Ticket number 1

What is a society?

There are many definitions of the term "society". In a narrow sense under society can be understood as a certain group of people united for communication and joint performance of any activity, and a specific stage in the historical development of a people or country.

Broadly speaking, society- this is a part of the material world isolated from nature, but closely connected with it, which consists of individuals with will and consciousness, and includes ways of interacting people and forms of their unification.
In philosophical society is characterized by science as a dynamic self-developing system, i.e., such a system that is capable, while seriously changing, at the same time retaining its essence and qualitative certainty. The system is defined as a complex of interacting elements. In turn, an element is some further indecomposable component of the system that is directly involved in its creation.
Signs of society:

• A collection of individuals endowed with will and consciousness.
• General interest, which is permanent and objective. The organization of society depends on the harmonious combination of common and individual interests of its members.
• Interaction and cooperation based on common interests. There must be an interest in each other, giving the opportunity to implement the interests of each.
• Regulation of the public interest through binding rules of conduct.
• The presence of an organized force (power) capable of providing society with internal order and external security.

Each of these spheres, being itself an element of the system called "society", in turn turns out to be a system in relation to the elements that make it up. All four spheres of social life are interconnected and mutually condition each other. The division of society into spheres is somewhat arbitrary, but it helps to isolate and study certain areas of a truly integral society, a diverse and complex social life.

1. Politics and power

Power- the right and opportunity to influence other people, to subordinate them to your will. Power appeared with the emergence of human society and will always accompany its development in one form or another.

Sources of power:

• Violence (physical force, weapons, organized group, threat of force)
• Authority (family and social ties, deep knowledge in some area, etc.)
• Law (position and authority, control over resources, custom and tradition)

Subject of power- one who gives orders

Object of power- the one who performs.

To date researchers identify various public authorities:
depending on the prevailing resource, power is divided into political, economic, social, information;
depending on the subjects of power, power is divided into state, military, party, trade union, family;
depending on the ways of interaction between subjects and objects of power, power is distinguished as dictatorial, totalitarian and democratic.

Politics- the activities of social classes, parties, groups, determined by their interests and goals, as well as the activities of state authorities. Political struggle is often understood as a struggle for power.

Allocate the following types of authority:

• Legislative (parliament)
• Executive (government)
• Judicial (courts)
• Recently, the media have been characterized as the “fourth estate” (ownership of information)

Policy Subjects: individuals, social groups, classes, organizations, political parties, state

Policy objects: 1. internal (society as a whole, economy, social sphere, culture, national relations, ecology, personnel)

2. external (international relations, the world community (global problems)

Policy features: organizational base of society, controlling, communicative, integrative, educational

Policies:

1. according to the direction of political decisions - economic, social, national, cultural, religious, state-legal, youth

2. by the scale of impact - local, regional, nationwide (national), international, global (global problems)

3. according to the prospects for impact - strategic (long-term), tactical (urgent tasks to achieve the strategy), opportunistic or current (urgent)

Ticket number 2

Society as a complex dynamic system

Society- a complex dynamic self-developing system, which consists of subsystems (spheres of public life), which are usually distinguished by four:
1) economic (its elements are material production and relations that arise between people in the process of production of material goods, their exchange and distribution);
2) social (consists of such structural formations as classes, social strata, nations, their relationships and interactions with each other);
3) political (includes politics, state, law, their correlation and functioning);
4) spiritual (covers various forms and levels of social consciousness, which in the real life of society form a phenomenon of spiritual culture).

Characteristic features (signs) of society as a dynamic system:

• dynamism (the ability to change over time both society and its individual elements).
• a complex of interacting elements (subsystems, social institutions).
• self-sufficiency (the ability of the system to independently create and recreate the conditions necessary for its own existence, to produce everything necessary for people's lives).
• integration (the relationship of all components of the system).
• self-governance (responding to changes in the natural environment and the world community).

Ticket number 3

1. human nature

Until now, there is no clarity as to what is the nature of man, which determines his essence. Modern science recognizes the dual nature of man, the combination of biological and social.

From the point of view of biology, man belongs to the class of mammals, the order of primates. A person is subject to the same biological laws as animals: he needs food, physical activity, and rest. A person grows, is subject to disease, ages and dies.

The "animal" personality of a person is influenced by innate programs of behavior (instincts, unconditioned reflexes) and acquired during life. This side of the personality is “responsible” for nutrition, preservation of life and health, and procreation.

Proponents of the theory of the origin of man from animals as a result of evolution
explain the features of the appearance and behavior of a person by a long struggle for existence (2.5 million years), as a result of which the fittest individuals survived and left offspring.

The social essence of a person is formed under the influence of a social way of life, communication with others. Thanks to communication, a person can convey to others what he is aware of, what he is thinking about. The means of communication between people in society is primarily language. There are cases when small children were brought up by animals. Once in human society already in adulthood, they could not master articulate human speech. This may indicate that speech and the abstract thinking associated with it are formed only in society.

Social forms of behavior include a person's ability to empathize, caring for the weak and needy members of society, self-sacrifice for the sake of saving other people, the struggle for truth, justice, etc.

The highest form of manifestation of the spiritual side of the human personality is love for one's neighbor, not associated with material rewards or social recognition.

Selfless love, altruism are the main conditions for spiritual growth, self-improvement. The spiritual personality, being enriched in the process of communication, limits the egoism of the biological personality, this is how moral perfection occurs.

Characterizing the social essence of a person, as a rule, they call: consciousness, speech, labor activity.

1. Socialization

Socialization - the process of mastering the knowledge and skills, ways of behavior necessary for a person to become a member of society, act correctly and interact with his social environment.

Socialization The process by which an infant gradually develops into a self-aware intelligent being who understands the essence of the culture in which he was born.

Socialization is divided into two types - primary and secondary.

Primary socialization concerns the immediate environment of a person and includes, first of all, family and friends, and secondary refers to the mediated, or formal, environment and consists of the impacts of institutions and institutions. The role of primary socialization is great in the early stages of life, and the secondary - in the later stages.

