home-Accessories-Summary of a social studies lesson on the topic "Society as a complex dynamic system." Society as a complex dynamic system

Summary of a social studies lesson on the topic "Society as a complex dynamic system." Society as a complex dynamic system

Consequently, man is a universal element of all social systems, since he is necessarily included in each of them.

Like any system, society is an ordered entity. This means that the components of the system are not in chaotic disorder, but, on the contrary, occupy a certain position within the system and are connected in a certain way with other components. Hence. the system has an integrative quality that is inherent in it as a single whole. None of the system components. considered separately, does not possess this quality. It, this quality, is the result of the integration and interconnection of all components of the system. Just like individual human organs (heart, stomach, liver, etc.) do not possess human properties. Likewise, the economy, health care system, state and other elements of society do not have the qualities that are inherent in society as a whole. And only thanks to the diverse connections that exist between the components of the social system, it turns into a single whole. that is, into society (how, thanks to the interaction of various human organs, a single human organism exists).

The connections between subsystems and elements of society can be illustrated with various examples. The study of the distant past of mankind allowed scientists to conclude that. that the moral relations of people in primitive conditions were built on collectivist principles, i.e. That is, in modern language, priority has always been given to the collective rather than to the individual. It is also known that the moral norms that existed among many tribes in those archaic times allowed the killing of weak members of the clan - sick children, old people - and even cannibalism. Have these ideas and views of people about the limits of what is morally permissible been influenced by the real material conditions of their existence? The answer is clear: undoubtedly, they did. The need to collectively obtain material wealth, the doom of a person cut off from his clan to quick death, laid the foundations of collectivist morality. Guided by the same methods of struggle for existence and survival, people did not consider it immoral to free themselves from those who could become a burden to the collective.

Another example could be the connection between legal norms and socio-economic relations. Let us turn to known historical facts. One of the first sets of laws of Kievan Rus, called Russkaya Pravda, provided for various punishments for murder. In this case, the measure of punishment was determined primarily by a person’s place in the system of hierarchical relations, his belonging to one or another social stratum or group. Thus, the fine for killing a tiun (steward) was enormous: it was 80 hryvnia and equal to the cost of 80 oxen or 400 rams. The life of a serf or serf was valued at 5 hryvnia, i.e. 16 times cheaper.

Integral, i.e., common, inherent in the entire system, qualities of any system are not a simple sum of the qualities of its components, but represent a new quality that arose as a result of the interconnection and interaction of its components. In its most general form, this is the quality of society as a social system - the ability to create all the necessary conditions for its existence, to produce everything necessary for the collective life of people. In philosophy, self-sufficiency is considered as the main difference between society and its constituent parts. Just as human organs cannot exist outside the whole organism, so none of the subsystems of society can exist outside the whole - society as a system.

Another feature of society as a system is that this system is self-governing.
The managerial function is performed by the political subsystem, which gives consistency to all components that form the social integrity.

Any system, be it technical (a unit with an automatic control system), or biological (animal), or social (society), is located in a certain environment with which it interacts. The environment of the social system of any country is both nature and the world community. Changes in the state of the natural environment, events in the world community, in the international arena are a kind of “signals” to which society must respond. It usually seeks to either adapt to changes occurring in the environment or adapt the environment to its needs. In other words, the system reacts to “signals” in one way or another. At the same time, it implements its main functions: adaptation; goal achievement, i.e. the ability to maintain its integrity, ensuring the implementation of its tasks, influencing the surrounding natural and social environment; maintaining circulation - the ability to maintain one’s internal structure; integration - the ability to integrate, that is, to include new parts, new social formations (phenomena, processes, etc.) into a single whole.

SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS

The most important component of society as a system are social institutions.

The word “institute” comes from the Latin instituto meaning “establishment”. In Russian it is often used to refer to higher educational institutions. In addition, as you know from the basic school course, in the field of law the word “institution” means a set of legal norms that regulate one social relationship or several relationships related to each other (for example, the institution of marriage).

In sociology, social institutions are historically established stable forms of organizing joint activities, regulated by norms, traditions, customs and aimed at meeting the fundamental needs of society.

We will consider this definition, which it is advisable to return to after reading the entire educational material on this issue, based on the concept of “activity” (see - 1). In the history of society, sustainable types of activities have developed aimed at satisfying the most important needs of life. Sociologists identify five such social needs:

the need for reproduction;
need for security and social order;
need for subsistence;
need for knowledge, socialization
the younger generation, personnel training;
- the need to solve spiritual problems of the meaning of life.

In accordance with the above-mentioned needs, types of activities have developed in society, which, in turn, required the necessary organization, streamlining, the creation of certain institutions and other structures, and the development of rules to ensure the achievement of the expected result. These conditions for the successful implementation of the main types of activities were met by historically established social institutions:

institution of family and marriage;
- political institutions, especially the state;
- economic institutions, primarily production;
- institutes of education, science and culture;
- Institute of Religion.

Each of these institutions brings together large masses of people to satisfy a particular need and achieve a specific goal of a personal, group or social nature.

The emergence of social institutions led to the consolidation of specific types of interaction, making them permanent and mandatory for all members of a given society.

So, a social institution is, first of all, a set of persons engaged in a certain type of activity and ensuring, in the process of this activity, the satisfaction of a certain need that is significant for society (for example, all employees of the education system).

Further, the institution is secured by a system of legal and moral norms, traditions and customs that regulate the corresponding types of behavior. (Remember, for example, what social norms regulate the behavior of people in the family).

Another characteristic feature of a social institution is the presence of institutions equipped with certain material resources necessary for any type of activity. (Think about what social institutions the school, factory, and police belong to. Give your own examples of institutions and organizations that relate to each of the most important social institutions.)

Any of these institutions is integrated into the socio-political, legal, value structure of society, which makes it possible to legitimize the activities of this institution and exercise control over it.

A social institution stabilizes social relations and brings consistency into the actions of members of society. A social institution is characterized by a clear delineation of the functions of each of the subjects of interaction, consistency of their actions, and a high level of regulation and control. (Think about how these features of a social institution manifest themselves in the education system, particularly in school.)

