Definition of the term "society". The main features of society. What is a society? Definition and meaning of the word Define what society is

SOCIETY

in a broad sense - a part of the material world isolated from nature, which is a historically developing form of human life. In a narrow sense, human stage. stories (social-economic formations, inter-formation and intra-formation historical stages, e.g. pre-capitalist Oh, early feud. O.) or , individual O. (organism), e.g. French O., ind. O., owls. O.

In the history of philosophy and sociology O. is often understood as a set of people. individuals uniting to satisfy "social instincts" (Aristotle) control over your actions (Hobbes, Rousseau) and T. n. Understanding O. as based on a convention, an agreement, the same orientation of interests was characteristic of bourgeois Philosophy 17 - early 19 centuries However, at 19 v. there is a "contractual" theory of society. Comte saw the origins of O. in the operation of some abstract law of the formation of complex and harmonic. systems. Hegel contrasted the "contractual" theory with the interpretation of "citizen. society" as a sphere of economic relationships, where all-round intertwining of all from all (cm. Op., T. 7, M.-L., 1934, With. 223) . V modern bourgeois sociology O. as a set of abstract individuals is replaced by an understanding of it as a set of actions of the same abstract individuals (social action - cm. social).

Marxism-Leninism, in the understanding of O., proceeds from the fact that the fact of human existence cannot reveal the essence of O. Abstract, isolated from the course of history, is just a product of thinking. process, the signs of such a person are at best signs of a “kind”. Rejecting the abstract, non-historical. of a person, K. Marx wrote: “Society does not consist of individuals, but expresses the sum of those connections and relations in which these individuals are to each other” (Marx K. and Engels F., Works, T. 46, part 1, With. 214) . Def. O. there is a definition. the nature of societies. of a person, and, conversely, “... Society,” Marx specified, “ i.e. the man himself in his social relations" (ibid., T. 46, part 2, With. 222) .

Societies. relations - that specific thing that distinguishes social formations from all others systems of the material world. But this does not mean that society is only society. relationship. Marx defined O. as "the product of the interaction of people" (ibid., T. 27, With. 402) and attributed to him produces. strength and production. relationships, society system, organization of the family and classes, political. system, society. .

O.'s characteristic through the totality of societies. relations highlights and fixes its specificity. nature. Establishing the determinism of all societies. production relations. relations and the discovery of their dependence on the level of development produces. forces allowed Marx to penetrate into society. life. Not only what distinguishes the structure of societies has been established. life from the natural, but also open changes in one way of society. life to others. “Relations of production,” Marx emphasized, “in their totality form what is called social relations, society, and, moreover, they form a society that is at a definite stage of historical development, a society with a peculiar distinctive character” (ibid., T. 6, With. 442) .

Introducing the concept of social-economic. formations, Marx discarded reasoning bourgeois sociologists about "O. in general”, but this did not mean at all that Marx abandoned the concept of O. Marx showed that to begin “O. in general”, until the true foundations of societies were discovered and known. life means to start not from the beginning, but from the end. On reasoning bourgeois sociologists about “0. in general", "... reasoning, - V. I. Lenin noted, - empty of content ... certain forms of the structure of society were set" (PSS, T. 1, With. 430) . This allowed Marx to single out not only special, but also general features that characterize clothing, regardless of its forms. An alternative to "O." and "social-economic. formation" in this case is pointless, because the first is generic to the second. Category "O." reflects qualities here. definition of societies. life when compared with nature, “social-economic. formation" - qualities. the certainty of the various stages of development of O.

Marx K., Letter to P. V. Annenkov, 28 dec. 1846. Marx K. and Engels F., Works, T. 27; his, Hired and capital, ibid., T. 6; his own, Economic. manuscripts 1857-1859 gg., ibid., T. 46, ch. 1-2; Lenin, V.I., What are "friends of the people" and how do they fight against the Social Democrats?, PSS, T. one; his own, Economic. populism and criticism of it in the book G. Struve (Reflection of Marxism in bourgeois literature), there.

Yu. K. Pletnikov.

Philosophical encyclopedic Dictionary. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. Ch. editors: L. F. Ilyichev, P. N. Fedoseev, S. M. Kovalev, V. G. Panov. 1983 .

