The concept of "society" is studied by many humanities. Depending on the area of interest, this category is considered in different aspects, in a wide and narrow sense. Why is it important to learn? Understanding the social nature of the phenomenon allows you to find the right ways to solve problems that are inevitable for the life of society.
A change in the nature of society, the structure, and the nature of social interactions dictates the need not only to explore the underlying social mechanisms, but also to seek mechanisms to manage them in order to avoid negative and irreversible consequences. Since the topic is quite extensive, we confine ourselves to an abstract presentation of some of its main provisions.
Definition
Society, as a subject of research, serves as a central category for humanitarian knowledge. The concept came from the Latin term societas (society). In a broad sense, it is a combination of forms and methods of combining and interacting people.
The definition of society in the narrow sense is interpreted as a social structure limited by certain criteria of society.
Society is the most important category of the sphere of social philosophy. In its framework, this term is studied in a theoretical aspect. In the practical field of research, this category serves as the subject of study of sociology, a younger science.
The concept of "society": a broad and narrow meaning
The concept in question is quite multifaceted, which was the reason for the multitude of options for its definitions. In the most generalized form, in the broad sense, society is understood as an association of people and a set of ways of their interaction. They can be carried out both within society and in relation to material nature.
The concept of "society", in the narrow sense, is usually interpreted as the unification by a common principle of a certain circle of people. This is a fairly common approach to the phenomenon. Moreover, the principle of their organization in society can be a fairly impressive list of reasons, ranging from habits and ending with an ideology that turns a lot of its followers into society. The wide and narrow meaning of the content also depends on the direction of scientific interest. The more accurate science is, the narrower are the boundaries of definition, and vice versa, a universal approach opens up the depth and inexhaustibility of a concept.
Society as a result of human activity
Society, as mentioned above, is inextricably linked with the activities of people. Not only connected, but in fact, there is a way of its existence. Highly organized matter differs from nature in that it is able to organize its activities in order to protect the interests of each of its members. Historically, initially, this was a condition of survival. Subsequently, in the process of improving the tools of labor, with the development of civilization, society turned into a complex system of interaction both within the system itself and in relation to the world around it.
The relationship to the outside world characterizes society in its broad sense - as a social institution. Internal interactions represent a whole palette of social ties, which in a certain social paradigm characterize society in a narrow sense.
Goals and Relationships
Society, in the narrow sense of the word, arises so that each of its members can strengthen themselves by attracting like-minded people. Not every activity is a way of being of society. It is formed as a result of appropriate, directed activity.
Society in the narrow sense words - certain groups of people, regardless of their scale, themselves shaping their goal. This process is the basis for the emergence of certain social groups. In a completely different way, this process is carried out in a global sense. For society in the broad sense of the word, the goal is predetermined by the logic of nature itself - survival and expanded self-reproduction, preservation of oneself as a biological species.
Society levels
The internal structure of society is heterogeneous. People seek to unite in accordance with their professional, amateur interests, to achieve goals and solve current problems.
For example, professional communities of people form their own code of conduct, norms of professional ethics, and exchange knowledge at conferences, seminars and other scientific and professional events.
A different circle of public interests is represented by national communities - they unite according to geopolitical criteria and present vivid examples of society in the narrow sense of the word. A striking example is the small ethnic groups that advocate independence despite the processes of integration and globalization.
The historical formation of society determines its forms of existence, the nature of which depends on the mode of production.
Spheres of society
Society as a result and the meaning of people's life is closely studied by the science of nature, society and knowledge. There are four main areas of human social activity: economic, social, political and spiritual.
Economic. The relationship of people in the production process (as well as distribution and consumption) of a social product. Options for interacting societies include classes such as slaves and slave owners, capital and wage labor, producers and consumers of products, other classes and communities.
Social. Relations of people regulated by social institutions of classes, ethnic groups, nations, family and marriage, education, social protection (for example, parents and children, national minorities, emigrants, etc.).
Political. Interactions of people on the subject of power, politics, law, management of society (voters, the political elite of the society, lawyers, judicial authorities).
The spiritual realm. Culture, art, science, morality, religion - make up the field of spiritual communication of people. In this area, if we talk about society in the narrow sense, The following classes can be distinguished: scientists, clergy, artists, producers, performers, believers, etc. This is also a production sphere, only related to the distribution and consumption of spiritual values.
Social orientation
There are other examples of understanding what a society is in a narrow sense, based on self-affirmation through the denial of certain norms and principles developed in other public associations of people. Terrorist, extremist, so-called associations of the "extreme" order.
Often such organizations try to draw attention to the very fact of their existence. They carry out terrorist acts and take responsibility to defend their interests, often at the cost of the interests of other communities.
Antagonistic contradictions are a natural process in the social dynamics of interactions. They serve as a catalyst for metabolic processes, and the timeliness and adequacy of the reaction to them on the part of society is important in this case.
Summary
If we study the phenomenon of society in its interactions at the micro and macro levels, it becomes completely obvious that dialectical processes are repeated at different levels, having only a different degree of intensity and awareness.
Society is a living organism. Its social nature suggests that each element of the system is only a drop reflecting the world as a whole. Society in the narrow sense of the word repeats a single mechanism for the development and resolution of internal contradictions, which we can observe on a global scale.