Let us consider the main features of a social institution using the example of such an important institution of society as the family. First of all, every family is a small group of people based on intimacy and emotional attachment, connected by marriage (spouses) and consanguinity (parents and children). The need to create a family is one of the fundamental, i.e. fundamental, human needs. At the same time, the family performs important functions in society: the birth and upbringing of children, economic support for minors and the disabled, and much more. Each family member occupies a special position in it, which presupposes appropriate behavior: parents (or one of them) provide a livelihood, manage household chores, and raise children. The children, in turn, study and help around the house. This behavior is regulated not only by family rules, but also by social norms: morality and law. Thus, public morality condemns the lack of care of older family members for younger ones. The law establishes the responsibilities and obligations of spouses towards each other, towards children, and adult children towards elderly parents. The creation of a family and the main milestones of family life are accompanied by established traditions and rituals in society. For example, in many countries, marriage rituals include the exchange of wedding rings between spouses.

The presence of social institutions makes people's behavior more predictable and society as a whole more stable.

In addition to the main social institutions, there are also non-main ones. So, if the main political institution is the state, then the non-main ones are the institution of the judiciary or, as in our country, the institution of presidential representatives in the regions, etc.

The presence of social institutions reliably ensures regular, self-renewing satisfaction of vital needs. A social institution makes connections between people not random or chaotic, but constant, reliable, and sustainable. Institutional interaction is a well-established order of social life in the main spheres of people's lives. The more social needs are satisfied by social institutions, the more developed the society is.

As new needs and conditions arise in the course of the historical process, new types of activities and corresponding connections appear. Society is interested in giving them order and a normative character, that is, in their institutionalization.

In Russia, as a result of reforms at the end of the twentieth century. For example, such a type of activity as entrepreneurship appeared. The streamlining of this activity led to the emergence of various types of firms, required the publication of laws regulating business activities, and contributed to the formation of corresponding traditions.

In the political life of our country, the institutions of parliamentarism, a multi-party system, and the institution of the presidency arose. The principles and rules of their functioning are enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation and relevant laws.

In the same way, the institutionalization of other types of activities that have arisen in recent decades has occurred.

It happens that the development of society requires the modernization of the activities of social institutions that historically developed in previous periods. Thus, in the changed conditions, it became necessary to solve the problems of introducing the younger generation to the culture in a new way. Hence the steps taken to modernize the institution of education, as a result of which the institutionalization of the Unified State Exam and new content of educational programs may occur.

So we can go back to the definition given at the beginning of this part of the paragraph. Think about what characterizes social institutions as highly organized systems. Why is their structure stable? What is the significance of deep integration of their elements? What is the diversity, flexibility, and dynamism of their functions?

PRACTICAL CONCLUSIONS

1 Society is a highly complex system, and in order to live in harmony with it, it is necessary to adapt (adapt) to it. Otherwise, you cannot avoid conflicts and failures in your life and activities. A condition for adaptation to modern society is knowledge about it, which is provided by a social studies course.

2 It is possible to understand society only if its quality is identified as an integral system. To do this, it is necessary to consider various sections of the structure of society (the main spheres of human activity; a set of social institutions, social groups), systematizing, integrating connections between them, features of the management process in a self-governing social system.

3 In real life you will have to interact with various social institutions. To make this interaction successful, you need to know the goals and nature of the activity that has taken shape in the social institution you are interested in. Studying the legal norms governing this type of activity will help you with this.

4 in subsequent sections of the course, characterizing individual spheres of human activity, it is useful to revisit the content of this paragraph in order, based on it, to consider each sphere as part of an integral system. This will help to understand the role and place of each sphere, each social institution in the development of society.

Document

From the work of the modern American sociologist E. Shils “Society and societies: a macrosociological approach.”

What is included in societies? As has already been said, the most differentiated of them consist not only of families and kinship groups, but also of associations, unions, firms and farms, schools and universities, armies, churches and sects, parties and numerous other corporate bodies or organizations which, in in turn, have boundaries defining the circle of members over which the appropriate corporate authorities - parents, managers, chairmen, etc., etc. - exercise a certain measure of control. This also includes systems formally and informally organized on a territorial basis - communities, villages, districts, cities, districts - and they all also have some features of society. Further, it includes unorganized collections of people within society - social classes or strata, occupations and professions, religions, linguistic groups - who have a culture inherent more to those who have a certain status or occupy a certain position than to everyone else.

So, we are convinced that society is not just a collection of united people, primordial and cultural groups interacting and exchanging services with each other. All these groups form a society by virtue of their existence under a common authority, which exercises its control over the territory delineated by borders, maintains and inculcates a more or less common culture. It is these factors that transform a collection of relatively specialized initial corporate and cultural groups into a society.

Questions and tasks for the document

1. What components, according to E. Shils, are included in society? Indicate which areas of society each of them belongs to.
2. Select from the listed components those that are social institutions.
3. Based on the text, prove that the author views society as a social system.

SELF-TEST QUESTIONS

1. What does the concept of “system” mean?
2. How do social (public) systems differ from natural ones?
3. What is the main quality of society as an integral system?
4. What are the connections and relationships of society as a system with the environment?
5. What is a social institution?
6. Characterize the main social institutions.
7. What are the main features of a social institution?
8. What is the significance of institutionalization?

TASKS

1. Using a systems approach, analyze Russian society at the beginning of the twentieth century.
2. Describe all the main features of a social institution using the example of an educational institution. Use the material and recommendations for the practical conclusions of this paragraph.
3. The collective work of Russian sociologists states: “...society exists and functions in diverse forms... The really important question comes down to ensuring that society itself is not lost behind the special forms, or the forests behind the trees.” How does this statement relate to the understanding of society as a system? Give reasons for your answer.

Section "Society". Topic No. 1

Society as a social system

Society- a part of the world isolated from nature, but closely connected with it, which includes ways of interaction between people and forms of their unification.

In a narrower sense, society:

– historical stage of development of society (ancient society);

- a collection of people united by a common territory

(Russian society, European society);

- a circle of people united by a common origin (noble society), interests and activities (society of book lovers).

A country- a part of the world or territory that has certain boundaries and enjoys state sovereignty.

State- the central political organization of a given country, possessing supreme power.

System is a single whole consisting of interconnected elements, where each element performs its own function.

