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What American sociologist who singled out society. Society: definitions, theories of origin, signs

In sociology, attempts have been made more than once to give a final definition of society and highlight its essential features - the most typical, stable and recurring moments of its life. Thus, Emile Durkheim sees the fundamental basis of stability and unity of society in the signs of the presence of collective consciousness, a common will that prevents the destructive force of human egoism. Neil Smelser defines the presence of geographical boundaries, a common legislative system and a certain national identity as the distinctive features of a society as an association of people. American sociologist Edward Shils believes that the basis of society is such a characteristic as the functioning of public authority, which ensures control over the entire territory and inculcates a common culture.

E. Shils highlights following signs societies:

– marriages are concluded between representatives of this association;

– it is replenished mainly by the children of those people who are already its recognized representatives;

– the association has a territory that it considers its own;

– the society has its own name and its own history;

– it has its own control system;

– the association lasts longer average duration the life of an individual;

- unites him general system values ​​(customs, traditions, norms, laws, rules), which is called culture.

And yet, by what criteria can one judge a society?

The first sign of a society is usually the territory on which consolidation occurs social connections. Our planet has provided the opportunity for many communities to find their ecological niche to ensure that the vital needs of people are met and to give the life of individuals their own unique features, determined by the diversity of climatic conditions and natural landscape. Territory is the basis of the social space in which relationships and interactions between individuals take shape and develop.

The second distinctive feature of society is its ability to maintain and reproduce a high intensity of internal relationships. While noting sustainability as the most important characteristic of society, sociologists differ in explaining its underlying causes. E. Durkheim saw the fundamental basis of stability and unity of society in the “collective consciousness”, in the presence of a common will that prevents the development of the destructive force of human egoism. R. Merton believes that society is preserved thanks to “fundamental values” that are absorbed by the majority of the population and orient each individual towards compliance with the norms of joint life activity. E. Shils is convinced that society as such exists only under the influence of “common power”, which ensures control over the entire territory and inculcates a common culture.

The third distinctive feature of society is its autonomy and high level of self-regulation. The autonomy of society is achieved by its multifunctionality, that is, the ability to create the necessary conditions to satisfy the diverse needs of individuals and provide the latter with ample opportunities for self-affirmation and self-regulation. Only in society can a person engage in narrowly professional activities, knowing at the same time that he will always be able to satisfy his needs for food and clothing. Only in society can he acquire the necessary skills and become acquainted with the achievements of culture and science. Only society can provide him with the opportunity to make a dizzying career and rise to the top of the social hierarchy. In other words, society has that self-sufficiency that allows it to fulfill its main purpose without outside interference - to provide people with forms of organization of life that make it easier for them to achieve personal goals.

The autonomy and self-sufficiency of society are manifested precisely in the absence of external management impulses. Society is regulated and governed exclusively by those institutions and organizations and on the basis of those norms and principles that arise and are created within itself. Self-regulation is an important property of society, ensuring its independence regardless of size.

Fourthly, society is distinguished by great integrating power. It socializes each new generation of people, includes it in the existing system of relations, and subjects it to generally accepted norms and rules. Thanks to this quality, society turns out to be receptive to innovation, because it organically absorbs new social formations, institutions, and norms, thereby ensuring renewal and continuity of development. And the people themselves, connected to society by invisible threads of common language, culture, and origin, gravitate towards it. It provides them with the opportunity to use familiar patterns of behavior, follow established principles, and creates a unique atmosphere of spiritual unity.

The main feature of society is its organic integrity, systematicity, since people are united in it on the basis of the common way of existence necessary for them. However, in the process of historical development, the secondary features of society changed, which was analyzed by me in this paragraph.

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1. The concept of society

society- This . IN in the narrow sense words society

E. Shils

System

1) people;

Systematic approach to the analysis of society

Today, two approaches to understanding society can be distinguished. IN in a broad sense words society- This a set of historically established forms of joint life and activity of people on earth. In the narrow sense of the word society is a specific type of social and political system, specific national theoretical education. However, these interpretations of the concept under consideration cannot be considered sufficiently complete, since the problem of society occupied the minds of many thinkers, and in the process of development of sociological knowledge, different approaches to its definition.

