma Russian Federation. Thus, what is considered completely acceptable to do in the struggle for one’s interests across the boundaries of society is perceived as the ravings of a madman and is immediately extinguished in the event of conflicts within these boundaries. The Romans formulated this very precisely: “What is criminal for a private individual is permitted to society.”
In general, the natural solution to an antagonistic conflict of interests between different societies historically will be war and, in any case, in their actions relative to each other they will be guided only by their own interests. If the same 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 they will have to take into account each other’s interests 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 we are talking about mutual obligations of non-aggression, which constitute the second cornerstone of any society.
It is the organization and guarantee of the fulfillment of these obligations that serves as the unified power of society. Without such power, they become an empty phrase: there will be no one and nothing to ensure mutual assistance and mutual non-aggression among members of society. However, if any general power does not set itself the goal of ensuring similar relationships It does not form a society between the subjects subject to it. That is why it would never have occurred to anyone to consider German citizens and Belarusians in 1942 “friends” for each other, members of the same society.
So, the largest subject of the historical process, possessing unity of action, is society (society) - a collective 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 society that ensures the satisfaction of a person’s fundamental desires, his needs for security and help in case of need. In other words, society does for its adult member what a family does for a child, which is where the comparison of one’s society with a mother or father, standard for almost any culture, comes from.
Society is one huge group of people who can be united by common moral principles, attitudes towards the world and themselves. In such a group there is always a single system of values and worldviews, the same political and aesthetic views. They have one common territory with a certain political foundation, economic directions and organizational aspects.
Key concepts of society
The concept of society includes various directions: political, analytical, ethnic, moral and philosophical. There are too many components and categories relative to this definition.
A special feature of any society is the observance of an entire Talmud of various rules, duties, and requirements. If a member of society does not want to adhere to the principles 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 authorities and guardians of order.
Historical aspects
From the earliest times, people tried to unite into groups as large as possible. This was due to the fact that there were many dangers for ancient people: natural disasters, wild animals, various diseases, the human factor of other communities.
Naturally, the larger the group of people, the more complex the relationships within 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 effective and enjoyable.
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 hostility, theft and betrayal. Many people are interested in the question: Essentially, this is the unification of like-minded people, with a subsequent increase in their numbers.
Nuances of modern society
Modernity has brought significant changes to the structure and psychology of society. Groups of people interact very differently now. This trend is dictated both by complexity and complexity, and by a completely different base, on the basis of which further relationships develop.
In the modern world, society is a set of relationships between people of different moral and intellectual groups, styles and ways of life, various family affiliations and areas of habitat.
Characteristics of modern social interaction:
1. Community members officially live in the same territory, but at the same time they can quickly and categorically change their location, thereby influencing the structure of their society and changing the nature of new social groups.
2. Activities of different structure and direction are successfully carried out, but in the end everything works towards 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 obtained benefits for all its members.
4. Complex distribution of work responsibilities and overall labor productivity to achieve the goals of the general direction.
5. Constant changes in power structures and the specifics of society.
6. Society is in a 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 modern man with its own difficulties, constantly emerging dangers and biological patterns. Modern philosophers, analysts, politicians and scientists define the meaning of this concept and its key directions in completely different ways. 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.
The concept of society
Definition 1
Society- this is a special type of reality, different from natural or technical and involving predominantly rational interaction between people, usually united in social groups and community.
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 laws 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 conceptual understanding of a particular fragment social reality, which involves turning to various already existing theories and concepts, comparing them and formulating one’s own judgments regarding the subject being studied, its essence, functions, relationships with the environment, basic qualities, etc.
The second method focuses on reconstructing the course of development of the object being studied in the context of an integral sociohistorical process. In this case, 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, what is its nature (foundations) and the laws of existence and development.
Characteristics of society
There are five main features that characterize society.
Self-regulation of society. The social system is characterized by constant adjustment of activity, taking into account the reverse influence environment. Each new stage of human activity, during which social relations change, takes into account previous efforts to modify its own structure. 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 of such forms of exchange as information, energy, material, etc., and between different societies it is realized through the purposeful activities of people, during which the natural and social environment is transformed, and the material and spiritual culture. The openness of society consists in creating and maintaining conditions favorable for people’s livelihoods, 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 its ancestors, timely diagnosis of the existing state of social contradictions, and prediction of future differences. To expand these tasks, subjects of social management rely on targeted and comprehensive programs.
Indeterminacy. Social development is characterized by the fact that subsequent states of society depend on previous ones. Formed social institutions and value-normative complexes influence the lives of future generations. There is no fatal determination in the social system. The objective laws characteristic of society predetermine only the general vector of social changes, and 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.