Society represents a single social system consisting of people, social groups, social institutions and social (public) relations. Also, as elements of society we can distinguish subsystems(spheres) of society:

– economic (production, distribution, exchange, consumption of material goods);

– social (interaction of social groups, layers, classes, nations;



as well as the activities of the social infrastructure of society);

– political (forms of state, state power, law and order, laws, security);

– spiritual (science, education, art, morality, religion).

A person enters society through a collective, being a member of several social groups: family, school class, sports team, work collective. A person is also part of larger communities of people: class, nation, country.

Public relations(social relations) - diverse connections that arise between people, social groups, classes, nations, as well as within them, in the process of life of society. Social relations arise in the economic, social, political, and spiritual life of society.

Public relations include:

a) subjects (individuals, social groups, social communities);

b) objects (material, spiritual);

Society as a dynamic system

Society is a dynamic system; it is constantly evolving.

1. Changing society can be traced in the following aspects:

– the stage of development of society as a whole is changing

(agrarian, industrial, post-industrial),

– changes occur in certain areas of society,

– social institutions are changing (family, army, education),

– some elements of society die out (serfs, feudal lords), other elements of society appear (new professional groups),

– social relations between elements of society change

(between state and church).

2. The nature of the development of society can be different:

Evolution– a slow, gradual, natural process of development.

Revolution– a radical, qualitative, rapid, violent change in the social system.

Reform- partial improvement in any area of ​​social life, a series of gradual transformations that do not affect the foundations of the existing social system. The reform is carried out by government agencies. Modernization– significant update, change in accordance with modern requirements.

3. Directions of development of society:

Progress– the process of change from simple to complex, from lower to higher. Regression– the process of change from higher to lower, the process of degradation and collapse of the system, a return to obsolete forms.

Progress is an ambiguous social phenomenon, because it has a side effect: the “other side of the coin” or “cost” of progress.

The founders of the theory of progress in the 18th century (Montesquieu, Condorcet, Turgot, Comte, Spencer) believed that the main engine of progress was the human mind. They believed that with the development of science and education, society would be progressive, social injustice would be eliminated and a “kingdom of harmony” would be established. Today, faith in progress is undermined by global problems.

What is the criterion of progress?

The most important goal of all social development is man and his comprehensive development. A society in which conditions have been created for the harmonious development of the individual can be considered progressive. Based on the idea of ​​humanism, progressive is what is done for the benefit of man. The following indicators of progressive development of society are put forward as humanistic criteria: average life expectancy, mortality rate, level of education and culture, sense of satisfaction with life, degree of respect for human rights, attitude towards nature.

In philosophy, society is defined as a “dynamic system.” The word “system” is translated from Greek as “a whole made up of parts.” Society as a dynamic system includes parts, elements, subsystems that interact with each other, as well as connections and relationships between them. It changes, develops, new parts or subsystems appear and old ones disappear, they are modified, acquiring new forms and qualities.

Society as a dynamic system has a complex multi-level structure and includes a large number of levels, sublevels, and elements. For example, human society on a global scale includes many societies in the form of different states, which in turn consist of various social groups, and humans are included in them.

Consists of four subsystems that are fundamental to man - political, economic, social and spiritual. Each sphere has its own structure and is itself a complex system. For example, it is a system that includes a huge number of components - parties, government, parliament, public organizations and more. But government can also be viewed as a system with many components.

Each is a subsystem in relation to the whole society, but at the same time it is itself a rather complex system. Thus, we already have a hierarchy of the systems and subsystems themselves, that is, in other words, society is a complex system of systems, a kind of supersystem or, as they sometimes say, a metasystem.

Society as a complex dynamic system is characterized by the presence in its composition of various elements, both material (buildings, technical systems, institutions, organizations) and ideal (ideas, values, customs, traditions, mentality). For example, the economic subsystem includes organizations, banks, transport, produced goods and services and, at the same time, economic knowledge, laws, values, and more.

Society as a dynamic system contains a special element, which is its main, system-forming element. This is a person who has free will, the ability to set a goal and choose the means to achieve this goal, which makes social systems more mobile and dynamic than, say, natural ones.

The life of society is constantly in a state of flux. The pace, scale and quality of these changes may vary; There was a time in the history of human development when the established order of things did not change fundamentally for centuries, however, over time, the pace of change began to increase. Compared to natural systems in human society, qualitative and quantitative changes occur much faster, which suggests that society is constantly changing and developing.

Society, like any system, is an ordered integrity. This means that the elements of the system are located within it in a certain position and, to one degree or another, are connected with other elements. Consequently, society as an integral dynamic system has a certain quality that characterizes it as a single whole, having a property that none of its elements has. This property is sometimes called the non-additivity of the system.

Society as a dynamic system is characterized by another feature, which is that it is one of the self-governing and self-organizing systems. This function belongs to the political subsystem, which gives consistency and harmonious relationship to all elements that form the social integral system.

Society as a complex dynamic system.(08.09)

The word “system” is of Greek origin and means “a whole made up of parts”, “a totality”. Each system includes interacting parts: subsystems and elements. The connections and relationships between its parts become of primary importance. (What is dynamics?) Dynamic systems allow various changes, development, the emergence of new parts and the death of old parts.

Features of the social system.

Characteristic features of society as a system:

1) It is complex in nature (includes many levels, subsystems, elements. The macrostructure of society consists of four subsystems - spheres of social life. Society is a supersystem.

2) The presence in its composition of elements of different quality, both material (various technical devices, institutions, etc.) and ideal (values, ideas, traditions, etc.)

3) The main element of society as a system is a person who has the ability to set goals and choose the means to carry out his activities.

3) society as a system is self-governing. What subsystem do you think performs the management function? The managerial function is performed by the political subsystem, which gives consistency to all components that form the social integrity.

Social life is in constant change. The pace and extent of these changes may vary. There are periods in the history of mankind when the established order of life did not change in its fundamentals for centuries, but over time the pace of change began to increase.

From the history course you know that in societies that existed in different eras, certain qualitative changes occurred, while the natural systems of those periods did not undergo significant changes => society is a dynamic system.

Types of Social Dynamics

Social Changes - the transition of certain social. objects from one state to another, the appearance of new properties, functions, relationships in them, i.e. modifications in social media organizations, social institutions, social structure, socially established patterns of behavior

Development is changes that lead to profound qualitative changes in society, social transformations. connections, the transition of all social systems to a new state.