SOCIETY

a group of people created through purposeful and reasonably organized joint activity, and the members of such a group are not united by such a deep principle as in the case of genuine community. Society rests on a convention, an agreement, an identical orientation of interests. The individuality of an individual changes much less under the influence of his involvement in society than depending on his inclusion in. Often, society means the sphere that lies between the individual and the state (for example, when it comes to orienting the goals of education to the “public” will of a certain era), or romantics, or in the sense of. concepts of societe-corps social - the whole human. After attempts to explain the essence of the concept of "society" in antiquity (Aristotle) and in the Middle Ages (Augustine and Thomas Aquinas), this became, especially since the 18th century, a political and philosophical problem, which Comte tried to exhaust in his sociology; therefore, society has become the subject of consideration and the central point new science – sociology.

Philosophical Encyclopedic Dictionary. 2010 .

Society- a form of association of people with common interests, values and goals. Human societies are characterized by a model of relations (social relations) between people, which can be described as a set of such relations between its subjects. In the social sciences, society as a whole often exhibits stratification. Society is a supra-individual, supra-group and supra-institutional association of people, which is characterized by different kinds social differentiation and division of labor. A society can be characterized in many ways: for example, by nationality: French, Russian, German; state and cultural; by territorial and temporal; according to the method of production, etc.

Society is often identified with sociality in general and is reduced to forms of communication and joint activities of people; from another point of view, in themselves people who are in communication and engaged in joint activities, including the distribution of a jointly produced product, do not yet constitute society in the sociological understanding, since they remain the same people included in group (including collective) forms of life. If naturalism claims that society is reduced to its material carriers, then in its phenomenological interpretations society refers to the types of consciousness and forms of communication.

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Society as an object of study

In sociology

Society in the phenomenological sense is mens intensas(mind, thought, as it were, in itself) - a set of social worlds of our mentalities, worlds imprinted in our consciousness.

Society under the naturalistic approach is res extensas(extended things) - a set of bodies, physical and biological, that are in real objective relationships to each other.

The generic concept in relation to the concept of "society" is "community of people". Social community is the main form of people's life. At the same time, society is not reduced to a social community, that is, this concept is much broader in scope and contains, first of all, social mechanisms of its own reproduction, which are not reducible to biological ones. This means that community is not secondary to society, but society grows out of a social community. In his work of the same name, F. Tönnies, based on an analysis of the works of K. Marx, showed the primacy of the community in relation to society.

Historically, the first form of existence of the human race as a community of people was the tribal community. “On closer examination of the term of community,” writes F. Tönnies, “it can arise 1. from natural relations, insofar as they have become social. Here, blood-related relations always turn out to be the most common and most natural ties that bind people. In the process of the historical development of society, first of all, the main forms of the community of people changed - from tribal and neighboring communal, estate and social class to modern socio-cultural communities.

Sociological relationism considers society through the interrelationship of all elements and their mutually substantiating significance within a certain system, which are essential only for a certain historical type of being, with a change in which the system itself changes. This definition of relationalism is given by K. Mannheim in Ideology and Utopia (1929). Relational society is relationibus interres(relations between things).

Over time, some societies have evolved towards more complex forms of organization and governance. The corresponding cultural evolution has had a significant impact on public models: tribes of hunters and gatherers settled around seasonal food sources, transforming into villages, which, in turn, grew and turned into cities of one size or another, and then evolved into city-states and national state associations. As society develops, various phenomena characteristic of human groups are institutionalized, and certain norms are developed that must be followed.

Many forms of society are characterized by the same phenomena: joint activity, avoidance, blame (eng. scapegoating), generosity, risk sharing, reward, etc. A society, for example, can officially recognize the merits of an individual or group, endowing them a certain status if they perform some desired or approved action. Practically in all communities there is a performance of selfless actions in the interests of the group, etc.

In anthropology

Human communities are often classified according to how they provide for their livelihood. Researchers distinguish between societies of hunters and gatherers, nomadic, pastoral, simple and complex agricultural (the first type is characterized by crop production, the second - full-fledged intensive agriculture), as well as industrial and post-industrial societies (the last two are often considered as qualitatively different in comparison with the previous ones) .