Allocate agents and institutions of socialization. Socialization agents- these are specific people responsible for teaching cultural norms and mastering social roles. Institutes of socialization- social institutions that influence the process of socialization and guide it. Primary socialization agents include parents, relatives, friends and peers, teachers and doctors. To the secondary - officials of the university, enterprise, army, church, journalists, etc. Primary socialization - the sphere of interpersonal relations, secondary - social. The functions of agents of primary socialization are interchangeable and universal, those of secondary socialization are non-interchangeable and specialized.

Along with socialization, it is also possible desocialization- loss or conscious rejection of learned values, norms, social roles (commission of a crime, mental illness). Restoring lost values ​​and roles, retraining, returning to a normal lifestyle is called resocialization(such is the purpose of punishment as a correction) - change and revision of the ideas formed earlier.

Ticket number 4

Economic systems

Economic systems- this is a set of interrelated economic elements that form a certain integrity, the economic structure of society; the unity of relations that develop over the production, distribution, exchange and consumption of economic goods.

Depending on the method of solving the main economic problems and the type of ownership of economic resources, four main types of economic systems can be distinguished:

• traditional;
• market (capitalism);
• command (socialism);
• mixed.

Ticket number 5

Ticket number 6

Cognition and knowledge

The dictionary of the Russian language Ozhegov S. I. gives two definitions of the concept knowledge:
1) comprehension of reality by consciousness;
2) a set of information, knowledge in some area.
Knowledge- this is a multidimensional result tested by practice, which was confirmed in a logical way, the process of knowing the world around.
There are several criteria for scientific knowledge:
1) systematization of knowledge;
2) consistency of knowledge;
3) validity of knowledge.
Systematization of scientific knowledge means that all the accumulated experience of humanity leads (or should lead) to a certain strict system.
Consistency of scientific knowledge means that knowledge in various fields of science complements each other, not excludes. This criterion follows directly from the previous one. The first criterion to a greater extent helps to eliminate the contradiction - a strict logical system of building knowledge will not allow several contradictory laws to exist simultaneously.
Validity of scientific knowledge. Scientific knowledge can be confirmed by repeated repetition of the same action (ie, empirically). The substantiation of scientific concepts occurs by referring to the data of empirical research or by referring to the ability to describe and predict phenomena (in other words, relying on intuition).

Cognition- this is the process of acquiring knowledge through empirical or sensory research, as well as comprehending the laws of the objective world and the totality of knowledge in some branch of science, art.
There are the following types of knowledge:
1) worldly knowledge;
2) artistic knowledge;
3) sensory knowledge;
4) empirical knowledge.
Worldly knowledge is an experience accumulated over many centuries. It lies in observation and ingenuity. This knowledge, no doubt, is acquired only as a result of practice.
Artistic knowledge. The specificity of artistic knowledge lies in the fact that it is based on a visual image, reflects the world and a person in a holistic state.
Sensory cognition is what we perceive with the help of the senses (for example, I hear a cell phone ring, I see a red apple, etc.).
The main difference between sensory cognition and empirical cognition is that empirical cognition is carried out with the help of observation or experiment. During the experiment, a computer or other device is used.
Knowledge methods:
1) induction;
2) deduction;
3) analysis;
4) synthesis.
Induction is a conclusion made on the basis of two or more premises. Induction can lead to both correct and incorrect conclusions.
Deduction is a transition made from the general to the particular. The method of deduction, unlike the method of induction, always leads to true conclusions.
Analysis is the division of the studied object or phenomenon into parts and components.
Synthesis is a process opposite to analysis, that is, the connection of parts of an object or phenomenon into a single whole.

Ticket number 7

Legal responsibility

Legal responsibility- this is a way by which the interests of the individual, society and the state receive real protection . Legal responsibility means the application to the offender of sanctions of legal norms, specified in them certain penalties. This is the imposition of measures of state coercion on the offender, the application of legal sanctions for the offense. Such responsibility is a kind of relationship between the state and the offender, where the state, represented by its law enforcement agencies, has the right to punish the offender, restore the violated law and order, and the offender is called to be convicted, i.e. to lose certain benefits, to suffer certain unfavorable consequences established by law.

These consequences may vary:

• personal (death penalty, imprisonment);
• property (fine, confiscation of property);
• prestigious (reprimand, deprivation of awards);
• organizational (closure of the enterprise, dismissal from office);
• their combination (recognition of the contract as illegal, deprivation of a driver's license).

Ticket number 8

Man in the labor market

A special and unique sphere of socio-economic relations of people is the sphere of relations in the sale of their labor force by people. The place where labor is bought and sold is labor markets. Here the law of supply and demand reigns supreme. The labor market ensures the distribution and redistribution of labor resources, the mutual adaptation of objective and subjective factors of production. In labor markets, a person gets the opportunity to act in accordance with their own interests, to realize their abilities.

Work force- physical and mental capabilities, as well as skills that allow a person to perform a certain type of work.
For the sale of his labor power, the worker receives a wage.
Wage- the amount of monetary remuneration that the employer pays to the employee for the performance of a certain amount of work or the performance of his official duties.
Hence, the price of labor power is wages.

At the same time, the “labor market” means competition for jobs for everyone, a certain freedom of hands for the employer of labor, which, under adverse circumstances (supply exceeds demand), can cause very negative social consequences - wage cuts, unemployment, etc. For a person who is looking for a job or is employed, this means that he must maintain and deepen interest in himself as a workforce through advanced training and retraining. This not only provides certain guarantees against unemployment, but represents the basis for further professional development. Of course, this is not a guarantee against unemployment, because in each specific case, one should take into account a variety of personal reasons (for example, desires and claims for certain activities), real conditions (a person’s age, gender, possible obstacles or restrictions, place of residence, and much more). It should be noted that both now and in the future, employees must learn to adapt to the demands that the labor market puts before them and the conditions themselves, which are changing rapidly. In order to meet the conditions of the modern labor market, everyone must be ready for constant changes.

Ticket number 9

1. Nation and national relations

A nation is the highest form of an ethnic community of people, the most developed, historically stable, united by economic, territorial-state, cultural, psychological and religious features.