Progress is the direction of development of society, which is characterized by a transition from lower to higher, from less perfect to more perfect.

Regression is a movement from higher to lower, processes of degradation, a return to self-destructive forms and structures.

Evolution is gradual continuous changes, transforming one into another without jumps or breaks.

Revolution is a fundamental qualitative revolution in the entire social structure of society, fundamental changes covering the economy, politics, and spiritual sphere

Social reform is the reorganization of any sphere of public life (institutions, institutions and orders, etc.) while maintaining the existing social system.

Man is a universal component of all social systems, since he is necessarily included in each of them.

Society as a system has an integrative property (none of the components of the system individually has this property). This quality is the result of the integration and interconnection of all system components.

As a result of the interconnection and interaction of the components included in the social system, society as a social system has a new sacred ability to create more and more new conditions for its existence, to produce everything necessary for the collective life of people.

In philosophy, self-sufficiency is seen as the main difference between society and its constituent parts.

Any system is located in a certain environment with which it interacts.

The environment of the social system of any country is nature and the world community.

Functions:

Adaptations

Achievement of goals (the ability to maintain its integrity, ensuring the implementation of its tasks, influencing the surrounding natural and social environment)

Maintaining a pattern - the ability to maintain one’s internal structure

Integration – the ability to integrate, that is, to include new social formations (phenomena, processes, etc.) into a single whole.

SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS

The word "institute" in Latin means "establishment"

In sociology, a social institution is a historically established stable form of organizing joint activities, regulated by norms, traditions, customs and aimed at satisfying the most important needs of life.

Abraham Maslow's Pyramid

Physiology – the base needs of the body, aimed at its vital functions (hunger, sleep, sexual desire, etc.)

Safety is the need to be sure that life is not in danger.

Sociality – the need for contact with others and one’s own role in society (friendship, love, belonging to a certain nationality, experiencing mutual feelings...)

Recognition is respect, recognition by society of his success, the usefulness of his role in the life of such a society.

Cognition – satisfying a person’s natural curiosity (to know, prove, be able to and study...)

Aesthetics is the internal need and motivation to follow the truth (a subjective concept of how everything should be).

I am the need for self-realization, self-actualization, the highest mission of one’s existence, a spiritual need, the highest role of a person in humanity, an understanding of one’s meaning of existence... (the list is very large - Maslow’s pyramid of needs - is often used by many people and “spiritual” organizations, with different systems of worldview and the top place their highest concept of the meaning of human existence).

Sociologists identify 5 social needs:

1) in the reproduction of the species

2) in safety and social order

3) in the means of subsistence

4) in acquiring knowledge, socializing the younger generation, training

5) in solving spiritual problems of the meaning of life

According to these general needs, types of activities have developed. Which required the necessary organization, streamlining, the creation of certain institutions and other structures, and the development of rules to ensure the achievement of the expected result. These conditions for the successful implementation of the main types of activities were met by historically established social institutions :

- family and marriage

- political institutions (especially the state)

- economic institutions (primarily production)

- institutes of education, science and culture

- Institute of Religion

Each of these institutions brings together large masses of people to satisfy one or another need and achieve a specific goal of a personal, group or social nature.

The emergence of social institutions led to the consolidation of specific types of interaction, making them permanently obligatory for all members of a given society.

Features of a social institution:

A social institution is a set of persons engaged in a certain type of activity and ensuring, in the process of this activity, the satisfaction of a certain significant need (for example, all employees of the education system)

The institute is enshrined in a system of legal and moral norms, traditions and customs regulating the corresponding types of behavior.

The presence of institutions equipped with certain material resources necessary for any type of activity.

The presence of and makes people's behavior more predictable, and society as a whole more stable.

Typology of societies.

Modern researchers identify 3 main historical types of society:

1) traditional (agrarian)

2) industrial (capitalist)

3) post-industrial society (information)

The basis for dividing into these types of society is:

The attitude of people to nature (and the natural environment modified by man),

The relationship of people to each other (type of social connection)

System of values ​​and life meanings (generalized expression of these relationships in the spiritual life of society)

Traditional society.

The concept of T.O. covers the great agrarian civilizations of the Ancient East (Ancient India, Ancient China, Ancient Egypt, medieval states of the Muslim East), European states of the Middle Ages. In a number of countries in Asia and Africa, traditional society continues to exist today, but the collision with modern Western civilization has significantly changed its civilizational characteristics.

In T.O. the basis of life activity is agricultural labor, the fruits of which provide a person with all the necessary means of life.

A person in a traditional society is dependent on nature.

Metaphors: nurse earth, mother earth, express a caring attitude towards nature as a source of life from which one should not draw too much.

The farmer perceived nature as a living being that required a moral attitude towards itself. Therefore, a person in a traditional society is not a master, not a conqueror, and not a king of nature. He is a small part of the great cosmic whole, the universe.

The social basis of traditional society is the attitude of personal dependence.

Traditional society is characterized by a non-economic attitude towards work: work for the master, payment of quitrents.

The person did not feel like an individual opposing or competing with others. On the contrary, he perceived himself as an integral part of the community, village, polis. A person’s social status was then determined not by personal merit, but by social origin. “it was written in the family” The daily life of traditional society was characterized by amazing stability. It was regulated not so much by laws as by tradition.

Tradition is a set of unwritten rules, patterns of activity, behavior and communication that embody the experience of ancestors. People's social habits have remained virtually unchanged for many generations. The organization of everyday life, methods of housekeeping and norms of communication, holiday rituals, ideas about illness and death - in a word, everything that we call everyday life - was brought up in the family and passed on from generation to generation. Many generations of people have experienced the same social structures, ways of doing things, and social habits.

Submission to tradition explains the high stability and extremely slow pace of social development.

! During the transition from a traditional society to an industrial one, a non-economic attitude towards work.

1. What is society? Signs of society.

2. Past thinkers about society.

1. Under society usually understand the social organization of a particular country, nation, nationality or tribe. Society is a concept that comes from ordinary, non-scientific language and is therefore difficult to define precisely. However, in science the word “society” is usually used to designate the largest associations of people who are not components of other communities.