In political anthropology

Societies can also be classified in terms of their political structure. In order of increasing size and organizational complexity, such forms as clan, tribe, chiefdom and state are distinguished. The strength of political power in these structures varies depending on the cultural, geographical and historical environment with which these societies have to interact in one form or another. Accordingly, at a similar level of technological and cultural development, a more isolated society has a greater chance of survival than one located in close proximity to others who can encroach on its material resources. Failure to fight back against other societies usually ends up absorbing the weaker culture.

Paradigms for interpreting society

Closed society - according to K. Popper - a type of society characterized by a static social structure, limited mobility, inability to innovate, traditionalism, dogmatic authoritarian ideology society).

According to K. Popper, an open society is a type of society characterized by a dynamic social structure, high mobility, the ability to innovate, criticism, individualism and a democratic pluralistic ideology (here a person is given the opportunity to choose worldview, moral values. There is no state ideology, but at the level of the constitution the principles of spiritual freedom are fixed, which a person really uses, that is, he himself tries to find the basic values).

the system of relationships between people, the established forms of their joint activities. Society acts as a historical embodiment of specific types of social systems.

Great Definition

Incomplete definition ↓

SOCIETY

society) - 1. The whole sum of human relations. 2. A self-perpetuating association of people occupying a relatively limited area, with its own more or less distinctive culture and institutions (eg the Nuer people), or a long-standing or well-known nation-state (such as the UK or the US).

Although it is one of the most important concepts in sociology, its use is fraught with difficulties and disputes, especially in the second meaning, which is easily applied to known nation-states with their own family, economic and political institutions and clear boundaries. It is much more difficult to identify the boundaries of the societies of ancient empires, which, as a rule, consisted of relatively free various peoples, peasant communities, etc., who did not have the status of statehood (see also Nationalism). As Runciman (1989) has pointed out, the extent of actual "community membership" can be highly variable: "a member of a tribal group living on the boundary between zones of male and female inheritance; or of a separate ethnic and religious community of a country ruled by a colonial power; or of a secessionist commune based within the state". Where is the point at which a historically changing society should or should not be considered the same? Finally, the ability of members to interact with each other and at what level, as well as the historical degree of cultural institutional integrity are also a "test" for the acceptability of the concept of "single society". Even in the clearest cases of definition, there will be links to other societies. In view of the increasing globalization of modern social relations, some theorists (notably Giddens) have warned of the constant risk of overemphasizing the concept of unitary societies in sociology, which detracts from the importance of intersocietal relations, multinational organizations, and so on. For Durkheim and some functionalists, "society" also exists in a third sense. Durkheim developed sociology as a "science of society" and saw in it a special object, acting according to "sui generis". As a subject of study, it is more than the sum of individual constituent parts and has a "moral force" that holds human individuals together (see Social Facts as Things). This interpretation of the term has become one of the most controversial. In contrast to "classical" sociological theory, it can be said that modern science is increasingly reluctant to interpret theories of society in this way (see Holism; Methodological individualism; Structure and will). See also Social system; functional background.

Great Definition

Incomplete definition ↓

Any newly born baby instantly becomes a member of society with the appropriate rights and rules. But what is this society that we all belong to? This concept is quite broad and includes many aspects. Society is a kind of system in which people interact and communicate, and are also divided into different groups depending on the feature that unites them.

In contact with

Origins

The first community arose back in primitive times, when people united in order to survive together. In this way, entire clans were created with their hierarchy, who were engaged in a common cause and were often at war with other communities. In order to develop successfully, it was necessary to fight for food and territory, and then share them. In addition, differences in religion or interracial prejudices could serve as reasons for conflicts.

It was from this distant primitive community that the modern society, which at first glance looks so different from it, came about.

Definition in dictionaries

Society is such a broad concept that completely different groups of people can be called this word. So, it can be called children who are engaged in a macrame circle, and at the same time, the entire population of the whole planet is also united under this broad concept. The thing is that all members of society are united by their interaction. So, people who are completely different in worldview, skin color, character, are forced to maintain social relations and get along peacefully with each other.

And it’s not for nothing that “society” is the same root as the word “communicate”. It could not have formed without this simple action. If people were deprived of the need to talk to each other, everyone could live alone, but this is completely inefficient. Every person in society has a role to play. A striking example of this is the difference in professions.