Some scholars believe that a nation is a co-citizenship, i.e. people living in the same state-ve. Belonging to a particular nation is called nationality. Nationality is determined not only by origin, but also by upbringing, culture and psychology of a person.
There are 2 trends in the development of the nation:
1. National, which is manifested in the desire of each nation for sovereignty, the development of its economy, science and art. Nationalism is the doctrine of the priority of the interests and values ​​of one's nation, an ideology and politics based on the ideas of superiority and national exclusivity. Nationalism can develop into chauvinism and fascism - aggressive manifestations of nationalism. Nationalism can lead to national discrimination (belittling and infringement of human rights).
2. International - it reflects the desire of nations for interaction, mutual enrichment, expansion of cultural, economic, and other ties.
Both trends are interconnected and contribute to the progress of human
civilizations.

NATIONAL RELATIONS are relations between the subjects of national and ethnic development - nations, nationalities, national groups and their state formations.

These relations are of three types: equality; domination and submission; destruction of other entities.

National relations reflect the fullness of social relations and are determined by economic and political factors. The main ones are political aspects. This is due to the importance of the state as the most important factor in the formation and development of nations. The political sphere includes such issues of national relations as national self-determination, the combination of national and international interests, the equality of nations, the creation of conditions for the free development of national languages ​​and national cultures, the representation of national personnel in power structures, etc. At the same time, historically emerging traditions, social feelings and moods, geographical and cultural conditions of nations and nationalities have a strong influence on the formation of political attitudes, political behavior, political culture.

The main issues in national relations are equality or subordination; inequality of levels of economic and cultural development; national strife, strife, enmity.

1. Social problems in the labor market

Ticket number 10

1. Culture and spiritual life of society

Culture is a very complex phenomenon, which is reflected in the hundreds of definitions and interpretations that exist today. The most common are the following approaches to understanding culture as a phenomenon of social life:
- Technological approach: culture is the totality of all achievements in the development of the material and spiritual life of society.
- Activity approach: culture is a creative activity carried out in the spheres of the material and spiritual life of society.
- Value approach: culture is the practical implementation of universal human values ​​in the affairs and relationships of people.

Starting from the 1st c. before. n. e. the word "culture" (from Latin cultura - care, cultivation, cultivation of the land) meant the upbringing of a person, the development of his soul and education. It finally came into use as a philosophical concept in the 18th - early 19th centuries. and denoted the evolution of mankind, the gradual improvement of language, customs, government, scientific knowledge, art, religion. At that time, it was close in meaning to the concept of "civilization". The concept of "culture" was opposed to the concept of "nature", that is, culture is what a person created, and nature is what exists independently of him.

Based on the numerous works of various scientists, the concept of "culture" in the broad sense of the word can be defined as a historically conditioned dynamic complex of forms, principles, methods and results of active creative activity of people that are constantly updated in all spheres of public life.

Culture in the narrow sense is a process of active creative activity, during which spiritual values ​​are created, distributed and consumed.

In connection with the existence of two types of activity - material and spiritual - two main spheres of existence and development of culture can be distinguished.

Material culture is associated with the production and development of objects and phenomena of the material world, with a change in the physical nature of a person: material and technical means of labor, communication, cultural and community facilities, production experience, skills, skills of people, etc.

Spiritual culture is a set of spiritual values ​​and creative activities for their production, development and application: science, art, religion, morality, politics, law, etc.

Division criterion

The division of culture into material and spiritual is very arbitrary, since it is sometimes very difficult to draw a line between them, because they simply do not exist in a “pure” form: spiritual culture can also be embodied in material media (books, paintings, tools, etc.). d.). Understanding the whole relativity of the difference between material and spiritual culture, most researchers nevertheless believe that it still exists.

The main functions of culture:
1) cognitive - is the formation of a holistic view of the people, country, era;
2) evaluation - the implementation of the differentiation of values, the enrichment of traditions;
3) regulatory (normative) - the formation of a system of norms and requirements of society for all individuals in all areas of life and activity (norms of morality, law, behavior);
4) informative - the transfer and exchange of knowledge, values ​​and experience of previous generations;
5) communicative - preservation, transfer and replication of cultural values; development and improvement of personality through communication;
6) socialization - the assimilation by an individual of a system of knowledge, norms, values, accustoming to social roles, normative behavior, the desire for self-improvement.

The spiritual life of society is usually understood as that area of ​​being in which objective reality is given to people not in the form of opposing objective activity, but as a reality that is present in the person himself, which is an integral part of his personality.

The spiritual life of a person arises on the basis of his practical activity, is a special form of reflection of the surrounding world and a means of interacting with it.

As a rule, knowledge, faith, feelings, experiences, needs, abilities, aspirations and goals of people are referred to spiritual life. Taken in unity, they constitute the spiritual world of the individual.

Spiritual life is closely connected with other spheres of society and is one of its subsystems.

Elements of the spiritual sphere of society: morality, science, art, religion, law.

The spiritual life of society covers various forms and levels of social consciousness: moral, scientific, aesthetic, religious, political, legal consciousness.

The structure of the spiritual life of society:

spiritual needs
They represent an objective need of people and society as a whole to create and master spiritual values.

Spiritual activity (spiritual production)
The production of consciousness in a special social form, carried out by specialized groups of people professionally engaged in skilled mental labor

Spiritual goods (values):
Ideas, theories, images and spiritual values

Spiritual social connections of individuals

Man himself as a spiritual being

Reproduction of public consciousness in its integrity

Peculiarities

Its products are ideal formations that cannot be alienated from their direct producer.

The universal nature of its consumption, since spiritual benefits are available to everyone - individuals without exception, being the property of all mankind.

1. Law in the system of social norms

social norm- a rule of conduct established in society that regulates relations between people, social life.

Society is a system of interrelated social social relations. These relationships are many and varied. Not all of them are regulated by law. Outside of legal regulation are many relationships in the private life of people - in the sphere of love, friendship, leisure, consumption, etc. Although political, public interactions are mostly legal in nature, and in addition to law, they are regulated by other social norms. Thus, law does not have a monopoly on social regulation. Legal norms cover only strategic, socially significant aspects of relations in society. Along with the law, a wide variety of social norms perform a large amount of regulatory functions in society.

A social norm is a general rule that regulates homogeneous, mass, typical social relations.

In addition to law, social norms include morality, religion, corporate rules, customs, fashion, etc. Law is only one of the subsystems of social norms, which has its own specifics.

The general purpose of social norms is to streamline the coexistence of people, to ensure and coordinate their social interaction, to give the latter a stable, guaranteed character. Social norms limit the individual freedom of individuals, setting limits on possible, proper and prohibited behavior.

Law regulates social relations in interaction with other norms, as an element of the system of social regulatory regulation.

Signs of a legal norm

The only one in a number of social norms that comes from the state and is the official expression of its will.

Represents measure of freedom of expression and behavior of a person.

Published in specific form.

Is an form of realization and consolidation of rights and obligations participants in social relations.

Supported in its implementation and protected by the power of the state.

Always represents government mandate.

Is an the only state regulator of public relations.

Represents general rule of conduct, i.e. indicates: how, in what direction, during what time, on what territory it is necessary for this or that subject to act; prescribes a correct course of action from the point of view of society and therefore obligatory for each individual.

Ticket number 11

1. The Constitution of the Russian Federation is the main law of the country

Constitution of the Russian Federation- the highest normative legal act of the Russian Federation. Adopted by the people of the Russian Federation on December 12, 1993.

The Constitution has the highest legal force, fixing the foundations of the constitutional system of Russia, the state structure, the formation of representative, executive, judicial authorities and the system of local self-government, the rights and freedoms of man and citizen.

The Constitution is the fundamental law of the state, which has the highest legal force, fixes and regulates basic social relations in the field of the legal status of the individual, civil society institutions, the organization of the state and the functioning of public authority.
It is with the concept of the constitution that its essence is connected - the basic law of the state is called upon to serve as the main limiter for power in relations with man and society.

Constitution:

· fixes the state system, fundamental rights and freedoms, determines the form of the state and the system of higher bodies of state power;

· has the highest legal force;

Has a direct effect (the provisions of the constitution must be implemented regardless of whether other acts contradict them);

It is distinguished by stability due to a special, complicated procedure for adoption and change;

· is the basis for the current legislation.

The essence of the constitution, in turn, is manifested through its main legal properties (that is, the characteristic features that determine the qualitative originality of this document), which include:
acting as the fundamental law of the state;
legal supremacy;
fulfillment of the role of the basis of the entire legal system of the country;
stability.
Sometimes the properties of the constitution include other features - legitimacy, continuity, prospects, reality, etc.
The Constitution of the Russian Federation is the fundamental law of the country. Despite the fact that this term is absent in the official title and text (unlike, for example, the Constitution of the RSFSR of 1978 or the constitutions of the Federal Republic of Germany, Mongolia, Guinea and other states), this follows from the very legal nature and essence of the constitution.
legal supremacy. The Constitution of the Russian Federation has the highest legal force in relation to all other legal acts, not a single legal act adopted in the country (federal law, act of the President of the Russian Federation, the Government of the Russian Federation, an act of regional, municipal or departmental lawmaking, an agreement, a court decision, etc. ), cannot contradict the Basic Law, and in case of contradiction (legal conflicts), the norms of the Constitution have priority.
The Constitution of the Russian Federation is the core of the legal system of the state, the basis for the development of current (industry) legislation. In addition to the fact that the Constitution establishes the competence of various public authorities for rule-making and determines the main goals of such rule-making, it directly defines the areas of public relations that must be regulated by federal constitutional laws, federal laws, decrees of the President of the Russian Federation, regulatory legal acts of state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and and so on, it also contains many of the basic provisions underlying the development of other branches of law.
The stability of the constitution is manifested in the establishment of a special procedure for changing it (in comparison with laws and other legal acts). From the point of view of the order of change, the Russian Constitution is “rigid” (in contrast to the “soft” or “flexible” constitutions of some states - Great Britain, Georgia, India, New Zealand and others - where changes to the constitution are made in the same order as into ordinary laws, or at least by a fairly simple procedure).

1. social mobility

social mobility- change by an individual or group of the place occupied in the social structure (social position), moving from one social stratum (class, group) to another (vertical mobility) or within the same social stratum (horizontal mobility). social mobility is the process by which a person changes his social status. social status- the position occupied by an individual or a social group in society or a separate subsystem of society.

Horizontal mobility- the transition of an individual from one social group to another, located at the same level (example: moving from an Orthodox to a Catholic religious group, from one citizenship to another). Distinguish individual mobility- the movement of one person independently of others, and group- movement occurs collectively. In addition, allocate geographical mobility- moving from one place to another while maintaining the same status (example: international and interregional tourism, moving from city to village and back). As a type of geographic mobility, there are concept of migration- moving from one place to another with a change in status (example: a person moved to the city for permanent residence and changed his profession).

Vertical mobility- moving a person up or down the corporate ladder.

Upward mobility- social uplift, upward movement (For example: promotion).

Downward mobility- social descent, downward movement (For example: demotion).

Social science identifies a number of differences between the system of society and natural systems. Thanks to this, one can understand how the multi-level system of modern society operates and how all spheres of society are interconnected.

Society as a complex dynamic system: the structure of society

Society is characterized as a complex system, as it includes many elements, separate subsystems and levels. After all, we cannot talk about only one society, it can be a social group in the form of a social class, a society within one country, a human society on a global scale.

The main elements of society are its four spheres: social, spiritual, political and economic (material and production). And individually, each of these spheres has its own structure, its own elements and acts as a separate system.

For example, political sphere society includes parties and the state. And the state itself is also a complex and multi-level system. Therefore, society is usually identified as a complex dynamic system.

Another characteristic of society as a complex system is the diversity of its elements. The system of society in the form of four main subsystems includes ideal and material elements. Traditions, values ​​and ideas play the role of the former, institutions, technical devices, and equipment play the role of material ones.

For example, economic sphere- it is both raw materials, and vehicles, and economic knowledge and rules. Another important element of the system of society is the person himself.

It is his abilities, goals and ways of development, which can change, that make society a mobile and dynamic system. For this reason, society has such properties as progress, change, evolution and revolution, progress and regression.

The relationship of economic, social, political and spiritual spheres

Society is a system of ordered integrity. This is a guarantee of its constant functionality, all components of the system occupy a certain place within it and are connected with other components of society.

And it is important to note that individually, not a single element possesses such a quality of integrity. Society is a peculiar result of interaction and integration of absolutely all components of this complex system.

The state, the country's economy, the social strata of society cannot have such a quality as society in itself. And multi-level links between the economic, political, spiritual and social spheres of life form such a complex and dynamic phenomenon as society.

It is easy to track the relationship, for example, socio-economic relations and legal norms on the example of the laws of Kievan Rus. The code of laws indicated the penalties for murder, and each measure was determined by the place a person occupies in society - by belonging to a particular social group.

Social institutions

Social institutions are considered to be one of the most important components of a society as a system.

A social institution is a set of persons who are engaged in a specific type of activity, in the process of this activity they satisfy a certain need of society. Allocate such types of social institutions.

1. What is a society? signs of society.

2. Thinkers of the past about society.

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

The boundaries of society usually coincide with the boundaries of the country, although this is not always the case. Such a coincidence is characteristic of 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 state 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 delimitation from other similar associations of people. The feeling of one's own characteristics is created due to the traditions and customs that are unique for 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 the society may lose its boundaries and merge into a larger association. For example, many peoples live on the territory of Russia, for whom our country is the main place of residence. Such peoples include, for example, the peoples of the North (Yakuts, Chukchi, Nanai, etc.). Of course, such peoples exist separately from other peoples, since they have a national language, 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, these peoples can be called separate societies only with some reservations.

The society has the following characteristics:

1. Every society has a history that is kept in its memory. This story may differ significantly from what historians describe. Sometimes this leads to extremely funny consequences. So, in the USA, studies were conducted on how the citizens of this state see its history. At the same time, researchers often received completely unexpected answers. For example, when asked about what was 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 general picture of world history.However, such ideas are very indicative, since they reflect their attitude to 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 color of a given society. It 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. Each 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 the Individual is aware of his involvement in this, and not in another society. A developed culture allows society to form norms and values ​​that form the basis of social ties.

3. Each society is the largest unit of social reality, that is, it is not included as an integral part of a larger society. Naturally, at present, in connection with 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 at the expense of 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 this society. The population can be replenished, and due to 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 the society from most other social communities.

5. The population as a subject of society lives in a certain territory. Currently, migration processes have intensified very much, and it is to be expected that they will intensify even more. However, societies isolated from a specific territory have not yet appeared: in the case of migration, a person loses direct contact with the society from which he left, ceases to be a member of it.

6. Very important, although not mandatory, is the existence 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 is the most important mechanism for its development. In society, there are classes, estates, relatively closed social groups, that is, associations of people on various grounds, which 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, while the rich may prevent 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 vice versa, from rich to poor). And in any case, this confrontation leads to changes within society, and, therefore, is the driving force behind development.

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

The differences between society and the state are mainly due to the fact that they are relatively independent of 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 the "advanced" stages of the development of society and indicate that society is developed. The state presupposes citizenship, that is, the formally fixed belonging of a person to it and certain rights and obligations that a 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 features of the status of a citizen, one can distinguish:

a) non-civil society. There are dozens of peoples who 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 and form suppresses the freedom of citizens, that is, does not respect the rights and freedoms that are inherent in citizens as independent, independent people. Citizenship is a big step forward compared to stateless societies, but from the point of view of modern sociology there is no reason to call a society civil;

c) civil society. The freedom of the individual is the main indicator that a society is civil. Civil society is understood as a set of social relations that are not related to the struggle for power in society and government.
Civil society existed even before the advent of the state.

Civil society has the following features:

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

- the 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 state power and, of course, exist independently of state power. However, thanks to such organizations, the state cannot appropriate the rights of citizens and control over them;

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

2. Society is wider 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 to abandon unacceptable ways to achieve goals with the help of social control, which is expressed in relation to others to the actions of a person. And the state power only assumes some functions of society, fixing the norms of behavior in the form of legislation.

The difference between society and the population lies in the fact that the population is the "carrier" of society, that is, what makes society exist, but does not yet form 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 the population does not always mean that society has changed. A change in society with an unchanged population can be observed in the present 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 the population was not so significant. People have remained the same, their habits, level and style of life, sphere of activity have changed.

The change in the population with the invariance of society is a phenomenon that is also very common at the present time, since mass migrations of the population occur. People move from country to country and are forced to "integrate" 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 entity. It includes:

– social interactions and relationships that bind people;

– social groups and communities;

4) social institutions;

5) norms and values.

All of these elements are closely related to each other. Thus, social actions, interactions and attitudes ­ Relationships bind people together and form groups, communities, and institutions. Values ​​and norms exist thanks to institutions, groups and communities, and an individual becomes a person only if, in the process of group communication, as well as communication within the 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 society is different from the population?

3. What are the main features of society. What ensures its integrity? What are the characteristics of any society?

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

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

ANCIENT INDIA

The main source of our knowledge about the social representations of the ancient Indians are Veda- an extensive collection of texts, mostly religious content. The Vedas do not have a single author and were compiled from 1500 to 600 BC. BC, that is, for about nine centuries. The same period saw the formation of the first slave-owning 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.

Under the great influence of Vedic ideas, Buddhism was formed. Its founder is Siddhartha 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 the Brahmins. However, he then came to the conclusion that neither asceticism nor hedonism (that is, the pursuit of life's pleasures) guarantee salvation.

Indian society had a very rigid division into castes, of which there were four: Brahmins (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 the transition from one caste to another was simply impossible. The latter was connected with the karmic ideas of the ancient Indians. On the one hand, a person's belonging to one or another caste 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 the 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 into a representative of the upper class.

In Buddhism, attachment to life was recognized as the main misfortune of a person. 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 the rejection of passions, "thirst", that is, from attachment to the world. Buddhism has proposed a radical way of liberation from this attachment - non-action. Any action of a person draws him even more into an endless cycle. The same goes for desires. Therefore, a righteous person must free himself from desires, from striving for action. The rejection of desires automatically led to the rejection of attachment to life, and therefore the person turned out to be "inaccessible" to all worldly misfortunes and troubles - illness, birth, death, losses.