The boundaries of a society usually coincide with the boundaries of a country, although this is not always the case. This coincidence is typical for the modern world. In ancient times, when there were many nomadic peoples, the boundaries of society did not always coincide with the boundaries of the country, since not every people lived in a certain territory. And at present, not every nationality has statehood, that is, it has a clearly defined territory of residence, as well as legalized power and other government structures. However, a nationality can be a separate society if its life is organized in accordance with certain rules and the members of the nationality are aware of their difference and their separation from other similar associations of people. The feeling of one’s own characteristics is created due to traditions and customs unique to a given association of people, due to the common language in which its members communicate, due to living in a certain territory clearly delimited from others, that is, the homeland, etc.

If these signs are lost for some reason, then society may lose its boundaries and merge into a larger association. For example, on the territory of Russia there are many peoples for whom our country is their main place of residence. Such peoples include, for example, the peoples of the North (Yakuts, Chukchi, Nanais, etc.). Of course, such peoples exist separately from other peoples, since they have a national language and an original culture. And at the same time, they are not completely isolated from other peoples and other cultures and are part of a larger community of people.

For this reason, calling these peoples separate societies can only be done with some reservations.

The society has the following characteristics:

1. Every society has a history that is stored in its memory. This story may differ significantly from what historians describe. Sometimes this leads to extremely funny consequences. Thus, in the USA, studies were conducted on how citizens of this state see its history. At the same time, researchers often received completely unexpected answers. For example, when asked what happened before the discovery of America, some (few) respondents answered: then dinosaurs lived Naturally, this speaks of the extremely low level of culture of some representatives of American society who cannot imagine the overall picture of world history.However, such ideas are very indicative, since they reflect their attitude towards the society in which people live.

In addition, ideas about the history of society are reflected in historical symbols, that is, in those iconic cultural phenomena that make up the flavor of a given society. These can be images of historical figures and events. For Russia, such key images are, for example, the Patriotic War of 1812, the Great Patriotic War, the images of Prince Vladimir, Ivan the Terrible, Peter I, Lenin, Stalin, and to a lesser extent Gorbachev and Yeltsin. These images reflect important stages in the history of Russia.

2. Every society has its own culture. Naturally, at the present time, when there is a strong mutual influence of cultures, culture should be understood as the core of the native culture, that is, traditions, thanks to which an Individual person realizes his involvement in this particular society and not in another. A developed culture allows society to form norms and values ​​that form the basis of social connections.

3. Each society is the largest unit of social reality, that is, it is not included as an integral part in a larger society. Naturally, nowadays, due to globalization trends, the stability of society from this point of view is becoming more and more conditional, but it is impossible to say that this sign is invalid.

4. Society reproduces itself through children from marriages between recognized members of society: in the usual case, a child born to members of a society himself becomes a member of that society. The population may be replenished through migration, but the bulk of the population is still replenished by representatives of what is usually called the “indigenous nation” (this is an unscientific concept). This distinguishes society from most other social communities.

5. The population as a subject of society lives in a certain territory. Currently, migration processes have intensified greatly, and we should expect that they will intensify even more. However, societies isolated from a specific territory have not yet emerged: in the case of migration, a person loses his direct connection with the society from which he came, ceases to be its member.

6. Very important, although not mandatory, is the presence of a state. Although society is primary in relation to the state, it can be argued that societies that do not have state forms of life lag behind in their development.

7. Society is characterized by social differentiation, which represents the most important mechanism of its development. In society there are classes, estates, relatively closed social groups, that is, associations of people according to various characteristics that may or may not be recognized by their people. Periodically, tensions and conflicts arise between these groups. A typical example in this case is the confrontation between the rich and the poor: the poor may want a more equitable distribution of social wealth, and the rich may oppose this. Such a conflict leads either to the victory of one side, or to the preservation of the existing situation with a fairly active transition of people from one social category to another (that is, from poor to rich and, conversely, from rich to poor). And in any case, this confrontation leads to changes within society, and, therefore, is the driving force of development.

Society is different from such phenomena as the state and population.

The differences between society and the state are mainly due to the fact that they are relatively independent from each other.

1. First of all, society is primary, it arises before the state, while the state appears later than society, and therefore is secondary. State structures and state power arise only at “advanced” stages of development of society and indicate that the society is developed. The state presupposes citizenship, that is, a person’s formal affiliation with it and certain rights and responsibilities that the citizen and the state assume. However, not every society is civil. From the point of view of the presence or absence of citizenship, as well as the characteristics of the status of a citizen, we can distinguish:

a) uncivil society. There are dozens of nations that have not created their own statehood. Without a state, society as a whole is doomed to a primitive existence;

b) pre-civil society. Society has a state that, in one way or another, suppresses the freedom of citizens, that is, does not respect the rights and freedoms that are inherent to citizens as independent, independent people. Citizenship represents a big step forward compared to stateless societies, but from the point of view of modern sociology there is no reason to call society civil;

c) civil society. Individual freedom is the main indicator that a society is civil. Civil society is understood as a set of social relations that are not associated with the struggle for power in society and public administration.
Civil society existed even before the emergence of the state.

Civil society has the following characteristics:

– the presence of private property among the majority of the population. It is private property that leads to the emergence of a middle class - individuals who live off their own labor and are not financially dependent on the state;

– presence of developed non-political organizations. Members of civil society are united in organizations that protect certain interests of the citizens themselves or society as a whole (for example, trade unions, religious, youth, women's, environmental and other organizations). Such organizations do not seek to obtain state power and, of course, exist independently of state power. However, thanks to such organizations, the state cannot arrogate to itself the rights of citizens and control over them;

– democracy at the grassroots level, that is, participation in public life of all citizens of society without exception. In addition, grassroots democracy also consists of a democratic procedure for resolving issues that arise in other associations of people (for example, in labor collectives).

2. Society is broader than the state: all functions of the state can be performed by society, but not all functions of society can be performed by the state. For example, society forces people to act in a certain way and abandon unacceptable ways of achieving goals through social control, which is expressed in the attitude of others to a person’s actions. And state power only takes on some of the functions of society, enshrining norms of behavior in the form of legislation.