Another example is an organization, firm or company, since people working in any production are united by a common goal - the release of quality products. That is why each institution is assigned the names of forms of economic activity that characterize the property from a legal point of view and indicate the nature of the relationship of people working there.

The most famous and complete dictionary was created by V. I. Dal. In addition, there is a special dictionary dedicated to the interpretation of social science terms, the author of which is N. E. Yatsenko. So, what interpretation of society do these authors give?

Dictionary N. E. Yatsenko

Dictionary of V. I. Dahl

Oddly enough, but in this popular explanatory dictionary there is no definition of society as such. His lexicographer interpreted the verb "to communicate" - that is, to connect, unite something or someone, as well as to communicate and interact with oneself. You can also watch with another person. on the same thing from different points of view and yet unite into one whole unification.

Society structure

Society cannot exist without society and social interactions. It can be imagined as a single organism, for the normal functioning of which the coordinated work of all members is necessary. . And that means, it is possible to single out separate systems and structures in it, including the following categories:

institutions;
segments of society;
community;
social groups.

All these categories are affected by external factors. In every society, the appearance of an individual who will develop and change the views of a group of people is quite natural. This can lead both to minor deviations from the original foundations, and to a change in the history of entire nationalities.

They play a very important role in the development of any association, as they establish connections and interactions not only within one group, but also between several communities.

Characteristic features

Society has characteristic features and features that distinguish it from other organizations of groups of people. These characteristics include fundamental features, which will be described below.

Relationships and connections

so , society in the simplest sense is the interaction of its members with each other, leading to the emergence social structure. This interaction is carried out both between individuals and between groups, cells and similar elements of society.

At birth, a person enters the society of people, as well as the group of his family. Then he begins to enter the society of his peers in kindergarten and school. Over time, the number of such groups increases. A person enters society on the basis of interest in a common cause, profession, favorite business. Moreover, these groups do not always meet the needs individual person, so that the association of people in which we are not always suits us and satisfies our needs. So, it happens due to the imperfection of the division of the general flow of people into smaller groups.

Nevertheless, a person communicates in his group according to certain rules. They can be both open and not vowels. However, this does not mean that a person cannot influence or change them. In the group, you can take a lower position than you would like, or a higher position compared to the rest. This leads to a certain inequality of group members.

To achieve the same position of all members of the group is not possible. It is only before the law that everyone should be equal, but, for example, in an interest group, someone will still occupy a leading position due to greater talent or a stronger character. Such positions can be identified in any society - family, political party, work team.

Types of society depending on science

There is a special science - social science, aimed at studying the concept under consideration. But besides it, there are other sciences (psychology, philosophy, and the like) that actively use the term society. Wikipedia considers the meaning these definitions are also for interdisciplinary and sub-disciplines of anthropology.

Social science

No matter how broad the concept considered here, it is possible to distinguish several historical types as a classification. They will be discussed next:

social anthropology

Social society is the main form of human existence, which includes self-regulation mechanisms. Most often in sociology it is divided into types based on the level of their development. Sociologist D. Lenski compiled the following classification:

hunting and gathering group - a community in which responsibilities were first divided;
an agrarian simple society is a group of people that does not have a separate leader to manage it;
agrarian complex - a group of people in the political structure of which there are people involved in managerial activities;
industrial - a society engaged in production activities;
special, which cannot be attributed to any of the above types.

Also in sociology they use the term virtual society, it functions on the Internet, which is typical for the modern age of technology.

Since society also call the totality of all people on the planet, it is important to understand how they represent its development. It is assumed that the first tribes, who rallied for the sake of survival, chose the territory in which they led a settled life. Developing, they turned into villages, and then cities. Whole states grew out of the latter. Subsequently, people developed laws and certain norms of behavior that a group of individuals had to follow. People could deserve a certain status and improve your position in the team.

Political anthropology

This subdiscipline classifies There is a society according to the political structure into the following types:

tribe;
chiefdom;
state.

Moreover, the strength of these types will primarily depend on the environment of other groups of people who can be friendly or hostile. Usually a more isolated society is more secure from encroachment and lives more peacefully.

Based on the foregoing, it can be concluded that that society is a living organism where each member plays an important role and influences the development of other individuals and the life of the organization as a whole.

