It is difficult to say when the question arose about the appearance and formation of a person for the first time. This thinker was interested in both the thinkers of ancient civilizations and our contemporaries. How is society developing? Can certain criteria and stages of this process be identified?
Society as a single system
Each living creature on the planet is a separate organism, which is characterized by certain stages of development, such as birth, growth and death. However, no one exists in isolation. Many organisms tend to unite into groups within which they interact and influence each other.
Man is no exception. Uniting on the basis of common qualities, interests and occupations, people form a society. Inside it, certain traditions, rules, and foundations are formed. Often, all elements of society are interconnected and interdependent. Thus, it develops as a whole.
Social evolution implies a leap, the transition of society to a qualitatively different level. Changes in the behavior and values of the individual are transmitted to the rest and transferred to the whole society in the form of norms. So, people moved from the herd to the states, from gathering to technological progress, etc.
Social Evolution: The First Theories
The essence and patterns of social evolution have always been interpreted in different ways. Even in the XIV century, the philosopher Ibn Khaldun was of the opinion that society develops exactly as an individual. At first it is born, followed by dynamic growth, flowering. Then comes decay and death.
In the era of enlightenment, one of the main theories was the principle of the "stadial history" of society. Scottish thinkers expressed the view that society rises in four stages of progress:
- gathering and hunting
- cattle breeding and nomadism,
- agriculture and agriculture,
- trade.
In the 19th century, the first concepts of evolution appeared in Europe . The term in Latin means "deployment." He presents the theory of the gradual development of complex and diverse life forms from a unicellular organism through genetic mutations in his descendants.
The idea of becoming complex from the simplest was picked up by sociologists and philosophers, considering this idea relevant for the development of society. For example, the anthropologist Lewis Morgan identified three stages of ancient people: savagery, barbarism and civilization.
Social evolution is perceived as a continuation of the biological formation of species. It is the next step after the appearance of Homo sapiens. So, Lester Ward perceived it as a logical step in the development of our world after cosmogenesis and biogenesis.
Man as a product of biological and social evolution
Evolution has caused all species and populations of living things to appear on the planet. But why did people move much further than the rest? The fact is that in parallel with physiological changes, social factors of evolution also acted.
The first steps towards socialization were not made even by a man, but by a humanoid monkey, having taken up the tools of labor. Gradually, skills improved, and already two million years ago, a skilled person appears who actively uses tools in his life.
However, the theory of such a significant role of labor is not supported by modern science. This factor acted in conjunction with others, such as thinking, speaking, uniting into a herd, and then into communities. After a million years, upright man appears - the predecessor of Homo sapiens. He not only uses, but also makes tools, lights a fire, cooks food, uses primitive speech.
The role of society and culture in evolution
A million years ago, the biological and social evolution of man takes place in parallel. However, already 40 thousand years ago, biological changes are slowing down. Cro-Magnons practically do not differ from us in appearance. Since their inception, the social factors of human evolution have played a large role.
According to one theory, there are three main stages of social progress. The first is characterized by the appearance of art in the form of cave paintings. The next stage is the taming and breeding of animals, as well as occupation of agriculture and flight keeping. The third stage is the period of technical and scientific progress. It begins in the 15th century and continues to this day.
With each new period, a person increases his control and impact on the environment. The fundamental principles of Darwin evolution, in turn, are relegated to the background. So, for example, natural selection, which plays an important role in the "screening" of weak individuals, is no longer so influential. Thanks to medicine and other achievements, a weak person can continue to live in modern society.
Classical development theories
Simultaneously with the writings of Lamarck and Darwin on the origin of life, theories of evolutionism appear. Inspired by the idea of continuous improvement and progress in life forms, European thinkers believe that there is a single formula by which the social evolution of man takes place.
One of the first hypotheses put forward by Auguste Comte. He distinguishes the theological (primitive, initial), metaphysical and positive (scientific, highest) stages of development of the mind and worldview.
Proponents of the classical theory were also Spencer, Durkheim, Ward, Morgan and Tennis. Their views differ, but there are some general points that formed the basis of the theory:
- mankind seems to be a whole, and its changes are natural and necessary;
- the social evolution of society occurs only from the primitive to the more developed, and its stages are not repeated;
- all cultures develop along a universal line, the stages of which are the same for all;
- primitive peoples are at the next stage of evolution; it is possible to study primitive society from them.
Denial of Classical Theories
Romantic beliefs about the steady improvement of society go back to the beginning of the 20th century. World crises and wars make scientists take a different look at what is happening. The idea of further progress is skeptical. The history of mankind is no longer linear, but cyclical.
In the ideas of Oswald Spengler, Arnold Toynbee, echoes of the philosophy of Ibn Khaldun about the repeating stages in the life of civilizations appear. As a rule, there were four of them:
- birth,
- climb,
- maturity,
- death.
So, Spengler believed that from the moment of birth to the attenuation of culture, about 1000 years pass. Lev Gumilyov assigned them 1,200 years. Western civilization was considered close to a natural decline. Adherents of the "pessimistic" school were also Franz Boas, Margaret Mead, Pitirim Sorokin, Wilfredo Pareto , etc.
Neo-evolutionism
Man, as a product of social evolution, again appears in the philosophy of the second half of the 20th century. Taking into account the scientific evidence and evidence of anthropology, history, ethnography, Leslie White and Julian Steward are developing a theory of neo-evolutionism.
The new idea is a synthesis of the classical linear, universal and multi-linear model. In their concept, scientists abandon the term "progress." It is believed that culture does not make a sharp leap in development, but is only somewhat more complicated in comparison with the previous form, the process of change occurs more smoothly.
The founder of the theory, Leslie White, assigns the main role in social evolution to culture, presenting it as the main tool for adapting a person to the environment. He puts forward the energy concept, according to which with the development of culture, the number of energy sources develops. Thus, he speaks of three stages of the formation of society: agricultural, fuel and thermonuclear.
Post-industrial and informational theory
Along with other concepts, at the beginning of the 20th century the idea of a post-industrial society arises. The main points of the theory are visible in the works of Bell, Toffler and Brzezinski. Daniel Bell identifies three stages in the formation of cultures, which correspond to a certain level of development and production (see table).
Stage | Production and Technology | Leading forms of social organization |
Pre-industrial (agricultural) | Agriculture | Church and army |
Industrial | Industry | Corporations |
Post-industrial | Services sector | Universities |
The post-industrial stage is attributed to the entire XIX century and the second half of XX. According to Bell, his main features are improving the quality of life, reducing population growth and fertility. The role of knowledge and science is increasing. The economy is focused on the production of services and human-human interaction.
As a continuation of this theory, the concept of the information society appears, which is part of the post-industrial era. The “infosphere” is often distinguished as a separate economic sector, crowding out even the services sector.
The information society is characterized by an increase in information specialists, the active use of radio, television and other media. The possible consequences include the development of a common information space, the emergence of e-democracy, government and the state, the complete disappearance of poverty and unemployment.
Conclusion
Social evolution is a process of transformation and restructuring of society, during which it changes qualitatively and differs from the previous form. There is no general formula for this process. As in all such cases, the opinions of thinkers and scientists differ.
Each theory has its own characteristics and differences, however, you can see that they all have three main vectors:
- the history of human cultures is cyclical, they go through several stages: from birth to death;
- humanity is evolving from simplest forms to more perfect ones, constantly improving;
- the development of society is the result of adaptation to the external environment, it changes due to a change in resources and does not necessarily surpass previous forms in everything.