The difference between society and population is that the population is the “carrier” of society, that is, what makes society exist, but does not yet shape it. The independence of these two categories is indicated, for example, by the fact that changes in society do not always mean that the population has changed, and, conversely, a change in population does not always mean that society has changed. A change in society while the population remains unchanged can be observed in the current period of development of our country, since as a result of economic and political reforms, the stratification of society has changed, new social and cultural phenomena have appeared, and this despite the fact that the change in population was not so significant. People have remained the same, their habits, level and style of life, and field of activity have changed.

A change in population while society remains unchanged is a phenomenon that is now also very common, since mass migrations of the population are occurring. People move from country to country and are forced to “fit” into the social structures that exist in another country. The way of life in the host country does not change, but the composition of the population does not remain the same. An example is the emigration of citizens of the Russian Federation to European countries and the United States. In ancient times, such changes occurred mainly during conquests.

Society is a multi-level education. It includes:

– social interactions and relationships that connect people;

– social groups and communities;

4) social institutions;

5) norms and values.

All of these elements are closely interconnected with each other. Thus, social actions, interactions and relationships ­ ties connect people who form groups, communities and institutions. Values ​​and norms exist thanks to institutions, groups and communities, and an individual becomes an individual only if, in the process of group communication, as well as communication within a community and under the influence of its institutions, he has learned norms and values.

Questions and tasks

1. Prove that society and the state are different from each other.

2. How can you prove that a society is different from a population?

3. Name the main features of society. What ensures its integrity? What features are inherent in any society?

4. Name three main approaches to the study of society. What is taken as the starting point in each of them?

5. What are the main stages in the development of society that can be identified?


ANCIENT INDIA

The main source of our knowledge about the social ideas of the ancient Indians is Veda- an extensive collection of texts, mainly of religious content. The Vedas do not have a single author and were compiled from 1500 to 600 AD. BC, that is, for about nine centuries. The same period saw the formation of the first slave states, which became possible only after the transition from a nomadic to a settled way of life, as well as the emergence of communities and agriculture.

Buddhism was formed under the great influence of Vedic ideas. Its founder is Sidhartha Guatama Buddha- was born into a royal family, at the age of 29 he became a monk and led an extremely ascetic lifestyle prescribed for brahmins. However, he then came to the conclusion that neither asceticism nor hedonism (that is, the desire for life's pleasures) guarantees salvation.

Indian society had a very strict division into castes, of which there were four: Brahmans (priests), Kshatriyas (warriors), Vaishyas (artisans, farmers) and Shudras (slaves). The highest position in the hierarchy was occupied by the Brahmins, the lowest by the Shudras. Relations between castes were regulated by very strict rules, and moving from one caste to another was simply impossible. The latter was associated with the karmic ideas of the ancient Indians. On the one hand, a person’s belonging to one caste or another was explained by the laws of rebirth, and therefore, a person had to fully atone for the sins that he committed in a past life if he was born as a representative of lower castes. On the other hand, compliance with all the requirements and norms that regulated the social life of Ancient India was a guarantee that in a future life a person would be reborn as a representative of the upper class.

In Buddhism, attachment to life was recognized as the main problem of man. Only renunciation of this attachment could free a person from the endless chain of rebirths. The natural way to break this chain was considered to be renunciation of passions, “thirst,” that is, attachment to the world. Buddhism offered a radical way of liberation from this attachment - non-action. Any action of a person further draws him into an endless cycle. The same goes for desires. Therefore, a righteous person must free himself from desires, from the desire for action. The renunciation of desires automatically led to the renunciation of attachment to life, and therefore the person turned out to be “inaccessible” to all worldly misfortunes and troubles - illness, birth, death, losses.

Primarily, monks could apply for liberation, although such a possibility could not be excluded for ordinary people leading a righteous lifestyle. For the latter, the main thing was to comply The five precepts of Buddhism are: do not take what belongs to others, do not harm living beings, do not make idle or false speech, do not engage in forbidden sexual intercourse and do not drink intoxicating drinks.

Ancient China. Chinese civilization gave birth to many philosophical schools and movements, but the most influential, the most important for the Chinese worldview was Confucianism. Confucianism only later became a religious doctrine, but first it was formed as a social theory. Certainly, The emphasis in Confucianism was not on an objective description of social processes, but on “recipes” for creating an ideal, harmonious society. However, this does not mean that Confucianism is not a social theory.

Its founder was Confucius(Kung Fu Tzu, 551-479 BC). At that time, several independent monarchies existed on Chinese territory, which were constantly at odds with each other.

The upper strata of society also constantly fought for power and influence over the sovereigns. A rigid centralized power was established, destroying the traditional communal way of Chinese life. All this could not but lead to the destruction of moral norms, and consequently to the disorganization of public life.

Confucianism was a conservative movement in social life that idealized the past. It was based two principles. Firstly, all the misfortunes of life at that time were a consequence of the fact that people retreated from the traditions that their ancestors followed. Therefore, in order to restore harmony in the state, it was necessary to return to these traditions and revive them. In-second, from the point of view of Confucius and his followers, the ideal state should be structured like a family in which roles are strictly distributed between members.

The concept was central to her "ren", which can be translated as "humanity", "humaneness", "philanthropy". This principle can be formulated as follows: “don’t do to others what you don’t want for yourself, and help them achieve what you yourself would like to achieve.”

The principle " whether"– observance of rituals (order). It boiled down to the fact that a person must strictly follow the norms prescribed to him by society, comply with all the rules that he must follow. Relationships in Chinese society were governed by a complex system of rules and regulations affecting people and social groups. Without this, from the point of view of Confucius, the normal functioning of society was impossible. It was this principle that later became the main principle of organizing the life of Chinese society. Confucius put into this principle a meaning somewhat different from simply observing the rules of etiquette. However, after his death, when Confucianism became the dominant ideology in China, this principle began to be understood more formally as adherence to etiquette, and the humanistic aspects of Confucius's teachings faded into the background.

Ancient Greece. Antiquity is rightfully considered the cradle of European civilization. The social ideas expressed by Eastern thinkers have not had much influence on the way we now see society. This is not the case with antiquity. It was during the period of antiquity that the foundations of the sciences that exist today were laid. These include social sciences. Of course, in those days no one was talking about sociology, political science and economics, but social, political and economic issues were already the object of consideration in various philosophical systems.