In everyday life, we often use the word "society", almost without thinking about its meaning, which seems simple and understandable. But when we ask whether it is a synonym for the word "public", and we begin to wonder. We propose to find out together what society is and how it differs from the public.

Definition of what society is

Question " What is a society?” refers to the field of activity of sociologists, who today have not yet come to a consensus and have not formulated a definition of this term.

The word "society" has many meanings. It may mean:

humanity. The entire population of the earth in a certain context is called a society. For example, when they talk about the history of the development of civilization;

population of the country. For example, residents Russian Federation can be called Russian society;

association of people on interests or similar occupations. Surely, you have come across the expression "society of hunters and fishermen", "sports society", "society of ballet lovers";

historical stage of development. From school history, many remember such concepts as primitive society, feudal, capitalist, etc.;

a legal concept denoting the organizational form of an enterprise: a limited liability company, a joint-stock company, etc.

What is society - definition and division

In our article, we will consider society from the point of view of sociology, which means by this concept a historically established structured community, whose members live in the same territory and enter into certain relationships. In other words, this is a set of people living according to the social laws they have developed and constantly interacting with each other.

The public is a narrower concept, behind which is the active part of the society, which is the spokesman for the opinion of a certain part of the citizens. Let's take an example. In the city of N, several public organizations and activists from among the local population called for the closure of the smelter, whose emissions are several times higher than the existing standards. In this case, we are dealing with the public of the city.

What is society and man?

Philosophical disputes about man and society have been going on for centuries. We will express the opinion supported by the majority of scientists.

Man is a rational being entering into social relations, and, therefore, being a member of society. Can a person exist outside of society? Unlikely. Even hermit monks, who lived in seclusion, obeyed the laws and rules developed by society, since the church is one of its institutions.

Children raised by animals are a vivid example of how the influence of the environment affects the personality. Undeveloped speech, the habits of animals and, most importantly, the inhibition of psychological development, which does not recover over the years - this is what the lack of communication with other members of society leads to.

Society: main features

Characteristic features by which society can be distinguished from the state and the country:

What is society: answers

In this section, we will provide answers to the most common questions related to society.

What is civil society?

Civil society is a set of public institutions and relations that are independent of the state and designed to protect the rights and interests of their representatives before it. Often civil society exists in opposition to the state, limiting its omnipotence. For example, the subjects of civil society can be public organizations fighting for human rights, associations of environmentalists, trade unions.

What is a traditional society?

A traditional society is one of the types of society based on traditions and customs. Such an organization of society is conservative, since it seeks to preserve the traditional foundations unchanged.

The economy is based on rural subsistence farming, the dominance of religion is recognized in the spiritual sphere, the monarch is considered the vicar of God on earth. A similar social structure existed in ancient times and the Middle Ages.

What is modern society?

Modern society is called post-industrial, highlighting this main characteristic- moving away from industrialization, when the manufacturing sector was considered dominant, and the transition to the information society, where most people are busy processing, storing and selling information, information technologies.

The main features of modern society are the sharp growth of the urban population, the robotization of production, the intensive development of the information industry and the globalization of the economy.

What is a social society?

At the core social society is the idea of social equality. An attempt to create such a society was made in 1917, when, after October revolution First, the dictatorship of the proletariat was proclaimed, and then the construction of a socialist state based on the ideas of equality and brotherhood began.

However, it was not possible to achieve the desired: the USSR collapsed. Among the existing countries there is not one where there would be no social oppression.

What is the realm of society?

The sphere of society, more precisely, the sphere of activity of society is called the totality of stable relationships between the subjects of society. There are 4 main areas of activity of society: social (division of society into classes, nations, age and gender groups, etc.), economic (production and trade relations), political (state structure, the presence of parties and political movements), spiritual (religion, culture, morality ).

What is the culture of society?

The culture of a society is a system of values, behavioral models and ideas about life accepted in a given society. Let's explain with an example. From the point of view of a Russian, the culture of the inhabitants of Myanmar is very specific: there, the long neck is considered the standard of female beauty, and the local population associates the origin of this tradition with the legend of dragons. Russians do not have such a custom, there is a difference in cultures.

We hope our answer to the question, what is society, satisfied you, and now you can tell how society differs from the public.

Political scientist Alexander Dugin will tell you more about the traditional society in the video we offer: