Non-linear nature of social development. Social change and social development
Content:
1) What does the non-linearity of social change mean 3
and social development?
2) Is there social progress? four
3) The contradictory nature of social progress. 6
4) Humanistic meaning of criteria 7
social progress.
5) References 9
1) What does the non-linearity of social change and social development mean?
As already mentioned, the evolutionism of the XVIII - the first half of the XX century. in his most radical versions, he believed that social evolution as a chain of social changes is linear, unidirectional, inevitably leads to unlimited progress, that such a principle of evolution is universal, extends to almost all social phenomena, that the direction of social evolution is generally predictable.
The real course of events in the world, especially in recent decades, has shown that a non-linear vision of social change and social development is more consistent with the observed processes in society. What does it mean?
First, a schematic sequential chain of social changes can be built not in one, but in different directions. In other words, a "point of change" - a bifurcation - is such a turning point, after which changes and, in general, development can go not in the same direction, but in a completely new, even unexpected direction.
Secondly, the non-linearity of social changes and social development means that there is an objective possibility of a multivariate sequence of events. In life, there are almost always alternative options for change and development. In this regard, the subject of change is in a situation of making a choice, and he becomes responsible for the chosen option.
Thirdly, the chain of social changes is not at all directed only towards progress, improvement or improvement. From "points of change" that can form in the most unexpected places, the movement can go in different directions, up to regression, decline, destruction.
Finally, the non-linear nature of social change means that in these changes one should always assume the consequences of foreseen and unforeseen, predictable and unpredictable, desired and undesired. Practical life shows that changes in the second row occur, unfortunately, much more often.
Of course, the emphasis on the nonlinearity of changes and development in society does not reject the very general idea of social evolution as the idea of the variability of social systems - social institutions, communities, processes, etc. The question is how to represent this evolution in science, with the help of what theories, models , concepts. And one more question, especially relevant for modern Russian society, is the question of a conscious, thoughtful choice of one's own strategy, not just a way out of the most severe crisis that hit the country, but the choice of that strategy that will serve as the basis for the social development of the Russian person, people and state on long term.
2) Is there social progress?
In sociological and related socio-philosophical literature, two extreme points of view have developed on the problem of progress in the history of society. One is to affirm the absoluteness and inevitability of the progressive development of society as a whole and of many of its individual spheres. As already mentioned, evolutionists XVIII- start XX in. argued that progress is universal in nature and manifests itself in the development of productive forces, in science, technology and technology, in the political, social and spiritual spheres of society. Progress is unstoppable, the wheel of history cannot be reversed, the progressive trend will cut its way through all obstacles. From here, abstract-optimistic conclusions about a brighter future have been and are being made, although, as a rule, no one can imagine what it is and in what specific ways and means it can be achieved.
The other extreme - a kind of specific reaction to the previous system of views - consists, in essence, in the denial of the possibility of a scientific formulation of the question of social progress, in the denial of the very possibility of speaking in the language of science about the higher quality of some forms of social life and institutions in comparison with others. Representatives of such views usually take the problem of progress beyond the scope of social science. At the same time, they refer to the fact that an attempt to qualify certain social changes as manifestations of progress means an assessment of these changes in terms of certain values. Such an assessment, they argue, will always be subjective. Therefore, the concept of progress is also a subjective concept, which has no place in rigorous science.
The presence of extreme positions and heated discussions around the applicability of the concept of “progress” to social changes and social development are largely due to the fact that this concept itself really carries a value meaning, is an evaluative concept. And, as you know, on this issue - on the admissibility of value judgments in scientific sociology - the opinions of scientists are again divided. Some of them are in favor of considering it appropriate to use value judgments in sociology. This position was adhered to by the classics of Marxism, but not only by them. A significant part of Western sociologists of left or center-left orientations (C. R. Mills, G. Marcuse, A. Goldner, and others) consider it not only possible, but absolutely necessary, to use value judgments and concepts in the social sciences, including sociology. . The exclusion of such judgments and concepts would deprive sociology and other sciences of human meaning, humanistic orientation. Other authors, on the contrary, referring to the fact that value judgments and value assessments are subjective, categorically reject the possibility of using such judgments and assessments in scientific sociological research. Probably, there is an element of truth in both extreme positions, and in order to highlight it, it is necessary, in turn, to free these positions from subjective predilections.
First of all, it is necessary to define as strictly as possible the very concept of social progress, its content. Progress is usually understood as the improvement of the social structure of society and the improvement of the quality of human life. It presupposes such a direction of social development, which is characterized by a transition from lower forms to higher ones, from less perfect ones to more perfect ones.
It is hard not to agree that, in general, the development of human society follows the line of increasing progressive social changes. Here it is important to note such indicators as improving working conditions, gaining greater freedom, political and social rights for the human person (which is recorded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights), the complication of the tasks facing modern societies, and the increase in technical, social opportunities to solve them. Finally, the unprecedented development in the last two or three centuries of education, science, technology, which have provided modern man with the opportunity to humanize and democratize his way of life and social institutions.
At the same time, it is important not to fall into the euphoria of such an optimistic understanding of progress. The point is that it is extremely difficult to translate the general theoretical understanding of social progress into the concrete language of sociology. Is it possible, for example, to state unequivocally that the stages of the transformation of the legislative power in Russia in the 20th century (the State Duma in pre-revolutionary Russia, the Supreme Soviet in the Soviet period, the Federal Assembly in the post-Soviet period) are stages of progressive development? Is it possible to consider that the way of life of a modern person in a developed country is more progressive than, say, the way of life of people in medieval Europe or in the era of ancient Greece? The questions are very difficult.
To this it should be added that in the international sociological literature of the early 20th century. there was much more confidence in the presence of social progress than at the end of the century. At the beginning of the century, the problem of progress was actively discussed by virtually all major sociologists. Some articles on this topic have been published in the collection New Ideas in Sociology. Sat. third. What is progress” (St. Petersburg, 1914). In particular, these are the articles: P. A. Sorokin “Review of theories and main problems of progress”, E. V. de Roberti “The Idea of Progress”, M. Websr “Evolution and Progress”, etc. In the late 60s. the famous French sociologist and philosopher R. Aron publishes a book with the symbolic title "Disappointment in Progress", in which he substantiates the idea that it is impossible to put into practice the high ideals generated by the progress of science and technology, and this leads to the spread of social pessimism.
A prominent contemporary Western sociologist, president (at present) of the International Sociological Association, I. Wallerstein, makes a very cautious statement in this regard: “It seems that morally and intellectually it is much more reliable to admit the possibility of progress, but such a possibility will not mean its inevitability.”
3) The contradictory nature of social progress.
When considering such issues, it seems necessary first of all to single out certain spheres, areas of social life, regarding which one can directly say that the concept of progress is inapplicable to these areas, although they are subject to significant evolution. The stages in the evolution of these areas can by no means be considered stages of progressive development from the simple to the complex, from the less perfect to the more perfect. This applies primarily to the field of art. Art as a social institution does not stand still, it is constantly subject to change. However, the concept of progress is inapplicable when the artistic, aesthetic side of art is considered. How can it be applied, for example, when comparing Aeschylus and L. Tolstoy, Dante and Pushkin, Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev, etc. One can only speak of a certain progress in the technical means of creating, preserving and distributing works of art. Quill pen, fountain pen, typewriter, personal computer; simple gramophone record, long-playing phonograph record, magnetic tape, CD; handwritten book, printed book, microfilm, etc. - all these lines can be considered lines of technical progress in certain respects. But they, as it is obvious, do not affect the artistic value, the aesthetic significance of works of art.