The first and one of the most significant thinkers for antiquity was Plato (427-347 BC) - an ancient Greek philosopher, the founder of philosophical idealism.

Plato's social theory is expounded in his works The Republic, The Laws, and The Politician. In the Republic, Plato argues that the main reason for the emergence of society was the need for unification, without which people could not satisfy their needs.

Plato, like many ancient thinkers, did not offer an objective, impartial, descriptive concept of society. Plato's social theory is largely subjective in nature, since it describes an ideal state structure rather than social reality. This was due to the fact that his theory of the state was a continuation of his doctrine of ideas. This was expressed especially clearly in The State.

At the same time, Plato proposed a classification of forms of power. He highlighted: 1) aristocracy, that is, the power of the elected; 2) monarchy; 3) timocracy, that is, the power of warriors; he cites Sparta as an example; 4) oligarchy - the power of a small number of rich people; 5) democracy, the extreme form of which is ochlocracy, that is, crowd rule; 6) tyranny and 7) an ideal state that cannot be embodied in. In reality, aristocracy and monarchy were classified by Plato as the correct types of government, the following four forms - as incorrect.

Plato viewed democracy (literally “power of the people”) as the power of the poor. Plato had a negative attitude towards democracy, since freedom, which is the main benefit of democracy, will become the reason for its death: according to the philosopher, it is from democracy that tyranny is gradually born, since the tyrant usually comes to power as a protege of the people. Plato believed that a person does not know how to use his freedom and sooner or later directs it to the detriment of himself and others. Criticism of democracy also had a more specific meaning, since it was aimed at criticizing the government structure of Athens, where Plato lived for a long time

Plato was one of the first to try to analyze the structure of society. He identified three classes: the class of philosophers who administer the state; the class of warriors, or guards, ensuring the security of the state; and the class of farmers and artisans who ensure the life of the state. Each class has its own virtue: philosophers - wisdom, for warriors - courage, for artisans and farmers - prudence. Only the fourth virtue - justice - is inherent in society as a whole.

Aristotle (384-322 BC) is a student of Plato, who later turned out to be his fierce opponent, becoming the founder of materialism. Aristotle played a huge role in the development of modern science, since it was he who described the system of sciences, which is still preserved without fundamental changes. According to Aristotle, the basis of knowledge is sensory perception, which does not allow consciousness to fall into speculation. In addition, the very ideas of Aristotle determined the face of science in general - with its ideals of universality, the need for evidence, as well as the attitude towards explaining any described fact.

Aristotle outlined his social views in his treatise “Politics”. In it, Aristotle was the first to formulate the signs of democracy, which are currently shared by all political scientists. In particular, he argued that the basis of democracy is the middle class, since it is they who ensure the stability of power. In addition, Aristotle considered the election of government bodies to be an essential feature of democracy. Finally, Aristotle believed that democracy is the most durable government system because it is based on the opinion and desire of the majority, which is opposed by the minority.

Aristotle considered the family to be the fundamental basis of the state, but not in the modern sense: he considered the family not only husband, wife, children, but also slaves. For this reason, he considered the ideal state system to be a slave-owning state, in which power belongs to the middle stratum - the slave owners, and not the rich and the poor (in this idea one can see another prototype of modern ideas about the stratification of society).

Aristotle proposed his typology of forms of power. He highlighted" normal" and "abnormal""forms of government. To the former he included monarchy, aristocracy and polity, to the latter tyranny, oligarchy and democracy. Monarchy and tyranny, aristocracy and oligarchy, polity and democracy form pairs based on one principle. As can be seen, in assessing existing Aristotle's forms of power are much softer than Plato's.

Questions and tasks

1. Describe the structure of ancient Indian society. What are castes?

2. What teachings played the greatest role in the Ancient East? State their main provisions. What works of the philosopher Plato do you know?

3. What structure did Plato’s ideal society have?

4. How did Plato and Aristotle understand democracy? What is the difference between their points of view?

5. How did Plato and Aristotle classify forms of power? What do their classifications have in common? How are they different?

6. What form of government, according to Aristotle, is the most correct and most fair?

7. What works did Aristotle write?


SOCIAL THOUGHT OF THE MIDDLE AGES, RENAISSANCE AND MODERN TIMES

Middle Ages and Renaissance. Medieval science existed within the framework of a theological culture that contrasted earthly low life with the divine world of the pure, eternal, and beautiful. And all the scientific constructions of the Middle Ages fit into Christian ideology and did not contradict it.

In the Middle Ages, man was seen as a dual being. Since man has a soul, he is the closest to God among all things. However, man is a sinner, and his body is an earthly, devilish principle, prone to sin. And for this reason, man was seen as a battlefield between God and the devil, between good and evil.

At the center of the medieval picture of the world was God - the supreme being, the creator of the world, capable of deciding its fate. Of course, human freedom was not denied: since man is closest to God, he, unlike other creatures, has maximum freedom. He is free to choose between good and evil. For this reason, the church sought to put as many people as possible on the true path - the path of faith in God and observance of moral and religious norms.

One of the most important figures of the Middle Ages was Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), a theologian who developed a philosophical concept that is still recognized by the Catholic Church as the only correct one. From his point of view, all knowledge constitutes a hierarchically organized system, in which the highest point is theology as the doctrine that is closest to the divine mind. Philosophy is the expression of the human mind, and it cannot and should not oppose theology; the difference between them lies only in the fact that the human mind and the divine mind occupy different positions in the world hierarchy.

Thomas Aquinas derived the power of the sovereign and social inequality from the divine will: God designed the world this way, and we have no choice but to submit to his will; any attempts to move from one’s class to a higher one are sinful by nature.

However, Thomas clearly distinguished between divine and temporal authority. Since the world is a place where only a corruptible body exists, only this body belongs to the worldly authorities, but not the immortal soul, which is in the power of God.

Aquinas considered monarchy to be the best type of government, since it reproduces the structure of the world ruled by God. However, the ruler cannot identify himself with God and must recognize the priority of church power over earthly power. This is most clearly manifested in tyranny. Thomas also considered democracy to be the worst form of government.

Roger Bacon (1214-1294) was a Franciscan monk who developed an independent theory, for which he was imprisoned, where he spent almost fourteen years. His influence on social thought was not very great, but it was he who laid the foundations of empirical science, that is, science based on experimental knowledge. Bacon contrasted this science with scholasticism.