First of all, monks could apply for release, although such a possibility could not be excluded for ordinary people leading a righteous lifestyle. For the latter, the main thing was to observe five precepts of Buddhism: do not take someone else's, do not harm living beings, do not make idle and false speeches, do not engage in forbidden sexual intercourse and do not drink intoxicating drinks.

Ancient China. Chinese civilization has given rise to many philosophical schools and trends, but the most influential, the most important for the Chinese worldview was Confucianism. Confucianism only later became a religious doctrine, but first it took shape as a social theory. Certainly, The emphasis in Confucianism was placed 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). On the territory of China then there were several independent monarchies, which were constantly at enmity with each other.

The upper strata of society also constantly fought for power and influence on sovereigns. 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 trend in social life that idealized the past. It was based on two principles. First of all, all the misfortunes of life at that time were the result of the fact that people deviated from the traditions followed by their ancestors. And therefore, in order to restore harmony in the state, it was necessary to return to these traditions, to revive them. In-second, from the point of view of Confucius and his followers, the ideal state should be organized as a family in which the roles between members are strictly distributed.

The concept was central to her. "jen", which can be translated as "humanity", "humanity", "philanthropy". This principle can be formulated as follows: "do not do to others what you do not wish yourself, and help them achieve what you would like to achieve yourself."

An important role in Confucianism was played by the principle " whether"- observance of rituals (order). It boiled down to the fact that a person must clearly follow the norms prescribed to him by society., follow all the rules that he must follow. Relationships in Chinese society were governed by a complex system of rules and regulations relating to 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 invested in this principle a meaning somewhat different from the simple observance of 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 following etiquette, and the humanistic aspects of the teachings of Confucius 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 impact on how 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 the 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.

The social theory of Plato is set forth in his works "State", "Laws" and "Politician". In The Republic, Plato argues that the main reason for the emergence of society was the need for association, 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, as it describes the 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 especially pronounced in The State.

At the same time, Plato proposed a classification of forms of power. He singled out: 1) aristocracy, that is, the power of the elect; 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, the power of the mob; 6) tyranny; and 7) an ideal state that cannot be embodied in. In reality, the aristocracy and the monarchy were attributed by Plato to the correct types of government, the following four forms - to the wrong ones.

Democracy (literally "power of the people") Plato considered as the power of the poor. Plato had a negative attitude towards democracy, since freedom, which is the main good of democracy, will cause its death: according to the philosopher, it is from democracy that tyranny is gradually born, since a 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 had a more specific meaning, as it was aimed at criticizing the state structure of Athens, in which Plato lived for a long time.

Plato was one of the first to attempt to analyze the structure of society. He singled out three estates: the estate of philosophers who govern the state; the estate 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 estate has its own virtue: philosophers - wisdom, warriors - courage, 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 orientation towards explaining any described fact.

Social views Aristotle outlined in the treatise "Politics". In it, Aristotle was the first to formulate the signs of democracy, which are now shared by all political scientists. In particular, he argued that the basis of democracy is the middle class, since it is he who ensures the stability of power. In addition, Aristotle considered the election of government bodies to be an obligatory feature of democracy. Finally, Aristotle believed that democracy is the most durable state structure, since 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 foundation of the state, but not in the modern sense: he referred to the family not only the husband, wife, children, but also slaves. For this reason, he considered the ideal state structure to be a slave-owning state in which power belongs to the middle layer - slave owners, and not to the rich and poor (in this idea one can see another prototype of modern ideas about the stratification of society).

Aristotle proposed his own typology of forms of power. He singled out normal and abnormal"forms of government. To the first he attributed the monarchy, aristocracy and polity, to the second tyranny, oligarchy and democracy. Monarchy and tyranny, aristocracy and oligarchy, polity and democracy form pairs based on one principle. As you can see, in assessing the existing real forms of power Aristotle is much softer than Plato.

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 points. 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 do they differ?

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

7. What works did Aristotle write?

SOCIAL THOUGHT IN THE MIDDLE AGES, REVIVAL 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 the Christian ideology, did not contradict it.

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

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

One of the largest 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 theology is the highest point as the doctrine closest to the divine mind. Philosophy is the expression of the mind of man, and it cannot and must not oppose theology; the difference between them lies only in the fact that the human mind and the divine mind occupy a different position in the world hierarchy.

The power of the sovereign and social inequality Thomas Aquinas deduced from the divine will: God arranged the world this way, and we have no choice but to obey his will; any attempt to move from one's estate to a higher one is sinful by nature.

However, Thomas made a clear distinction between divine and temporal authority. Since the world is a place where only the perishable body exists, only it belongs to worldly authorities, but not the immortal soul, which is in the power of God.

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

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

Renaissance- this is the period in which the gradual separation of science from theology began, which ended later, in the New Age. This period is characterized by the highest achievements in the field of art. In the economic sphere, there was a gradual promotion to the fore bourgeoisie which became a prerequisite for the subsequent formation of capitalism. AT political sphere there was a strengthening of state power, the first states appeared, characterized by a strong centralized power. The political views of the time remained largely unscientific. Thus, in the Renaissance, projects of an ideal state structure, presented as descriptions of fantastic states, were very popular. The most famous were "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 a person 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 it necessary to replace with a simpler and more human morality. Montaigne and Erasmus of Rotterdam were among the first people in Europe who realized that morality and morality do not depend on religion and are universal values ​​inherent in man as a thinking being.

Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) - 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 is during this period that the personality comes 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 that regulate the life of ordinary people. Machiavelli draws the image of a cunning, treacherous and cruel ruler, the prototype of which can be considered Caesar Borgia. However, these qualities are not exclusive to the sovereign. They are inherent in all other people, whom Machiavelli considers as evil, greedy and vengeful. In particular, this is indicated by the principles (laws) by which the ruler should be guided in his activities:

1. At the heart of any human action are ambition and the desire for power; a person seeks either to keep what he has, or to get what another has.

2. A smart sovereign should not fulfill all the promises that he made to his subjects. Machiavelli substantiates 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 to attract supporters, a way to win people over. In addition, Machiavelli believed that the ruler, who remembers his promises and fulfills them, inevitably falls into dependence on his subjects, and, therefore, can fall under their control.

3. Good should be done gradually, and evil - immediately. It is human nature to strive to remember the good and forget the bad. Cruelty is considered more just and easier to bear if it is done all at once, rather than gradually. People value awards and praises 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 welfare of citizens.