Thus, E. Durkheim defined society as supra-individual spiritual reality based on collective ideas. From the point of view of M. Weber, society is the interaction of people who are the product of social, i.e., other-oriented actions. K. Marx represents society as a historically developing set of relations between people that develop in the process of their joint actions. Another theorist of sociological thought, T. Parsons, believed that society is a system of relations between people based on norms and values ​​that form culture.

Thus, it is not difficult to see that society is a complex category characterized by a collection of various signs. Each of the above definitions reflects certain characteristic features of this phenomenon. Only taking into account all these characteristics allows us to give the most complete and precise definition concepts of society. The most complete list characteristic features society was highlighted by an American sociologist E. Shils. He developed the following characteristics characteristic of any society:

1) it is not an organic part of any larger system;

2) marriages are concluded between representatives of a given community;

3) it is replenished by the children of those people who are members of this community;

4) it has its own territory;

5) it has a self-name and its own history;

6) it has its own management system;

7) it exists longer than the average life expectancy of an individual;

8) he is united by a common system of values, norms, laws, rules.

Taking into account all these features, we can give the following definition of society: it is a historically established and self-reproducing community of people.

The aspects of reproduction are biological, economic and cultural reproduction.

This definition allows us to distinguish the concept of society from the concept of “state” (the institution of governance social processes, which arose historically later than society) and “country” (a territorial-political entity formed on the basis of society and the state).

The study of society within the framework of sociology is based on a systems approach. The use of this particular method is also determined by a number of characteristic features society, which is characterized as: a social system of a higher order; complex system education; holistic system; a self-developing system because the source is within society.

Thus, it is not difficult to see what society is complex system.

System- this is a certain ordered set of elements that are interconnected and form some kind of integral unity. Undoubtedly, society is a social system that is characterized as holistic education, the elements of which are people, their interactions and relationships, which are sustainable and reproduced in the historical process, passing from generation to generation.

Thus, as the basic elements of society as social system the following can be distinguished:

1) people;

2) social connections and interactions;

3) social institutions, social strata;

4) social norms and values.

Like any system, society is characterized by close interaction of its elements. Taking this feature into account, within systematic approach society can be defined as a large ordered collection social processes and phenomena more or less connected and interacting with each other and forming a single social whole. Society as a system is characterized by such features as coordination and subordination of its elements.

Coordination is the consistency of elements, their mutual functioning. Subordination is subordination and subordination, indicating the place of elements in a holistic system.

The social system is independent in relation to its constituent elements and has the ability to self-develop.

Functionalism was developed based on a systematic approach to the analysis of society. The functional approach was formulated by G. Spencer and developed in the works of R. Merton and T. Parsons. IN modern sociology it is complemented by determinism and an individualistic approach (interactionism).

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Let us consider what society is in a narrow sociological sense. When a person emigrates to another country and takes on a new citizenship, he has to adapt not only to a different climate or political regime, but also to a social structure, i.e. to society. In this regard, three similar concepts should be distinguished: country, state, society (Fig. 3.1).

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

Rice. 3.1.Correlation of the concepts “country”, “state”, “society”

A state is a political organization of a given country, which includes a certain type of government regime (monarchy, republic), bodies and structure of government (government, parliament). The state is the main one political structure society establishing power, order, control, system of relationships between citizens, social groups and layers in a certain territory, carrying out internal and external politics in favor of the ruling structures. It has a management apparatus, defense and law enforcement agencies, developed legal and moral norms that regulate the life of society.

Society is social organization of this country, the basis of which is social structure.

The main social institutions, or spheres, of Russian society are family, production (economy), state, education, culture, science and religion. The population employed in these institutions (citizens or members of society) is divided into three main classes: high, middle and low. In our society there are no longer, as before, classes. The elite at the top of the social pyramid concentrates in their hands most national wealth and makes most of the important decisions for the country. Its number does not exceed 1% of the population. Top class in number is 5%, middle class small - no more than 15–20% of the population. Most people's standard of living falls between extreme poverty and middle class. Economic basis constitute market relations. Rich cultural heritage Russia allows it to be considered one of the most developed countries world, and the presence of nuclear weapons and a strong army makes it possible to be among the leading world powers. At the same time, in terms of the level and quality of life, health care, life expectancy and other socially significant indicators, Russia is not among the developed countries.

Countries are studied by geography, the state by political science, and society by sociology. Society should be understood as the historical result of spontaneously or naturally developing relationships between people. Then the state will appear as artificial political construct – an institution or institution designed to manage these relationships. Another concept - country - is also an artificial territorial construct, which denotes the sovereign boundaries of the state.

The concepts of “country”, “people”, “state” and “nation” cannot replace the concept of “society”. The term "state" can be used as a substitute for the concept of "society" mainly in the political arena, "country" - in a geographical sense, "people" - in a moral and ethical sense, "nation" - in an ethnological sense.

Historically, society is primary, the state is secondary. Society is at least 40 thousand years old, and the state is 5–6 thousand years old. The state arises at a certain stage of development of society to protect the interests of its citizens. The relationship between society and the state throughout the history of mankind has not been easy: there has been harmony and conflict, the desire to suppress and establish equal, partnership relations.

The easiest way is to think of society within the framework of certain state borders. For example, French society coincides with France as a country and state. The same can be said about American, Russian, English and other societies. But society cannot always be represented on the basis of the territorial-state principle. For example, there is no such entity in the world as the Luxembourg society.

Society is social organization countries, but also nations, nationalities, tribes. There was a time when there were no clear political or state borders separating one country from another. There were no countries in the usual sense of the word then. Entire peoples and tribes moved quite freely in space, exploring new territories. When the process of resettlement of peoples was completed, lands limited by state sovereignty appeared. Thus, countries are the result of the territorial division of the world.

Society takes the form of a state when there are three levels of territorial organization, of which the third level can also be called political association.

However, society also existed in that distant era when there were no countries and states. Therefore, the concept of “society” is applicable to any historical era, any size association (group) of people. This concept takes on a very definite meaning when we talk about Russian society, having geographical boundaries, a common legal system and some kind of national unity. Sociologists argue approximately in this direction when they create a set of specific definitions of society.

In 1967, the American sociologist Robert Marsh tried to determine the conditions under which social association should be considered a society:

  • permanent territory(for example, Spain in its state borders);
  • replenishment of society mainly through childbearing(although immigration also plays some role in this);
  • highly developed culture(cultural models can be diverse enough to satisfy all the needs of social life);
  • political independence(society is not a subsystem or part of some other system, so colonial societies such as the Belgian Congo before independence cannot be considered as such).

The author of the above classification recognized the incompleteness and controversial nature of his criteria. For example, is it possible to apply the criterion of “highly developed culture” to a country where representatives of different religious beliefs And ethnic groups, be it the USA, India or the USSR. There is no common values and ideals accepted by the entire population. It would be more correct to call their culture a set of subcultures, with great difficulty linked together by political and legislative power. Perhaps this is why the Soviet Union turned out to be so fragile. The criterion of “political independence” is no less controversial. On

On the territory of the USSR there were established and very ancient ethnic groups that had a highly developed culture, but did not have political independence and existed as a union republic, in particular Armenia, Georgia, and Estonia.

American sociologist Gerard Lenski later identified six basic elements necessary for the existence of society: 1) communication between its members; 2) production of goods and services; 3) distribution; 4) protection of members of society; 5) replacement of retiring members of the company;

But most full list The famous American sociologist Edward Shils gave the necessary and sufficient characteristics that any social association that claims to be called a society must correspond to:

  • 1) the association is not part of any larger system (society);
  • 2) marriages are concluded between representatives of this association;
  • 3) it is replenished primarily by the children of those people who are already its recognized representatives;
  • 4) the association has a territory that it considers its own;
  • 5) it has its own name and its own history;
  • 6) it has its own management system;
  • 7) the association exists longer than the average life expectancy of an individual;
  • 8) it is united by a common system of values ​​(customs, traditions, norms, laws, rules, mores), which is called culture.

It is not difficult to guess that modern powers, numbering hundreds of millions of citizens, and ancient tribes, located on the territory of the current urban microdistrict, meet similar criteria. Both have consanguineous systems (marriage and admission of new members), their own territory, name, culture, history, governance, and most importantly, they are not part of another whole.

Thus, sociology describes society in the unity of three aspects: society, country, state. The country leads us to study the role of the geographical factor in the development of society, territory and the struggle for it, population and demography, migration and emigration, and the standard of living of the population. Country and society are two concepts connected by the first sign from E. Shils’s typology, namely: the reproduction of the population by members of a given society. The country allows us to consider the history of society, including Russian, its historical stages, the role of the territorial factor in the development of Russia, population density, economic market, development of capitalism, the role of the community. The concept of the state allows us to trace the influence of the political regime and its changes on the state and structure of society, as well as the dependence of the existing political regime in the country on the social maturity of the people.

  • Cm.: Marsh R. M. Comparative sociology. X. Y., 1967.
  • Cm.: Lenski G., Lenski J. Human societies: an introduction to macrosociology. N.Y., 1974.

For a long time, people, living in groups, thought about the features and patterns life together, sought to ensure its organization and stability. Number of terms used to denote forms joint activities people, increases over time. Many of them are famous. A group of farmers living next to each other and connected in some cases by running a common farm was called a community (world, herd). The living together of people in one place while collectively solving communal issues is called a hostel. Along with these concepts, there is also the concept of society. It is easy to notice that all three words have the same root and are based on the concept of “common”, i.e. uniting people into a certain group. Such an association, of course, should be based on a common interest for all members of the group. For example, spectators in a cinema are united by the interest of watching a movie. Employees of the work collective unite to jointly perform labor activity. Adherents of certain political views create a political party. Students go to school, and then some of them go to school sports section, and others - to the drama club.

As you can see, there is a common interest in all the examples given. However, at the end of watching the movie, the audience will disperse and will not meet again. The construction team will disband after completion of the work. Students will graduate from school and choose their own path in life.

So what is society? Is it a simple association of people or is it a complex set of human relationships and forms of joint activity? Our distant ancestors tried to answer these questions.

Knowledge about society began to form in time immemorial, when a person just began to realize that he was a member of a group. The increasing complexity of the social structure and the emergence of the state made it necessary to generalize ideas about the structure of society as an object of management.

The ancient Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle compared society to a living organism, which can also get sick, get better, influencing each person and experiencing its impact. Indeed, society is a complex system of organizing people's lives, which has its own social laws. Under the influence of society, a person improves, becoming an individual. It is in society, communicating with their own kind, that people develop speech and acquire skills. a certain image behavior.

Man is a social being. He cannot live in isolation without interacting with other people. The hero of the famous novel Robinson Crusoe lived for many years on a desert island, but used the skills that he acquired in the process of communicating with other people. His main desire was to quickly sail away from the island and meet people again. History knows examples of children being “raised” by animals. When they then found themselves in human society, they could not adapt and were significantly behind their peers in development.

Thus, society is a product of human interaction. A person cannot exist outside of society, just as there is no society without people. Society appeared when man separated from the animal world. Since then, man as a biological species has ceased to change. On the contrary, human society began to undergo significant changes.

Society is a part of the material world isolated from nature with the entire set of historically established forms of joint activity of people. Society stands outside nature and cannot develop according to its laws. This point of view was not always dominant. In the 19th century, when Charles Darwin’s theory appeared, a movement of social Darwinism arose in science, proclaiming the need to transfer the laws of natural development to society, in particular natural selection and the struggle for survival. Social Darwinists believed that the principle of “survival of the fittest” should be transferred not only to relationships individuals and their groups, but also on the development of individual peoples. This point of view is refuted modern science. Nevertheless, social science terms are used in relation to some animal species. For example, ants and bees are called social, or public, animals, meaning their collective image life, division of labor and specialization of activities separate groups individuals. Undoubtedly, in social animals and human society There are similarities, but at the same time they are significantly different from each other. Social insects do not evolve individually, but as part of an entire population. Therefore, anthills and bee colonies are often called biological superorganisms, in which the role of each individual is genetically programmed. Each person in society is purely individual, has will and consciousness and can make independent decisions.

The concept of “society” is used in different phrases, for example, primitive society, philatelist society, Russian society, sports society, etc. In modern scientific literature There are many interpretations of the concept “society”. It is understood as a certain group of people who have united to jointly perform some activity (a society of hunters and fishermen), and as a product of the interaction of people, a certain organization of their lives, including their diverse connections and relationships; as a stage in historical development humanity (primitive society, feudal society) and as a social organization of a country that has a certain structure (Russian society, German society).

From a motivational point of view (what unites people, the motive for joint activity), society is a collection of individuals who have a common interest, on the basis of which their relationships are built, regulated by generally binding rules of behavior (norms), supported and protected by organized power.

American sociologist E. Shils believed that society is an association of people that has certain characteristics:

1) is not part of a larger system;

2) marriages are concluded between representatives of this association;

3) is replenished from the children of representatives of this association;

4) has its own territory;

5) has its own name and even its own history;

6) has its own management system;

7) exists longer than the average life expectancy of an individual;

8) it is united by a common system of values ​​(its own customs, traditions, etc.), which find expression in a particular culture.

The criteria indicated by Shils can be considered universal, since they are suitable for completely diverse associations of people that existed in the past and exist now. At the same time, such of the above characteristics as marriages between representatives of the association, the addition of children to representatives of the association, and existence longer than the average life expectancy of an individual are unlikely to be suitable for characterization student groups, labor collectives, political parties, interest clubs, etc. Thus, Shils created a system of characteristics characteristic of relatively large associations of people. First of all, Shils criteria can be applied to such social phenomena, as a country, state, nation.

A country is usually called a certain territory that has state affiliation. People living in the country, as a rule, have the same citizenship, which objectively unites them into a single group. For example, our country - Russia - occupies an area of ​​more than 17 million km2 with a population of about 150 million people. Natural conditions throughout the country are very diverse. Various and National composition population. Nevertheless, territorial unity is supported by state power Russian Federation. Russian citizens have equal rights, are subject to the same laws. In some cases, citizens of Russia unite to accomplish one common task, for example, electing federal authorities - the President and the State Duma. A similar characteristic can be applied to other countries (England, France, USA, etc.).

Unlike a country, a state is a political organization that governs the population of a certain territory. The state has its own system of power (parliament, government), a certain type of relationship with the population (democracy or anti-democratic regime), and specific distribution of power over the territory (unitary or federal state).

A nation is a group of people formed on the basis of common territory, economic ties, language, culture, consciousness of their internal unity and differences from similar entities. Nations can exist within the same territory and state. But there are frequent cases of small people living compactly in the territory multinational state. In this case, even if this people did not create their own statehood, they retain their national traditions, culture, rituals, etc.

Thus, associations of people based on territorial community, statehood and nationality, undoubtedly, can be characterized as societies. But along with these large associations there is great amount small groups of people interacting directly with each other. We have already mentioned interest clubs, work collectives, political parties. Within these groups, personal communication occurs between people based on the desire to achieve a common goal.

So, society is a complex system consisting of interconnected parts - separate groups of people. Changes are constantly taking place in society. Old groups disappear, new ones appear. Relationships between people and their associations are changing. Some groups and their representatives are increasing their influence on society, while others are losing it.

However, it would be wrong to reduce the concept of society only to the aggregate of human individuals. In a broad sense, the term “society” must be understood as a set of relationships between people that develop in the process of their life. All the diverse connections between people that arise in the process of their interaction are called social relations.

Social relations also represent a system of connections through which society acquires integrity and stability. Types of public relations:

- production relations that develop in the process of production and distribution of material goods;

— political relations arising in the process of managing society and the struggle for power;

— marriage and family relations- personal relationships related to the birth and upbringing of children;

— interethnic relations between representatives of different nations;

— social relations between different social groups(for example, rich and poor).

These types of social relations cannot exist in isolation. Every person strives to find a more paid and prestigious job in order to provide for his family, and at the same time rise higher on the social ladder - this is how production relations are connected with social and marital relations. If a person fails to improve his material and social status, he often blames state power or himself seeks to participate in the exercise of power, giving preference to one or another political force in elections in government bodies. Sometimes discontent results in accusations against representatives of other nations. This is how industrial, social, political and national relations can intersect.

Based on the system of social relations, we can characterize the structure of society, which is understood as the totality of its constituent elements:

1) production of material and spiritual goods;

2) social communities- groups of people united on the basis of some common characteristics;

3) political organizations, the main place among which is the state;

4) institutions of society.