Renaissance- this is the period in which the gradual separation of science from theology began, ending later, in modern times. This period is characterized by the highest achievements in the field of art. In the economic sphere there was a gradual advancement to the forefront bourgeoisie, which became a prerequisite for the subsequent formation of capitalism. IN political sphere there was a strengthening of state power, the first states appeared, characterized by strong centralized power. The political views of the time remained largely unscientific. Thus, projects of an ideal state structure, presented as descriptions of fantastic states, were very popular during the Renaissance. The most famous are "Utopia" by Thomas More and "City of the Sun" by Tommaso Campanella.

It was during this period that the experimental method of scientific research began to take shape. The development of science has also led to significant changes in ideas about the world and the place that man occupies in it.

During the Renaissance, thinkers such as Michelle Montaigne and Erasmus of Rotterdam . Their work contains a thorough critique of religious morality, which these thinkers considered necessary to replace with a simpler and more humane morality. Montaigne and Erasmus of Rotterdam were among the first people in Europe who realized that morality and ethics do not depend on religion and are universal values ​​inherent in man as a thinking being.

Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) was a major Italian ruler and diplomat of the Renaissance. His treatise "The Sovereign". Machiavelli continues the tradition begun by Plato's "State", but pays more attention not to the state as such, but to the personality of the political leader. This emphasis can be explained biographically (Machiavelli was a politician, diplomat), as well as the cultural context of the Renaissance: it was during this period that the individual came to the fore.

According to Machiavelli, politics is a special sphere to which the norms of general morality cannot be applied. The state fulfills independent goals, and therefore the rules by which the sovereign must act are different from the rules governing the lives of ordinary people. Machiavelli paints an image of a cunning, treacherous and cruel ruler, whose prototype can be considered Caesar Borgia. However, these qualities are not a feature exclusively of the sovereign. They are also inherent in all other people, whom Machiavelli views as evil, greedy and vindictive. In particular, this is indicated by the principles (laws) that a ruler should be guided by in his activities:

1. At the heart of all human actions are ambition and the desire for power; a person strives either to preserve what he has or to obtain what another has.

2. A smart sovereign should not fulfill all the promises that he made to his subjects. Machiavelli justifies this principle by the fact that ordinary people also do not always fulfill their obligations to the sovereign. Here, in general, for the first time, a promise is considered as a way of attracting supporters, a way of winning people over. In addition, Machiavelli believed that a ruler who remembers his promises and fulfills them inevitably becomes dependent on his subjects, and, therefore, can fall under their control.

3. Good should be done gradually, and evil should be done immediately. It is human nature to strive to remember the good and forget the bad. Cruelty is considered fairer and easier to bear if it is done all at once rather than gradually. People value awards and praise because they are pleasant to them, even when these awards are rare.

Machiavelli justified the cruelty of the sovereign by the fact that the state exists for the common good, that is, it ensures order, security and well-being of citizens.

Machiavelli proposed his typology of forms of government: 1) monarchy is one of the main forms; it can be limited, despotic and tyrannical; 2) republic – the second of the main forms; it can be balanced (Rome) and massive (Athens); 3) oligarchy; 4) plebiscite monarchy.

Machiavelli considered the last two forms of government as transitional between monarchy and republic. Republic is the most correct government system, however absolutism more acceptable in situations where the state needs to establish order.

New time. New times are a new stage in the development of European thought. If in the Middle Ages the nascent science was entirely dependent on the church, and in the Renaissance its separation from theology only began to emerge, then in modern times the liberation of science from theology became a reality.

Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) is an English philosopher who worked for some time as secretary to F. Bacon.

He developed the concept social contract, on the basis of which the concept was subsequently developed civil society. The natural state of humanity is a war of all against all. It would be wrong to think that a person is born with a desire to cooperate. Man is an extremely selfish creature who strives for honor and wealth; since goods cannot be divided equally, rivalry and competition must be the only forms of interaction within society. To avoid constant struggle and threat to life, people decided to enter into a social contract, as a result of which civil society emerged. It is based on laws, and thanks to this it can protect the rights of citizens(for example, property rights). According to Hobbes, civil society involves a person’s renunciation of freedom in favor of security, which is provided by the state through institutions such as the court, army, police, and government.

Hobbes identified three types of government: 1) democracy, 2) aristocracy and 3) monarchy. He considered monarchy to be the best form of government.

Another great philosopher of that time, John Locke (1632-1704), he created the concept of " natural law", according to which people are equal from birth. Based on this, he concluded that no one - not even the monarch - has the right to infringe on the freedom, health and life of another person. If the monarch violates these rules, citizens have the right not to obey him, that is, to terminate the contract concluded with him.Subsequently, Locke's ideas formed the basis of the idea of ​​​​human rights, which is very relevant today.

John Locke was also at the origins doctrines about the branches of government. He highlighted three branches: executive, federal and legislative. The legislative branch must pass laws, the executive branch must monitor and ensure their implementation, and the federal branch must be responsible for foreign policy. Currently, the branches of government are distinguished differently, but their separation is based on the idea of ​​John Locke.

Charles Louis Montesquieu (1689-1755) can rightfully be considered the founder geographical direction in sociology, political science and geopolitics. In his works “Persian Letters” and “On the Spirit of Laws,” he formulated a theory according to which the customs of peoples, their character, and the political structure of their states depend on the territory in which they live. Geographical determinism, developed by such scientists as G. T. Buckle, F. Ratzel, L. I. Mechnikov, assumes that the political and social structure of society is determined by the shape of the landscape, access to the seas, and the vastness of the territory in which representatives of the nation live.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) - French writer and philosopher who created the theory "natural man""According to his theory, a person is an initially good creature, which then, under the influence of society, becomes corrupted and becomes evil. Accordingly, a “social contract” is needed, which would be based on the ideals of equality and freedom.

According to Rousseau, society is created by people, and therefore its laws must be an expression of the general will of people. To check how strong this general will is, and whether the laws by which society lives correspond to it, it is necessary to hold referendums. The most favorable conditions for this are social formations reminiscent of ancient city-states, in which there were not so many members that it was impossible to reach agreement.



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