Machiavelli proposed his own typology of forms of government: 1) the 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.

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

New time. New time is a new stage in the development of European thought. If in the Middle Ages, the emerging science was entirely dependent on the church, and in the Renaissance, its separation from theology was only outlined, 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 a secretary for F. Bacon.

He developed the concept social contract, on the basis of which the concept was subsequently developed civil society. The natural state of mankind war of all against all. It would be wrong to think that a person from birth seeks cooperation. Man is an extremely selfish being who strives for honors and wealth; since goods cannot be shared equally, rivalry and competition must be the only forms of interaction within society. To avoid constant struggle and threat to life, people decided to conclude a social contract, as a result of which a civil society appeared. It is based on laws, and thanks to this, it can protect the rights of a citizen.(for example, ownership). According to Hobbes, civil society involves the renunciation of freedom in favor of the security that the state provides with the help of such institutions as the court, the army, the police, and the government.

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

Another great philosopher of the 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 - even the monarch - has the right to encroach on the freedom, health and life of another person. If the monarch violates these rules, citizens have the right to disobey to 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 forefront the doctrine of the branches of government. He singled out three branches: executive, federal and legislative. The legislature should make laws, the executive should monitor and enforce them, and the federal should be responsible for foreign policy. At present, the branches of government are distinguished differently, but their allocation is based on the idea of ​​John Locke.

Charles Louis Montesquieu (1689-1755) can rightfully be considered the founder geographic 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, the political structure of their states depend on the territory in which they live. Geographical determinism, developed by such scientists as G. T. Bockl, F. Ratzel, L. I. Mechnikov, suggests 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 inhabited by the representatives of the nation.

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 being, which then deteriorates under the influence of society, 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 should be an expression of the general will of people. In order to test how strong this general will is, and also whether the laws by which the 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 come to an agreement.

In philosophy, society is defined as a "dynamic system". The word "system" is translated from Greek as "a whole, consisting of parts." Society as a dynamic system includes parts, elements, subsystems interacting with each other, as well as connections and relationships between them. It changes, develops, new parts or subsystems appear and old parts or subsystems disappear, they change, acquire new forms and qualities.

Society as a dynamic system has a complex multilevel 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 a person is included in them.

Consists of four subsystems, which are the main human - political, economic, social and spiritual. Each sphere has its own structure and is itself also a complex system. So, 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 seen as a system with many components.

Each is a subsystem in relation to the whole society, but at the same time it is a rather complex system itself. 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, backbone 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, 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 grow. Compared to natural systems in human society, qualitative and quantitative changes occur much faster, which indicates that society is constantly changing and in development.

Society, as, indeed, any system, is an ordered integrity. This means that the elements of the system are located within it in a certain position and are to some extent connected with other elements. Consequently, society as an integral dynamic system has a certain quality that characterizes it as a 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 belongs to the number of self-governing and self-organizing systems. This function belongs to the political subsystem, which gives consistency and harmonious correlation to all elements that form a social integral system.

Society as a complex dynamic system. Public relations

The existence of people in society is characterized by various forms of life and communication. Everything that has been created in society is the result of the cumulative joint activity of many generations of people. Actually, society itself is a product of the interaction of people, it exists only where and when people are connected with each other by common interests.

In philosophical science, many definitions of the concept of "society" are offered. In a narrow sense society can be understood as a certain group of people united for communication and joint performance of any activity, as well as a specific stage in the historical development of a people or country.

In a broad sense society — it is a part of the material world isolated from nature, but closely connected with it, which consists of individuals with will and consciousness, and includes ways of interaction of people and forms of their association.

In philosophical science, society is characterized as a dynamic self-developing system, i.e., such a system that is capable of seriously changing, at the same time retaining its essence and qualitative certainty. The system is understood as a complex of interacting elements. In turn, an element is some further indecomposable component of the system that is directly involved in its creation.

To analyze complex systems, like the one that society represents, scientists have developed the concept of "subsystem". Subsystems are called "intermediate" complexes, more complex than the elements, but less complex than the system itself.

1) economic, the elements of which are material production and relations that arise between people in the process of production of material goods, their exchange and distribution;

2) social, consisting of such structural formations as classes, social strata, nations, taken in their relationship and interaction with each other;

3) political, including politics, the state, law, their correlation and functioning;

4) spiritual, covering various forms and levels of social consciousness, which, being embodied in the real process of the life of society, form what is commonly called spiritual culture.

Each of these spheres, being an element of the system called "society", in turn, turns out to be a system in relation to the elements that make it up. All four spheres of social life are not only interconnected, but also mutually condition each other. The division of society into spheres is somewhat arbitrary, but it helps to isolate and study certain areas of a truly integral society, a diverse and complex social life.

Sociologists offer several classifications of society. Societies are:

a) pre-written and written;

b) simple and complex (the criterion in this typology is the number of levels of management of a society, as well as the degree of its differentiation: in simple societies there are no leaders and subordinates, rich and poor, and in complex societies there are several levels of management and several social strata of the population, arranged from top to bottom in descending order of income);

c) society of primitive hunters and gatherers, traditional (agrarian) society, industrial society and post-industrial society;

d) primitive society, slave society, feudal society, capitalist society and communist society.

In Western scientific literature in the 1960s. the division of all societies into traditional and industrial became widespread (at the same time, capitalism and socialism were considered as two varieties of industrial society).

The German sociologist F. Tennis, the French sociologist R. Aron, and the American economist W. Rostow made a great contribution to the formation of this concept.

The traditional (agrarian) society represented the pre-industrial stage of civilizational development. All societies of antiquity and the Middle Ages were traditional. Their economy was dominated by subsistence agriculture and primitive handicrafts. Extensive technology and hand tools predominated, initially providing economic progress. In his production activities, man sought to adapt to the environment as much as possible, obeyed the rhythms of nature. Property relations were characterized by the dominance of communal, corporate, conditional, state forms of ownership. Private property was neither sacred nor inviolable. The distribution of material wealth, the product produced depended on the position of a person in the social hierarchy. The social structure of a traditional society is corporate by class, stable and immovable. There was virtually no social mobility: a person was born and died, remaining in the same social group. The main social units were the community and the family. Human behavior in society was regulated by corporate norms and principles, customs, beliefs, unwritten laws. Providentialism dominated the public consciousness: social reality, human life were perceived as the implementation of divine providence.

The spiritual world of a person in a traditional society, his system of value orientations, way of thinking are special and noticeably different from modern ones. Individuality, independence were not encouraged: the social group dictated the norms of behavior to the individual. One can even speak of a “group man” who did not analyze his position in the world, and indeed rarely analyzed the phenomena of the surrounding reality. Rather, he moralizes, evaluates life situations from the standpoint of his social group. The number of educated people was extremely limited (“literacy for the few”) oral information prevailed over written information. The political sphere of traditional society is dominated by the church and the army. The person is completely alienated from politics. Power seems to him of greater value than law and law. In general, this society is extremely conservative, stable, immune to innovations and impulses from outside, being a "self-sustaining self-regulating immutability." Changes in it occur spontaneously, slowly, without the conscious intervention of people. The spiritual sphere of human existence is a priority over the economic one.

Traditional societies have survived to this day mainly in the countries of the so-called "third world" (Asia, Africa) (therefore, the concept of "non-Western civilizations", which also claims to be well-known sociological generalizations, is often synonymous with "traditional society"). From a Eurocentric point of view, traditional societies are backward, primitive, closed, unfree social organisms, to which Western sociology opposes industrial and post-industrial civilizations.

As a result of modernization, understood as a complex, contradictory, complex process of transition from a traditional society to an industrial one, the foundations of a new civilization were laid in the countries of Western Europe. They call her industrial, technogenic, scientific and technical or economic. The economic base of an industrial society is industry based on machine technology. The volume of fixed capital increases, long-term average costs per unit of output decrease. In agriculture, labor productivity rises sharply, natural isolation is destroyed. An extensive economy is replaced by an intensive one, and simple reproduction is replaced by an expanded one. All these processes occur through the implementation of the principles and structures of a market economy, based on scientific and technological progress. A person is freed from direct dependence on nature, partially subordinates it to himself. Stable economic growth is accompanied by an increase in real per capita income. If the pre-industrial period is filled with the fear of hunger and disease, then the industrial society is characterized by an increase in the well-being of the population. In the social sphere of an industrial society, traditional structures and social barriers are also collapsing. Social mobility is significant. As a result of the development of agriculture and industry, the share of the peasantry in the population is sharply reduced, and urbanization is taking place. New classes appear, the industrial proletariat and the bourgeoisie, and the middle strata are strengthened. The aristocracy is in decline.

In the spiritual sphere, there is a significant transformation of the value system. The man of the new society is autonomous within the social group, guided by his personal interests. Individualism, rationalism (a person analyzes the world around him and makes decisions on this basis) and utilitarianism (a person acts not in the name of some global goals, but for a certain benefit) are new systems of personality coordinates. There is a secularization of consciousness (liberation from direct dependence on religion). A person in an industrial society strives for self-development, self-improvement. Global changes are also taking place in the political sphere. The role of the state is growing sharply, and a democratic regime is gradually taking shape. Law and law dominate in society, and a person is involved in power relations as an active subject.

A number of sociologists somewhat refine the above scheme. From their point of view, the main content of the modernization process is to change the model (stereotype) of behavior, in the transition from irrational (characteristic of a traditional society) to rational (characteristic of an industrial society) behavior. The economic aspects of rational behavior include the development of commodity-money relations, which determines the role of money as a general equivalent of values, the displacement of barter transactions, the wide scope of market operations, etc. The most important social consequence of modernization is the change in the principle of distribution of roles. Previously, society imposed sanctions on social choice, limiting the possibility of a person occupying certain social positions depending on his belonging to a certain group (origin, pedigree, nationality). After modernization, a rational principle of distribution of roles is approved, in which the main and only criterion for taking a particular position is the candidate's preparedness to perform these functions.

Thus, industrial civilization opposes traditional society in all directions. The majority of modern industrialized countries (including Russia) are classified as industrial societies.

But modernization gave rise to many new contradictions, which eventually turned into global problems (environmental, energy and other crises). By resolving them, progressively developing, some modern societies are approaching the stage of a post-industrial society, the theoretical parameters of which were developed in the 1970s. American sociologists D. Bell, E. Toffler and others. This society is characterized by the promotion of the service sector, the individualization of production and consumption, an increase in the share of small-scale production with the loss of dominant positions by mass production, the leading role of science, knowledge and information in society. In the social structure of the post-industrial society, there is an erasure of class differences, and the convergence of the incomes of various groups of the population leads to the elimination of social polarization and the growth of the share of the middle class. The new civilization can be characterized as anthropogenic, in the center of it is man, his individuality. Sometimes it is also called informational, which reflects the ever-increasing dependence of the daily life of society on information. The transition to a post-industrial society for most countries of the modern world is a very distant prospect.

In the course of his activity, a person enters into various relationships with other people. Such diverse forms of interaction between people, as well as connections that arise between different social groups (or within them), are usually called social relations.

All social relations can be conditionally divided into two large groups - material relations and spiritual (or ideal) relations. Their fundamental difference from each other lies in the fact that material relations arise and develop directly in the course of a person’s practical activity, outside the consciousness of a person and independently of him, and spiritual relations are formed, having previously “passed through the consciousness” of people, determined by their spiritual values. In turn, material relations are divided into production, environmental and office relations; spiritual on moral, political, legal, artistic, philosophical and religious social relations.

A special type of social relations are interpersonal relations. Interpersonal relationships are relationships between individuals. At In this case, individuals, as a rule, belong to different social strata, have different cultural and educational levels, but they are united by common needs and interests in the sphere of leisure or everyday life. The well-known sociologist Pitirim Sorokin identified the following types interpersonal interaction:

a) between two individuals (husband and wife, teacher and student, two comrades);

b) between three individuals (father, mother, child);

c) between four, five or more people (the singer and his listeners);

d) between many and many people (members of an unorganized crowd).

Interpersonal relations arise and are realized in society and are social relations even if they are in the nature of purely individual communication. They act as a personified form of social relations.