In everyday life, the concept of “institution” is used as a name educational institution. In a broad sense, an institution is understood as a set of norms and rules of behavior in a certain sphere of human life.

Primary social institution- the institution of family associated with the reproduction of man as a biological species and his upbringing and socialization as a member of society. In humans, unlike animals, there is a stable intergenerational connection. Parents do not forget their children when they become adults, and children take care of their elderly parents. Relationships of love and mutual assistance allow people to survive in situations in which animals are unable to survive.

An important social institution is the political institution, which includes relations in the sphere of social management. This includes legal norms, customs, traditions, etc., i.e. those rules of conduct that govern inner life society and relations between different social groups.

In addition, the components of a political institution are political organizations that aim to participate in the exercise of power and management of society. The main organization that implements the management of society is the state. It has a monopoly on management social life and in some cases does not allow interference in this area by other political forces, such as political parties. IN modern world under the dominance of democratic values, political diversity (pluralism) is allowed; political parties can act, openly expressing the interests of their members, and participate in the exercise of power in all ways not prohibited by law.

An economic institution is associated with the production of material goods and means of subsistence. Production arose when man created the first tools. On initial stage During the development of mankind, the tools of labor were primitive, but with their help, people began to more successfully solve the problem of means of subsistence. The use of a digging stick made it possible to more efficiently search for edible roots, and primitive clubs helped in hunting animals. As humanity develops, the tools of labor improve, and at the same time the volume of material goods produced increases. With the advent of cars and high technology production became massive, capable of satisfying diverse material needs.

The spiritual institution of society is associated with the satisfaction of human spiritual needs, the emergence and transfer of knowledge to new generations. The spiritual institution includes culture, which in a broad sense means the totality of all the achievements of mankind in the material and spiritual spheres. In addition, religion and education are components of a spiritual institution. Science and religion are two positions from which the problem of the origin and existence of everything on earth is understood. With the help of education, the knowledge accumulated by humanity during its existence is transmitted.

Questions and tasks

1. What is society? How did it come about?

2. Can a person live outside of society? Imagine yourself isolated from society. What could be the result of such a situation?

3. What is the essence of social Darwinism? Why is it refuted by modern science?

4. Why is the term “social animals” considered conventional? What is the difference between social animals and human society?

5. Define the concept of “society”. What signs of society were identified by the American sociologist E. Shils?

6. Compare the concepts of “country”, “state”, “nation”.

7. What is public relations? What are their types? What is their relationship?

8. What is the structure of society? Give a description of its main elements.

9. Give examples of groups of people, some of which are societies and others of which are not. Justify your opinion.

10. Divide into groups, each of which should represent one of the institutions of society. Try to prove significance of this institute. What would happen if this institution did not exist?

1.1. Concept of society

The word “society” is used everywhere, but not everyone can clearly formulate the essence of this concept. The definition of this phenomenon and the concept denoting it is given by sociology, as well as social science. The latest science in this issue has the most significant weight, since it is society that is the subject of its study. Unlike all other sciences, it purposefully examines all possible aspects of society. Other sciences highlight only one specific side of the phenomenon.

However, we will focus on the idea that sociology gives us, since in our article we are going to consider the question: “What are the main characteristics of society?” - as well as some related aspects. They will help us operate with this concept more consciously and, in general, will be useful for expanding knowledge in this area.

A look at the concept of society

Let us present some data from sociology that reflects the essence of society. Thus, this science examines the concept from two main sides, respectively, presenting diverse meanings. Let's talk about each one separately, while also touching on distinctive features society.

Historical and economic aspect

The first aspect of the study is to consider society taking into account historical, economic, geographical and political factors. According to this aspect, societies are identified as structures larger than just groups of people or communities.

Most often, such very specific types as primitive, slaveholding, feudal and others are distinguished in this vein. They differ in their common level of technology development,

When considering the same historical-economic aspect, societies formed on the territory of a certain country or continent are highlighted. This is Russian, and American, and the Western world as a whole, and the Eastern.

Based on the listed facts, let us summarize this block of information with a definition: society is a system limited in time and territory. Any era with its values ​​and level of technological development is such a society.

Main features

Scientist E. Shils gives us a number of characteristics by which a society is distinguished, based on the formative factors considered:

As an integral functioning system, it is not included in any major systems);

Has its own clearly defined territory;

Has a name, history of education and development;

The replenishment and growth of society occurs at the expense of human resources, who are its own representatives (with rare exceptions);

As a sign complementary to the previous one, representatives of one association enter into marriage;

There is a functioning own control system;

It is characteristic that representatives have common norms and traditions that shape culture;

The lifespan of a society is necessarily longer than the lifespan of an individual representative.

  • territory - it also plays the role of the main material basis for the existence and development of social relations;
  • autonomy - self-sufficiency, allowing one to exist without economic and other ties with other societies;
  • integrativeness - the unification of all individuals in the process social life, maintenance and reproduction of generations;
  • universality - all-encompassing (for individual participants).

Sociological and philosophical aspect

So, we have already learned what the main characteristics of society are in accordance with the economic-geographical aspect of the study. It is time to consider the second aspect of the study of this topic in sociology.

The second meaning of society is purely sociological and philosophical when viewed as a whole. In research in this area, sociology relies on the results of practical observations and experiments on smaller structures - small communities (families, clans, nations). A kind of hierarchy of structures is built, from smallest to largest. As a result, we obtain the functional unity of communities.

Considering various institutions of society from this practical point of view, sociology touches on the problems of the universe - the origin of society, the single purpose of its existence. Every society has its own history. So, American theory“the beginning of the beginning” takes as its basis certain founding fathers. Reflections on this topic by sociologists of the times Soviet Union turn around October revolution 1917

Let us briefly summarize what has been said within the framework of the sociological aspect: society is the largest, embracing all others, making them its part. We continue to consider the question of what are the main characteristics of society.

in a sociological context

Sociological researcher R. Koenig attributes the following characteristics to society:

  • a certain way of life of individuals;
  • economic and ideological associations formed based on agreements;
  • the presence of social unities (different nations);
  • integrity of social unities, i.e. smaller structures;
  • historical prerequisites for the formation and development of this particular society;
  • social reality - the processes in which relationships between individuals are established.

Some Fundamental Properties

Before this, we have already examined two aspects of the study of society in sociology, and mentioned some forms of society as examples. We also learned about the characteristics inherent in society when studied from the economic and sociological sides. Now we consider it appropriate to dwell in more detail on some of its most important properties. In sociology, these include autonomy and self-sufficiency.

Autonomy and self-sufficiency as properties

Earlier we only briefly mentioned the property of autonomy of the structure of society. Now about this in more detail.

The ability of a society to exist separately from others, to support the functioning of smaller structures that are part of it, is autonomy. This property, at first glance, somewhat fades into the background in the conditions of total globalization of absolutely all world processes at the moment. However, this is a misleading impression: the strengthening of international contacts has some signs that autonomy is becoming less obvious, but this process is of a completely different kind.

A clear confirmation of the autonomy of societies, which include the population of countries around the world, is the presence of their own systems of power in them. Within countries there are smaller communities of people who are hierarchically integrated into society as a whole.

Studying further the institutions of society, let's say a few words about self-sufficiency. Self-sufficiency is inherent in the people of a particular country, a property that provides the opportunity to exist completely in isolation from all other societies. After the division of labor (production specialization) occurred between the territories of the world, self-sufficiency is not observed in any country. U modern societies a new inherent quality appeared - complementarity for economic reasons.

Other properties

An important part of any society is its cultural array. This concept includes many phenomena; there is no need to consider them within the framework of our topic. Let's just say that based on common traditions, self-awareness, moral values individuals are formed cultural society. Its formation is preceded by a rich history.

Smaller communities are able to perform their functions in unified system society of the country independently. This is the main manifestation of the property of self-regulation.

Conclusion

As a conclusion, let us conclude: society and its characteristics are considered in sociology in various aspects. This takes into account economic, geographical, historical, cultural and other factors. Modern societies appear mainly in the form of countries and their populations. Their most important properties are autonomy and self-sufficiency.

Thus, we have understood the question of what are the main features of society that form it as a phenomenon. We hope that the information received will be useful for an informed look at modern society.



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