The evolution of some other social institutions and phenomena should be evaluated in a similar way. Apparently, they include world religions. The same can be said about fundamental philosophical systems: their evolution takes place over the course of intellectual history, but the concept of progress in relation to the entire philosophical content of these systems (not the political positions of the authors) is hardly applicable here.
At the same time, it is necessary to single out such spheres of the life of society as social institutions, the historical development of which can quite clearly be qualified as progress. These include primarily science, technology, technology. Each new step, each new stage in the development of science, technology, technology is a step and stage in their progress. It is no coincidence that such a concept as scientific and technological progress has developed.
But most often the sociologist encounters such social structures and processes in the evolution of which progress can be recorded, but it is carried out in a very contradictory way. It must be said that sociology must see the whole variety of types of social change. Progress is not the only type. There is also such a type as regression, which is opposite to progress in its direction. This is development from higher to lower, from complex to simple, degradation, lowering the level of organization, weakening and attenuation of functions, stagnation. Along with these types, there are so-called dead-end lines of development, leading to the death of certain socio-cultural forms and structures. Examples are the destruction and death of certain cultures and civilizations in the history of society.
The contradictory nature of social progress is also manifested in the fact that the development of many social structures and processes, phenomena, objects simultaneously leads to their advance in some directions and to retreat, backtracking in other directions; to perfection, improvement in one and destruction, deterioration in another, to their progress in some respects and to regression or dead ends in other respects.
The assessment of the nature of social changes is also carried out according to their results. Of course, assessments can be subjective, but they can also be based on fairly objective indicators. Subjective assessments include those that come from the desires, aspirations, positions of certain groups or strata of the population, or even individuals. The main role here is played by the satisfaction of social groups with the changes that have taken place or are taking place. If this or that social change has negative consequences for the position, the status of some (say, small) group, it is usually assessed by it as unnecessary, wrong, even anti-people, anti-state. Although for other groups and the majority of society, it can have an important positive value. But it also happens vice versa, when the minority wins from the changes, and the clear majority loses. In any case, representatives of the winning group will evaluate the results of the changes as positive, and the losers - as negative.
4) Humanistic meaning of the criteria of social progress.
As for specific criteria for social progress, there are also discussions on this issue between representatives of different sociological schools and trends. The positions of those authors who seek to give a humanistic meaning to the criterion of social progress are most preferable. The point is that it is not enough to talk about social changes, including social development, only as objectively ongoing processes, “processes in themselves,” in philosophical terms. No less important are their other aspects - their appeal to the individual, groups, society as a whole. After all, the task is not only to fix the very fact of social changes and social development, to determine their types, to identify driving forces, etc. The task is also to expose their humanistic (or anti-humanistic) meaning - whether they lead to well-being of a person, his prosperity or worsen the level and quality of his life.
The sociologist must strive to find more or less objective indicators for evaluating social change, qualifying it as progress or regression. As a rule, in such situations, a special system of social indicators is developed, which can serve as the basis for evaluation. Thus, the ISPI RAS has developed a detailed "System of social indicators of Russian society". She is
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Social change and social development
The failure of linear evolutionism. Some sociologists reject social development as a subject of sociological analysis. It is argued that the problem of development itself is a philosophical or economic problem, after all a historical one, but not a sociological one. From their point of view, the subject of sociology can only be social change. It seems that such an extreme point of view is unjustified. Apparently, this is a kind of negative reaction to the ideas of straight-line evolutionism and progress and zm that were widespread in past centuries, and partly even in our time.
Thinkers of the XVIII-XIX centuries. (A. Condorcet, I. Kant, O. Comte, G. Spencer) were obsessed with the ideas of historical evolution and progress, linear, unidirectional and uninterrupted development of mankind towards some ultimate goal - ideal state of society. Each new stage in the history of society, in the history of peoples, from their point of view, is a stage of just such a development, that is, a constant expansion of the power of the human mind over the elemental forces of nature and the laws of social evolution, a stage in the improvement of the forms of organization of social life based on justice. and individual freedom for all. P. A. Sorokin pointed out in this regard: “In the 18th and 19th centuries, the vast majority of scientists, philosophers, representatives of the social sciences and the humanities firmly believed in the existence of eternal linear trends in the change of sociocultural phenomena. The main content of the historical process for them consisted in the deployment and ever more complete realization of this “tendency of evolution and progress”, a stable “historical trend” and “the law of socio-cultural development” ... All social thought of the 18th and 19th centuries was marked by faith in the linear laws of evolution and progress." At the same time, Sorokin singled out four variants of linear theories in which the main line of development could be built: 1) along a straight line; 2) wavy; 3) fan-shaped; 4) spirally. social progress non-linear failure
The Russian philosopher and sociologist S. L. Frank, who, like Sorokin, was expelled from Soviet Russia in 1922, ridiculed such notions and wrote: understanding of history is almost always reduced to the following division: 1) from Adam to my grandfather - the period of barbarism and the first rudiments of culture; 2) from my grandfather to me - a period of preparation for great achievements that should be realized in my time; 3) I and the tasks of my time, in which the goal of world history is completed and finally realized.
It must be said that the Marxist concept of the successive change of socio-economic formations (primitive communal system, slave-owning society, feudalism, capitalism, communism, including socialism as the first phase of communism) was also largely based on the ideas of linear evolutionism: each subsequent formation seemed unconditional, necessary albeit a highly controversial one, a step forward along the path of social development.
Obviously, the ideas of “flat” evolutionism, as events in the 20th century, and in previous centuries showed, were a great simplification of history, in which there were elements of development, periods of stagnation, regression, destructive wars, monstrous concentration camps, the destruction of millions innocent people; but also the subject of sociological analysis.
As mentioned above, there is a significant difference between the concepts of " social change' and 'social development'. In short, this difference boils down to the fact that the concept of "social change" fixes the fact of change, regardless of its direction. The concept of "social development" is of a different nature. It is used to denote either the processes of improvement, improvement, complication, or movement back, in the opposite direction. It not only fixes the very fact of social change, but also contains some assessment of this change, characterizes its direction.
Usually, social development as a real process is characterized by three interrelated features: irreversibility, direction, and regularity. irreversibility means the constancy of the processes of accumulation of quantitative and qualitative changes over a certain period of time. Orientation-- the line or lines along which the accumulation takes place. Regularity - not accidental, but a necessary process of accumulation. A fundamentally important characteristic of social development is the period of time during which development takes place. Perhaps no less important is the fact that only over time the main features of social development are revealed, since it consists of a certain chain of social changes. The result of the development process is a new qualitative (sometimes quantitative) state of a social object (for example, a social group, a social institution, an organization and the whole society).
What has been said refers, rather, to a general philosophical or socio-philosophical understanding of development. A sociological understanding of development requires a more specific selection of its criteria and indicators. Social development can be considered at different levels - theoretical sociology and empirical research, macrosociology and microsociology. In each case, it is necessary to take into account the specifics of the object, and, consequently, the selection of appropriate methods. In the scientific literature, one can find different points of view on this matter. If we keep in mind the general sociological theory, then, it seems, we can first of all distinguish the following criteria of social development. First, social development presupposes a structural complication of the object. As a rule, objects that are more complex in structure are also more developed. Secondly, social development means an increase in the number, a complication of the character, or even a modification of the social functions of the object. If we compare modern society, which has a diversified industry, numerous systems of state and public administration, educational institutions and scientific institutions, differentiated by social groups, professions, strata, with societies that live off gathering, hunting or farming, then a huge difference in the degree of complexity and development of these two types of societies. Thirdly, an important criterion for the social development of social institutions and organizations is to increase the effectiveness, efficiency, and competitiveness of their activities.
Social development implies an increase in the ability to meet the diverse needs (material, intellectual, spiritual, etc.) of various groups of the population and individuals. In this sense, for example, the social development of the enterprise where they work is of the utmost importance. In this case, we mean not only the development of the technology of the labor process, but, above all, the improvement of working and leisure conditions, an increase in the level of material well-being, social security of workers and their families, the possibility of raising the cultural and educational level, etc. The social development of the district, city, region, and the whole society is of no less importance.
In this case, sociology uses the concept "social infrastructure". This is a stable set of material and material elements that create conditions for the rational organization of people's activities, their good rest, cultural and educational development. This includes systems of labor protection and safety, trade, healthcare, education, communications and information, transport, etc. It is important to emphasize that the development of the social infrastructure itself involves the use of a regulatory approach that requires a comparison of its real state in a particular area (enterprise , region, society as a whole) with scientifically based standards and guidelines. Such a comparison makes it possible to determine the level of development (or lagging behind) of social infrastructure.
But an even more important indicator and criterion of the social development of society is the development of the person himself, his personality. This issue, in view of its particular importance, will be dealt with specifically in the appendix of this chapter.
Non-linear nature of social development
What does the non-linearity of social change and social development mean. As mentioned above, the evolutionism of the XVIII - the first half of the XX century. in his most radical versions, he believed that social evolution as a chain of social changes has a linear, unidirectional character, inevitably leads to unlimited progress, that such a principle of evolution is universal, extends to almost all social phenomena, that the direction of social evolution is generally predictable.
The real course of events in the world, especially in recent decades, has shown that a non-linear vision of social change and social development is more consistent with the observed processes in society. What does it mean?
First, a schematic sequential chain of social changes can be built not in one, but in different directions. In other words, a "point of change" - a bifurcation - is such a turning point, after which changes and, in general, development can go not in the same direction, but in a completely new, even unexpected direction.
Secondly, the non-linearity of social changes and social development means that there is an objective possibility of a multivariate sequence of events. In life, there are almost always alternative options for change and development. In this regard, the subject of change is in a situation of making a choice, and he becomes responsible for the chosen option.
Thirdly, the chain of social changes is not at all directed only towards progress, improvement or improvement. From "points of change" that can form in the most unexpected places, the movement can go in different directions, up to regression, decline, destruction.
Finally, the non-linear nature of social change means that in these changes one should always assume consequences, foreseeable and unforeseen, predictable and unpredictable, desired and undesired. Practical life shows that changes in the second row occur, unfortunately, much more often.
Of course, the emphasis on the nonlinearity of changes and development in society does not reject the very general idea of social evolution as the idea of the variability of social systems - social institutions, communities, processes, etc. The question is how to represent this evolution in science, with the help of what theories, models, concepts. In this regard, an important role can be played by a new and rapidly developing discipline - synergetics, which studies the nonlinear patterns of development of complex and supercomplex self-governing systems.
And one more question, especially relevant for modern Russian society, is the question of a conscious, thoughtful choice of one's own strategy, not just a way out of the most severe crisis that hit the country, but the foundations of the social development of the Russian person, people and state in the long term.
Does it exist social progress? As mentioned above, the evolutionists of the XVIII - early XX centuries. argued that progress is universal and manifests itself in the development of productive forces, in science, technology and technology, in the political, social and spiritual spheres of society. Progress is unstoppable, the wheel of history cannot be reversed, the progressive trend will cut its way through all obstacles. From here, abstract optimistic conclusions about a “bright future” have been and are being drawn, although, as a rule, no one knows what it consists of and in what specific ways and means it can be achieved.
A kind of specific reaction to the previous system of views is the denial of the possibility of a scientific formulation of the question of social progress, the denial of the very possibility of speaking in the language of science about the higher quality of some forms of social life and institutions compared to others. Representatives of such views, based mainly on the principles of positivist philosophy, usually take the problem of progress beyond the scope of social science. At the same time, they refer to the fact that an attempt to qualify certain social changes as manifestations of progress means an assessment of these changes in terms of certain values. Such an assessment, they argue, will always be subjective. Therefore, the concept of progress is also a subjective concept, which has no place in rigorous science.
The presence of extreme positions and heated discussions around the applicability of the concept of “progress” to social changes and social development are largely due to the fact that this concept itself really carries a value meaning, is evaluative. And, as you know, on the question of the admissibility of value judgments in scientific sociology, the opinions of scientists are again divided. Some of them are in favor of considering it appropriate to use value judgments in sociology. A significant part of Western sociologists of left or center-left orientations (C. R. Mills, G. Marcuse, A. Goldner, and others) consider it not only possible, but absolutely necessary to use value judgments and concepts in the social sciences, including sociology. . The exclusion of such judgments and concepts would deprive sociology and other sciences of human meaning, humanistic orientation. Other authors, on the contrary, referring to the fact that value judgments and value assessments are subjective, categorically reject the possibility of using such judgments and assessments in scientific sociological research. Probably, there is an element of truth in both extreme positions, and in order to highlight it, it is necessary, in turn, to free these positions from subjective predilections.
First of all, it is necessary to define as strictly as possible the very concept of social progress, its content. Under progress usually understood as the improvement of the social structure of society and the improvement of the quality of human life. It presupposes the direction of social development from the lowest forms to the highest, from the less perfect to the more perfect.
It is hard not to agree that, on the whole, the development of society proceeds along the line of increasing progressive social changes. Here it is important to note such indicators as the improvement of working conditions, the acquisition of greater freedom, political and social rights by the human person (which is recorded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights), the complication of the tasks facing modern societies, and the increase in technical, social opportunities to solve them. Finally, it is necessary to name the unprecedented development in the last three or four centuries of education, science, technology, which have provided modern man with the opportunity to humanize and democratize his way of life and social institutions.
At the same time, it is important not to fall into the euphoria of such an optimistic understanding of progress. The point is that it is extremely difficult to translate the general theoretical understanding of social progress into the concrete language of sociology. Is it possible, for example, to unequivocally state that the stages of the transformation of the legislative power in Russia in the 20th century. (The State Duma in pre-revolutionary Russia, the Supreme Soviet in the Soviet period, the Federal Assembly in the post-Soviet period) are stages of progressive development? Is it possible to consider that the way of life of a modern average person in a developed country is more progressive than, say, the way of life of free people (citizens) in ancient Greece? The questions are very difficult.
To this it should be added that in the international sociological literature of the early 20th century. there was much more confidence in the presence of social progress than at the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st centuries. At the beginning of the XX century. The problem of progress has been actively discussed by almost all major sociologists. Some articles on this topic were published in the collection New Ideas in Sociology. Sat. third. What is progress” (St. Petersburg, 1914). In particular, these are the articles: P. A. Sorokin “Review of theories and main problems of progress”, E. V. de Roberti “The idea of progress”, M. Vsbsra “Evolution and progress”, etc. In the late 1960s. the famous French sociologist and philosopher R. Aron published a book with the symbolic title "Disappointment in Progress", in which he substantiated the idea that it is impossible to put into practice the high ideals generated by the progress of science and technology, and that this leads to the spread of social pessimism.
A prominent modern Western sociologist, president (in the 90s of the XX century) of the International Sociological Association I. Wallstein makes a very cautious statement in this regard: “It seems that morally and intellectually it is much more reliable to admit the possibility of progress, but such possibility will not mean its inevitability.
The contradictory nature of social progress. When considering such issues, it seems necessary first of all to single out certain spheres, areas of social life, regarding which one can directly say that the concept of progress is inapplicable to these areas, although they are subject to significant evolution. The stages in the evolution of these areas can by no means be considered stages of progressive development from the simple to the complex, from the less perfect to the more perfect. This applies primarily to the field of art. Art as a social institution does not stand still, it is subject to constant change. However, the concept of progress is not applicable to the consideration of the artistic, aesthetic aspects of art. How can it be used, for example, to compare Aeschylus and L. Tolstoy, Dante and Pushkin, Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev, etc. One can only speak of a certain progress in the technical means of creating, preserving and distributing works of art. Quill pen, fountain pen, typewriter, personal computer; simple gramophone record, long-playing phonograph record, magnetic tape, CD; handwritten book, printed book, microfilm, etc. - all these lines in certain respects can be considered lines of technical progress. But they, as it is obvious, do not affect the artistic value, the aesthetic significance of works of art.
The evolution of some other social institutions and phenomena should be evaluated in a similar way. Apparently, they include world religions. The evolution of fundamental philosophical systems over the course of intellectual history takes place, but it is hardly possible to evaluate this evolution in terms of progress-regression relative to the philosophical content (not the political positions of the authors).
At the same time, it is necessary to single out such spheres of the life of society, social institutions, the historical development of which can definitely be qualified as progress. These include primarily science, technology, technology. Each new step, each new stage in the development of science, technology, technology is a step and stage in their progress. It is no coincidence that the concept of scientific and technological progress has developed.
But most often the sociologist encounters such social structures and processes in the evolution of which progress can be recorded, but it is carried out in a very contradictory way. It must be said that sociology must see the whole variety of types of social change. Progress is not the only type. Exists regression, in its direction opposite to progress. This is development from higher to lower, from complex to simple, degradation, lowering the level of organization, weakening and attenuation of functions, stagnation. Along with these types, there are also so-called dead end lines of development leading to the death of certain socio-cultural forms and structures. Examples are the destruction and death of certain cultures and civilizations in the history of society.
The contradictory nature of social progress is also manifested in the fact that the development of many social structures, processes, phenomena, objects simultaneously leads to their advance in some directions and to a retreat, a return back in other directions; to perfection, improvement in one and destruction, deterioration in another; towards progress in some respects and regression or dead ends in others.
The assessment of the nature of social changes is also carried out according to their results. Of course, assessments can be subjective, but they can also be based on fairly objective indicators. Subjective assessments include those that come from the desires, aspirations, positions of certain groups, sections of the population, individuals. The main role here is played by the satisfaction of social groups with the changes that have taken place or are taking place. If this or that social change has negative consequences for the position, the status of some (say, small) group, it is usually assessed by it as unnecessary, wrong, even anti-people, anti-state. Although for other groups and the majority of society, it can have an important positive value. But it also happens vice versa, when the minority wins from the changes, and the clear majority loses. A classic example of the latter case is the completely opposite assessments by different groups of the population of our country of the results of privatization carried out in the first half of the 1990s. As is known, privatization (in the apt popular expression - "grabbing") unheard of enriched an extremely small part of the population, and for a third of the population, the "income" turned out to be below the subsistence level.
Humanistic meaning of the criteria of social development. On the issue of specific criteria for social development, there are also discussions between representatives of different sociological schools and trends. The positions of those authors who seek to give the criteria of social progress humanistic meaning. The point is that it is not enough to talk about social changes, including social development, only as objectively ongoing processes, “processes in themselves,” in philosophical terms. No less important are their other aspects - their appeal to the individual, groups, society as a whole. After all, the task is not only to fix the very fact of social changes and social development, to determine their types, to identify driving forces, etc. The task is also to expose their humanistic (or anti-humanistic) meaning - whether they lead to the well-being of a person, his prosperity or worsen the level and quality of his life.
The sociologist must strive to find more or less objective indicators for evaluating social change, qualifying it as progress or regression. As a rule, in such situations, a special system of social indicators is developed, which can serve as the basis for evaluation. So, in the ISPI RAS, a detailed “ The system of social indicators of Russian society". It is divided into four groups according to the spheres of public relations: social, socio-political, socio-economic and spiritual-moral. In each of the areas, the indicators are divided into three groups according to the types of measurement: social conditions as objective data that determine the "background" of social relations, social indicators as quantitative characteristics of social relations, fixed by statistical methods, and, finally, social indicators as qualitative characteristics of social relations, fixed by sociological methods. The imposition of indicators on the spheres of public relations allows us to identify 12 measuring subsystems that can serve as the basis for a systematic assessment of the level of development of each sphere of public relations and society as a whole.
Over the past decades, in different countries there has been an active development of systems of social, demographic, economic, and other statistical indicators, and the number of such indicators, expressed in value (cash), natural, combined and other forms, reaches several hundred. At the same time, along with the development of sectoral indicators, they are synthesized and combined to assess the overall level of the country's social development and for the purposes of international comparisons. Thus, in Russia the statistical authorities have developed a system of unified socio-demographic statistics, which can be presented in the form of large sectoral blocks that meet the standards of international comparisons: demographic statistics; environment, urbanization, living conditions; health and nutrition; education; economic activity of the population; social groups and population mobility; income, consumption and wealth; social Security; leisure and culture; use of time; public order and security; social relations; political activity. A system of such indicators can serve as the basis for a comprehensive assessment of the level of social development of a particular society and the opportunities it provides for human development.
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Change of common sense as a consequence of changes in social life. Fundamentals of the unity of mankind. The special nature of the social space of the world as an element of the space of the biosphere and the cosmos and its human meaning. The structure of social time.
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The process of change in society and its transition from one state to another. Criteria and signs of social progress. Concepts of social progress and its driving forces. Changes in the system of social relations and the type of regulation of social relations.
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The need to develop tolerance. Normative-legal bases of social design. Choice of methods and diagnostic criteria. Development of a social project aimed at increasing the level of social and ethnic tolerance among students.
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The concept, essence, goals, objectives, types and ways of development of social security, its role in social work. Analysis of the main functions of state social security. Targeting of social payments as the most important principle of social policy in Russia.
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Social management: concept, object, functions. Methodological approaches to social management. Political level of social management. The main ways of implementing the social policy of the PRC. Comparison of social management practices in Russia and China.
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The concept, essence, functions, content, subject, methods and system of social security law, general characteristics of the evolution and formation of its scientific thought. Analysis of the relationship between social security, social protection and the welfare state.
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The concept of social technology. The relevance and importance of social services for the elderly. Social problems of the elderly in modern Russian society. Characteristics of social service technologies, definition of effectiveness.
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Social design as a branch of sociological science. Types of social design, its essence, stages and methods. Predictive design in the social sphere as a factor in accelerating socio-economic and scientific and technological progress.
History is the movement of society in time. The dynamic unity of the past, present and future reveals history as a purposeful process. The historical dynamics of society is diverse, individual, eventful, and unique.
Despite the heterogeneity, the historical development of society is carried out, on the whole, naturally, although in the social philosophy of history this issue is debatable.
There are several approaches to determining the nature of the historical process: linear (stage-progressive) and non-linear (culturological and civilizational). The linear approach evaluates history as the progressive ascent of society to more perfect states based on the continuity of accumulated experience, knowledge, and also as the descent of society to simpler states. Within the framework of the linear approach, such interpretations of history as regressism (ancient philosophy, the philosophy of the Ancient East, ecological pessimism) and progressivism (L. Morgan, G. Hegel, K. Marx) are singled out.
The most developed version of the progressive approach is presented in the Marxist concept of socio-economic formations. History, from the point of view of K. Marx, has a natural historical character and is realized through a change in the main stages - socio-historical formations.
The socio-economic formation is a concrete historical unity of the base and superstructure, society as an integral organism at a certain stage of its historical development. The law of transition from one formation to another determines the specific mode of production on which society is based and the nature of its contradictions. The mode of production is an objective economic factor in the development of society. K. Marx singled out, as the main, a five-member formational model of history: any society, as a whole, must go through the stages of primitive, slave-owning, feudal, capitalist, communist formations. Communism, according to K. Marx, is the goal of historical development.
In the second half of the XIX century. The social and economic crisis of Western Europe dispelled the claims of Eurocentrism - a direction in the philosophy of history, according to which the history of Europe is an ideal model for development as a whole. On the other hand, the social science of that time focused not only on the general and universal, but also on the special, unique in history. This side of the historical process has been developed in the civilizational and culturological concept of history. They became the basis of a non-linear approach to history, according to which it is a set of global independent cycles, states, civilizations, cultures.
The concept of "civilization" (Latin civil - civil, state) has a number of meanings: the stage of human development that followed barbarism (L. Morgan); a synonym for culture (A. Toynbee), the stage of decline and degradation of local culture (O. Spengler), etc. We can accept the following definition of civilization: it is a stable cultural and historical community of people, which is distinguished by the commonality of spiritual and moral values and cultural traditions, the similarity of economic and socio-political development, a feature of lifestyle, personality type, geographical conditions.
The civilizational approach to history assumes a global division of the world historical process (Eastern and Western civilization; traditional, industrial, post-industrial civilizations, etc.). The culturological approach affirms the change of cultural types of social development as the basis for the dynamics of society (primitive society, cultures of the ancient East, etc.).
Civilizational and culturological approaches to history emphasize its diversity and uniqueness. The most authoritative concept of cultural-historical types N.Ya. Danilevskaya, the concept of local cultures by O. Spengler, the concept of A. Toynbee, P. Sorokin, K. Jaspers.
Formational, civilizational and culturological approaches significantly complement each other. Within the framework of the formational approach, history is a natural, predictable, unified process of sociodynamics directed towards more perfect states of society. Modern globalization confirms the importance of this aspect of historical development. However, history in the concept of K. Marx has no alternative, has a prophetic character (the ultimate goal is proclaimed - communism); economically determined (therefore simplified and schematized).
Civilizational and culturological approaches emphasize the originality, uniqueness of the destinies of peoples; without denying the repetition in history, they affirm the cyclicity and non-linearity of its development; emphasize the spiritual, cultural unity of people. The civilizational approach to the development of society reflects the unity of its diverse manifestations. A specific synthesis of various aspects of the life of society (political, moral, religious, economic, etc.) is refracted in the real relations of people, the system of values and norms. One and the same civilization may include various economic, political, religious and other types of society. There are regional (Western, Eastern) and local (national) levels of civilization identification.
Possessing uniqueness, local cultures also reveal a certain commonality. This allows us to consider world civilization as the history of the relationship between two types of civilizational development - Western and Eastern. The interaction of Eastern and Western civilizations has a "pendulum-like" character: each of them dominated history in turn.
Eastern civilization is primarily a traditional society (Western society is characterized as technogenic). Western society also passed this stage of development, but it was in the east that this type of civilizational dynamics became widespread. The modern East is heterogeneous in terms of ethnic composition, economic situation, and religious characteristics, but it has common features of social life. These include an extensive type of economy; the dominance of communal property, the subordination of society to the state, the individual to the community (with a rigid social hierarchy); despotic state; regulation of social life by customs and traditions; the dominance of cultural values over economic ones. The modern East is changing, demonstrating effective models for combining traditional values and the achievements of Western civilization (Japan, Taiwan, India, Turkey, etc.), as well as options for uncompensated development (Afghanistan, Cambodia, etc.).
The Western path of development in the historical genetic model is represented by such theorists as D. Bell, A. Toffler, J. Fourastier, R. Aron and others. In this model, three main stages of development are distinguished: pre-industrial, industrial, post-industrial. Actually, technogenic civilization has existed since the period of industrialism, since that time it has opposed the East and interacted with it. Technogenic civilization is characterized by the development of science and technology; capitalist economic structure (in the early stages); progress in production and management; the rule of law, as well as such values as: consumption, transformation of society and nature, progress and freedom of the individual, civil society. It is a society with a high level of social mobility.
The high rate of civilizational dynamics of the West in the middle of the 20th century. is facing a systemic crisis, which indicates the transition of Western society to a new stage - a post-industrial society. The transition to a post-industrial society is accompanied by a reorientation of the economy towards the service sector; science-intensive industries, computer and information technologies begin to dominate in industry; the class structure of society is changing to a professional one. The main thing is the production of man (culture, social sphere), a new system of values is established: environmentalism, humanism, the priority of spiritual values, the cult of knowledge, intelligence.
The modern historical moment is characterized by inconsistency, mosaicism and a variety of social forms of life. The threat to today's and future humanity is the global processes of destruction of the social, human, natural world, which is fixed in the term "global problems". They were conceptualized for the first time in the 1960s. 20th century
Global problems are different in nature and scale. The main components of this systemic crisis of socio-natural reality: the problem of war and peace, the ecological and demographic problem, the depletion of natural resources, the problem of uneven social development, anthropological, etc.
The transitional nature of modern history is emphasized in many concepts and models of sociodynamics, in particular, in the theory of a civilizational turn towards a post-industrial (information) society. The main goals of this theory - a stable world, improving the quality of life, self-determination of the individual - have found a specific study as a social strategy of the 21st century, focused on achieving sustainable development.
The concept of sustainable development proclaimed a program for the evolutionary transition of the world community to sustainable development, taking into account the solution of not only social, but also economic problems.
The idea of transition to a new civilizational strategy through a state of systemic socio-natural crisis (chaos) to subsequent complication and self-organization, the formation of a global society correlates with the orientation of the international community towards sustainable socio-economic development.
The impetus for the transition to a humanistic, economic, unified and at the same time diverse society can be given by a person endowed with a new morality and ethics. Active moral reflection (ethics of non-violence, bioethics, "living ethics", ethics of "reverence for life", ecological ethics testifies to the search for new spiritual guidelines. Such a search is based on the idea of synthesis of the achievements of Western civilization and the spiritual values of the East.
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Tambiyeva Zurida Safarbievna. Nonlinear processes of social development of society: Dis. ... cand. philosophy Sciences: 09.00.11: Stavropol, 2005 154 p. RSL OD, 61:05-9/245
Introduction
Chapter One Conceptual approaches to the analysis of the nonlinearity of social processes in social development
1. Reflection of the nonlinearity of social processes in historical and philosophical concepts 11
2. Synergetic model of non-linearity of social processes 36
3. The contradiction of activity as the basis for the non-linearity of social processes 59
Chapter Two The non-linear nature of the development of social processes
one . Nonlinearity in the development of economics and politics 77
2. Nonlinear development of science, technology and art 97
3.Nonlinear mechanism of social evolution in Russia 114
Conclusion 128
Notes 133
Bibliography 137
Introduction to work
The opposite of a linear approach to the analysis of social processes is a non-linear one, which recognizes the development of social processes as a path of ups and downs, crises and overcoming these crises, as an oscillatory, undulating, cyclical path. A great merit in the study of society on the basis of this approach belongs to the Russian scientists Kondratiev N.D., Chizhevsky A.L. and Gumilyov L.N. The peak of their scientific activity fell, unfortunately, in the 20s-30s of the 20th century. During these years, they were repressed, and an unspoken ban was imposed on their theories.
In connection with the perestroika processes in our country since 1985, interest in the study of nonlinear processes has been revived. In scientific publications, more and more articles appear that investigate certain aspects of the nonlinearity of social processes. Non-linear processes in economics and politics are especially actively studied. All this activity contributes to the revival and development of the ideas of Kondratiev N.D., Chizhevsky A.L. and Gumilyov L.N.
Currently, more and more scientists are coming to the conclusion that social processes are mostly non-linear, oscillatory, cyclical. Society lives and develops in an accelerating social time and is a complex, open and
non-linear system, which is part of the Earth's biosphere. Nonlinear systems theory has become a successful approach to problem solving in social science. The need to comprehend the development of society in the light of a new cognitive paradigm becomes an urgent task.
Degreedevelopment of the problem. When researching
nonlinearity, it turned out that it can be of different types. With a combination of regular ups and downs, non-linearity began to be designated as oscillatory, undulating, or cyclic.
The non-linear concept of social change is the oldest in the history of social thought. Already in "Ecclesiastes" we meet the statement that any human race comes and goes, and another race comes to replace it and everything repeats again.
The non-linearity of processes in nature and society is reflected in the ancient Chinese philosophy in the "Book of Changes". The whole world process in the book is presented in the form of changes, which are fixed in 64 hexagrams.
Ancient Indian philosophers believed that the duration of the existence of the material universe is limited. It is measured in repetitive kalpa cycles.
The non-linearity of natural and social processes was fixed in ancient Greek philosophy. The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus said that no one created the Cosmos and it exists forever in the rhythmic movement of ignition and extinction. According to Plato, the history of any culture or any nation passes successively through the stages of appearance, development and refinement, reaches the top and, due to floods, plague or other causes, falls into decay and disintegrates. The concept of non-linearity was developed by Aristotle. He believed that all things and all processes in nature and society in their development make a circle.
In the philosophy of modern times, the concept of non-linear development was actively developed by D. Vico. The concept of D. Vico sets out the principle
periodization of the cultural-historical process. The period of nations consists of three phases - "age of gods", "age of heroes", "age of people".
The non-linear concept of the development of civilizations was developed by the Russian sociologist N. Ya. Danilevsky. He singled out 13 cultural and historical types: Egyptian, Chinese, Chaldean, Indian, Iraqi, Jewish, Greek, Roman, New Semitic, Romano-Germanic, Mexican, Peruvian, Slavic. Each type of civilization has four forms of manifestation: religious, cultural, political, socio-economic. These forms go through four stages of evolution - birth, maturation, decrepitude and death.
A supporter of the non-linear development of human history in the first decades of the 20th century was O. Spengler. The history of mankind, from his point of view, has a number of cultures that have gone through all stages of their life cycle. Cultures, dying, turn into civilizations.
From the point of view of P. A. Sorokin, the historical process is a cyclical fluctuation of the types of cultures. At the heart of each cycle are ideas about the nature of reality, methods of its cognition. History appears as a hierarchy of variously integrated cultural systems.
Interesting ideas in terms of the non-linear development of society were expressed by the English historian and sociologist A. D. Toynbee. The historical process, from Toynbee's point of view, appears as a set of unrelated "local civilizations". Each of these civilizations goes through five main stages in its development: birth, formation, breakdown, decay and death.
The concept of non-linear development of an ethnos was developed by the Russian scientist L.N. Gumilyov. He considers the issues of the birth, dawn and decline of civilization, linking the stages of development of human society with the life of the biosphere, with fluctuations in cosmic and biochemical energy. The concept of ethnogenesis by L. N. Khumilyov for the first time connected the existence of ethnic groups as a stable group of individuals with the ability of individual
individuals, as organisms, to absorb the biochemical energy of living matter, open.
Nonlinear processes in the economy were studied by N.D. Kondratiev. Analyzing the capitalist economy, N.D. Kondratiev draws attention primarily to the oscillatory nature of the conjuncture. Moreover, these fluctuations are processes of either increasing or weakening imbalance of the whole system.
A great merit in the formation of a non-linear concept of the development of social processes belongs to the remarkable Russian scientist A.L. Chizhevsky. Of particular importance was Chizhevsky's study of the periodicity of social development, his discovery of the influence of solar activity on the dynamics of the historical process. Chizhevsky A.L. argued that he was progressive. the world-historical process, determined by economic and political factors, is influenced by extraterrestrial, first of all, heliophysical circumstances - solar activity.
In recent years, starting approximately from 1989, there has been a revival in Russian science in the study of nonlinear, oscillatory, and cyclic processes. Since 1992, the International N. D. Kondratiev Foundation has been organized and operates in Moscow at the Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences. This Foundation regularly holds scientific events on the problems of non-linearity of economic processes.
In Russian science, a whole group of scientists has emerged who are developing the concept of the nonlinearity of social processes. Nonlinearity in the economic sphere was studied in the works of Yakovets Yu.V., Yakovlev I.P., Glazyev Syu, Menshikov G.M., Klimenko L.A. Nonlinearity of the historical process was analyzed in the works of Mezhuev B.V., Morozov N.D. , Tikhomirova L.A., Petrova A.N., Pantina V.I. Various issues of nonlinearity were discussed in the works of Sh.S. Kushakov,
Davydova A.A., Altukhova V.L., Andreeva N.D., Arefieva G.S., Pritzker L.S., Samsonov V.B., Vasilkova V.V., Malinetsky G.G., Arshinova V. I., Svirsky Ya.I., Sokolov Yu.N., Vinogradova N.A., Moiseeva N.N., Sitnyansky G.Yu. and etc.
Methodological and theoretical basis of the dissertation research make up the works of the classics of world and domestic philosophy. General philosophical and socio-philosophical principles and research methods are used, in particular, historical-retrospective, comparative-historical methods, as well as the principles of dialectical, systemic and synergetic methods of scientific analysis.
The object of this study are the dynamic laws of the development of society.
The subject of dissertation research are non-linear processes in the social development of society.
The purpose of this study is to identify non-linear processes in the social development of society.
In accordance with the purpose of the study, the following tasks are supposed to be solved:
Analyze non-linear concepts of development of social
processes that existed in the history of socio-philosophical thought;
apply the principles of synergetics for the analysis of nonlinear processes;
identify the cause of the non-linearity of social processes based on the analysis of the contradiction in the activities of subjects;
consider the nonlinearity of processes in economics, politics, science, technology and art;
to study the peculiarity of the manifestation of nonlinearity in the social development of Russia.
The scientific novelty of the dissertation research consists in the following provisions:
1. The phenomenological nature of the theories of non-linearity of social processes that have existed in the history of socio-philosophical thought has been revealed.
2. A synergetic model was applied to explain the non-linearity of social processes in society.
3. It is shown that the reason for the non-linear, wave development of society is the contradictory nature of the goal-setting activities of people in society.
4. Dialectical opposites are revealed, the interaction of which determines non-linear processes in economics, politics, science and art.
5. The peculiarity of the flow of non-linear processes in the social development of Russia is shown.
Basic provisions for defense: 1. Consideration of various theories of the nonlinearity of the development of society that existed in the history of socio-philosophical thought leads to the conclusion that all of them are phenomenological in nature. This means that the non-linearity of the development of social processes is revealed, described, but its cause is not investigated.
2. The use of synergetic principles to explain the non-linearity of social processes suggests that in society, as in any system, periods of order and chaos alternate in a consistent manner. This objective process is reflected in the non-linear, wave nature of the social organism's self-organization. From the point of view of the activity approach, the reason for the non-linearity of social processes is explained by the contradictory nature of social activity. Social activity appears as a dialectical unity of two sets of social forces - social action and social opposition. The interaction of these two forces in
process of activity and determine the non-linearity of social processes.
3. The essence of the economic system is determined by the form
property. It is this circumstance that allows us to conclude that
non-linear processes in the economy are due to hidden or explicit struggle
state, socialized and private forms of ownership, then
strengthening, then weakening their positions. Simultaneously alternate
priorities of state and market regulation.
4. The main opposites in politics are
public and group interests. They are served by the system
management, in which two principles are also fighting - centralization and
democratization. Periodicity of fluctuations from centralization to
democratization gives political processes a non-linear, undulating
dynamics of a sharper or softer character.
5. The development of science and technology is determined by the number of discoveries and
inventions that are a consequence of the emergence and implementation
new ideas. A new scientific idea or scientific paradigm appears when
when the old one has exhausted its heuristic possibilities. This situation
creates a non-linear, wave mechanism for the development of science and technology.
The non-linear nature of the development of art is determined by the fact that each
direction in art arises in a certain period, develops and
reaches its maximum potential. In the bowels of the old direction is ripening
and a new direction, not yet recognized by society, is developing.
The result of their interaction is a nonlinear, wave character
art development.
6. For centuries, the nature of the socio-economic evolution of Russian civilization was determined by the dynamics of economic, cultural, political and social reforms. A study of the history of Russia shows that
social changes in the life of Russian society were always replaced by innovations that restored the old social order at a new level. In the historical process of Russia, the interaction of these factors manifested itself in a specific pattern of socio-political waves that have a high and socially dangerous amplitude of their movement.
Theoretical and practical significance of the work is that the materials of this study can find their specific application in the development of measures to improve social policy, be taken into account when making and adjusting managerial decisions, and also become the basis for the development of special and optional courses of higher educational institutions in the humanities. The study is of particular scientific interest to sociologists, educators, psychologists and social workers. The scientific and theoretical results of the study can be used in the work of methodological seminars and for the development of special courses.
Approbation of the dissertation. Main provisions and results
dissertation research reported by the author and discussed at
international and interregional scientific conferences, at
methodological seminars of the Department of Philosophy of SevKavGTU. The text of the dissertation was discussed at the Department of Philosophy of the North Caucasian State Technical University.
Dissertation structure. The dissertation research consists of an introduction, two chapters containing six paragraphs, a conclusion, notes and a list of references.
Reflection of the nonlinearity of social processes in historical and philosophical concepts
The non-linear concept of social change is the oldest in the history of social thought. Already in Ecclesiastes, where we read: “The generation passes, and the generation comes, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises, and the sun sets, and hurries to its place where it rises. What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. There is also something about which they say: “Look, this is new,” but this was already in the centuries that were before us.
The non-linearity of processes in nature and society is reflected in ancient Chinese philosophy in the "Book of Changes". The great creation of Chinese culture - "The Book of Changes" was created presumably in the 7th century BC. In Russian sinology, there are several variants of the names of this monument: “I-ching”, “Jou Yi”, “Canon of Changes” and “Zhou Book of Changes”. From the point of view of the Chinese culture that gave birth to it, this book fixes a certain secret of the universe in special symbols and signs. It is believed that it was written by a certain superman, initiated into the laws of formation and functioning of the universe. The whole world process in the book is presented in 64 hexagrams. A hexagram is an alternation of six dashes of two varieties - discontinuous and continuous. These traits capture two universal world-building forces. An interrupted line is the power of yin, a continuous one is yang. Hexagrams are a concrete embodiment of these forces in all spheres of being. As noted by V.G. Burov and M.L. Titarenko, according to the theory of the "Book of Changes", the entire world process is an alternation of situations, resulting from the interaction of the forces of light and darkness, tension and compliance. It can be considered, based on the graphical writing of each hexagram, that at first there is a development of the situation within a certain hexagram, which as a result leads to the emergence of a new situation. In other words, the transition from one situation to another, according to the authors of the Book of Changes, should reveal the dynamics of being.
The non-linear approach to the analysis of the surrounding reality was developed in later monuments of ancient Chinese thought. So, Xun-tzu (about 313 - about 238 BC), whose works complete the early “classical” stage in the development of ancient Chinese philosophy, in a work later named after him, wrote: “Based on the similar, they judge different, proceeding from the singular, they judge the plural; the beginning is the end and the end is the beginning, and it is like a circle that has neither beginning nor end. If we discard this, then the Celestial Empire will perish.”
In a later period, the analyzed tradition of non-linear thinking can be traced, for example, in Sima Qian (145-869 BC), one of the greatest ancient Chinese philosophers. In his Historical Notes, he wrote, in particular: “The teaching of the dark and the light began to contain statements about the four seasons, about the position of the eight trigrams, about the twelve signs of the zodiac, about twenty-four periods of the year, and in connection with each of them are given But this does not mean at all that everyone who follows these instructions prospers (in life), and everyone who violates them perishes before (the term) of death ... At the same time, it is known that in the spring (everything in nature) is born, grows in summer, gathers in autumn, stores in winter, and such is the unchanging law of the heavenly path. If the world did not follow it, then there would be no thing on which the laws and foundations of the Celestial Empire are built. Therefore, I said that "the great order of the four seasons does not may be violated". Ancient Indian philosophers believed that the time of the existence of the universe is limited. This limitation is due to the fact that everything that exists, including the deity, goes through cycles. The cycles of the universe are well, in our opinion, described in the book of Sri Sh Rimad "Bhagavad Gita As It Is". Let's quote this passage in full. "The duration of the existence of the material universe is limited. It is measured in repeated cycles of kalpas. Kalp is the day of Brahma, one day of Brahma consists of a thousand periods in four yugas: Tatya, Treta, Dvapara and Kali. Tatya-yuga is characterized by righteousness, wisdom, religiosity and actual lack of ignorance and vice and lasts 1,728,000 years.In the Treta Yuga, depravity appears, and this Yuga lasts 1,296,000. In Dvapara Yuga, there is an even greater decline in virtue and religiosity, while depravity increases, and this Yuga lasts 864,000 years. And finally the Kali Yuga (the one we are now living in; it started about 5,000 years ago) is coming, which is full of quarrels, ignorance, godlessness and sin. vice grows, that at the end of it the Supreme Lord Himself appears in the form of Kalki-vatara, destroys the demons, saves his bhaktas and begins a new Tatya-yuga. the whole cycle is repeated again. These four yugas, repeated a thousand times, make up one day of Brahma, and the same is the duration of his night. Brahma lives for one hundred such "years" and then dies. These one hundred "years" in earth terms correspond to 311 trillion and 40 billion earth years. On the basis of such calculations, the life of Brahma seems fantastically long, infinite, but from the point of view of eternity, it lasts no longer than a flash of lightning. In the Causal Ocean there are innumerable Brahmas appearing and disappearing like bubbles in the Atlantic Ocean. Brahma and his creation are part of the material universe, and therefore they are all in constant motion. In the material universe, even Brahma is not exempt from the need to be born, grow old, get sick and die. Brahma, however, is directly engaged in the service of the Supreme Lord in the management of this universe, and therefore he attains liberation immediately. Tanyasis who have reached a high stage of spiritual development go to the planet of Brahma, Brahmaloka, the highest planet in this material universe, which lasts longer than all the heavenly planets in the higher regions of the planetary system. Eventually, however, Brahma and all the inhabitants of Brahmaloka will die according to the laws of material nature."
The non-linearity of natural and social processes was fixed in ancient Greek philosophy. The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus said: "This cosmos, the same for all that exists, was not created by any of the gods and none of the people, but it has always been, is and will be an ever-living fire, igniting by measures and quenching by measures."
The most prominent representative of the non-linear, oscillatory concept of history in ancient Greece was Plato. According to Plato, the history of any culture or any nation passes successively through the stages of appearance, development and refinement, reaches the top and, due to floods, plague or other causes, falls into decay and disintegrates. He did not make an exception to the rule even for his ideal republic. "Seeing that everything that has a beginning has also its end, even a perfect constitution will eventually disappear and dissolve," Plato says about this. While in the transcendental world of ideas everything is immutable and immovable, in the empirical imperfect world everything changes. In addition, Plato also noted small cycles in the change of forms of government, but in this respect his point of view - in relation to their cyclical repetition - is somewhat vague. However, one thing is certain: the linear concept of historical change, constantly going through the course of time towards a certain goal, is alien to Plato.
The Contradiction of Activity as a Basis for the Nonlinearity of Social Processes
Social processes are determined by the cumulative activities of people in society. The nonlinearity of social processes, therefore, must be explained by the laws of activity. In other words, to understand the reasons for the non-linearity of processes in society, we will apply an activity approach.
The activity approach to understanding society in general and man in particular was widely spread within the framework of domestic and foreign philosophy in the 70-80s. In this situation, no one direction for the implementation of the activity approach was clearly indicated, so the researchers actually raised a number of layers of this problem. However, at the same time, a certain enthusiasm for the study of various characteristics of the activity approach led to the fact that its peculiar universalization began to be observed in the literature, which, ultimately, was subjected to legitimate criticism, since in this case, the absolutization of entire spheres within the framework of human activity was observed.
It should be noted that the activity approach of most of its supporters within the framework of domestic science was associated with the cultural and historical concept of society and man. And he was to some extent oriented against naturalism, based on the priority of the role and significance of sociocultural norms. The understanding of activity as a specifically human relationship to the world is based on the fact that human existence itself is life in culture. The formation of a person presupposes the assimilation of these norms of culture by him.
Historical social development, as it is carried out by people, is conditioned by heuristic methods of norms and paradigms. In other words, goal-setting activity is a kind of activity in culture; it is also the meaning that initially determines the content of the concept of activity as a social concept for the activity approach. At the same time, we make a reservation that within the framework of reasoning about the scope of the activity approach, it is possible to postulate on its basis a specifically human world, which does not cover all its various areas, but which precisely acts within the framework of goal setting in relation to active transformative activity.
Considering purposeful activity itself as a special type of attitude towards reality, the activity approach itself is initially determined by the fact that this type of attitude towards society is conditioned, first of all, by historically developed socio-cultural programs. The goal-setting activity itself, which presupposes certain socio-cultural foundations and norms, can naturally be carried out at different levels. However, we distinguish two levels. First of all, activities related to the development and use, as well as the application of socio-cultural methods developed in the historical development of transforming activities fixed in specific settings and programs, which at the same time determine a peculiar paradigm of the activity itself.
Note that such a concept is closely related to the ideas of such famous scientists as I. Lakatos and T. Kuhn. Since the initial foundations of such a paradigm determine a peculiar way of a person's attitude to the world, by doing so they give direction to the activity itself, its goals, guidelines. Such activity acts as an expedient change and transformation of society. At the same time, the orientation of this type of activity, associated with a fairly clear fixation of methods, norms, and goal orientations, makes it possible to characterize this type of activity as a closed system.
This kind of closeness is typologically close enough to such behavior, in which the activity of the initially set prerequisites and guidelines takes place; on the other hand, thanks to this closeness, that is, the closeness of the basic starting premises, human activity carries the undoubted features of adaptive behavior, which is quite clearly manifested in following the rules, traditions, norms, and customs accepted in society. And in this sense, it is quite legitimate to speak of closed systems of activity as types of social behavior. The heuristic beginning of the activity approach is realized to the greatest extent, of course, in the development of existing forms of culture, which must correspond to various ways of relating to society, as well as the attitudes and norms associated with them. It is in goal-oriented activity at this level that the very specificity of the human phenomenon is revealed.
Social activity in general terms appears as a set of social actions of subjects. For the first time in the social and humanitarian sphere, the concept of "social action" in a systematic form was introduced within the framework of sociology and scientifically substantiated by M. Weber. He called social action such actions of a person that, according to the meaning assumed by the actor or actors, correlate with the actions of other people or are guided by them. Thus, in Weber's understanding, social action has at least two features: it must be rationally conscious; should necessarily be guided by the behavior of other people.
The structure of human activity in society is well described by the category "social action" as a combined component of sociology and psychology. The category of action allows us to describe the structure of human activity, its components, their interdependence and mutual transitions, to comprehend the expediency of human action as the basis for organizing behavior. Action is the basic unit of activity, which has its own structure, tactics, style.
Social action is the simplest unit in the structure of social activity. This concept was introduced into sociology by M. Weber. He used it to refer to the simplest activity of an individual, focused on the response behavior of people. M. Weber considered the comprehension of the diversity of behavior of interacting individuals to be the most important characteristic of social action. The simplest component of action is the expectation of certain reactions from each other of all interacting people. Action with no such expectation is purely psychological. M. Weber tried to distinguish between conscious and unconscious expectations of the orientation of individuals. However, I was forced to admit that this can only be done theoretically, taking into account the measure and degree of rationality. He singled out the following actions: goal-oriented, value-rational, affective, traditional.
Nonlinearity in the development of economics and politics
The idea of the universality of the non-linear development makes one look for them in any sphere of society - in production, science, politics, spiritual life. Moreover, the root cause of each specific fluctuation, from our point of view, lies in the inconsistency of social phenomena - in the constant resolution of some contradictions and the emergence of new ones. At the same time, this process is also the core of systems self-organization, their adaptation to changing conditions in the form of strengthening or weakening certain decisions.
First of all, let us consider the course of this process in the economic life of society, but from the socio-philosophical, without plunging into the details of economic analysis. The methodology of our approach is based on the theory of the dialectical unity of the productive forces and production relations, labor and capital, state and market regulation and other economic contradictions, the development of which takes place in an oscillatory form. This is an approach from the general to the particular, from essence to phenomena, from theory to practice.
Economists writing about cycles and waves tend to take a different approach: from phenomena to essence, from the analysis of facts and statistics to the construction of theory. In fact, this comes down to describing data using various mathematical methods and numerous disputes about the dating of the end and beginning of waves or phases, about the influence of factors, about the advantages and disadvantages of methods. Giving credit to this path (science cannot but rely on facts), I would still like to draw attention to the empiricism of research and their excessive differentiation in the field of facts. There is no commonality of economic waves with natural and social ones, although there are attempts to establish these links. Analysis is dominated by economic professionalism, with all its virtues and limitations. This leads to the fact that the attention of economists is focused only on three types of waves: the shortest - lasting about 40 months (Kitchin cycle), medium - 7-11 years (Juglar cycle) and long - 48-55 years (Kondratiev waves). This is explained by the fact that they most often fell into the field of view of empirical observations. At the same time, from the logic of the universality of waves, the hypothesis of their numerous types follows - from the shortest, within the working hour and day, to millennials within the history of the entire social production.
A negative consequence of the empirical approach is also that "only individual parameters are being studied, sometimes without connection with their entire complex. Thus, labor productivity, the rate of profit, prices, production of certain types of products, incomes, etc. statistics and mathematics, and dialectics and initial pair contradictions are imperceptibly forced out.This gives rise to a separation of quantitative analysis from qualitative analysis, and theory is limited to describing trends and the influence of certain factors on them.
Such an approach is undoubtedly necessary, but it should be organically complemented by a qualitative, system-theoretical one. As a result of the synthesis of both approaches, a new concept of wave development should be born with a variety of its manifestations. It seems that the analysis of the wave development of the economy should begin with solving the problem of the struggle between forms of ownership that express the essence of the economic system. The essence of fluctuation in general terms manifests itself in the same way in all social systems - there is an open or hidden struggle of state, socialized and private forms, either strengthening or weakening their positions. At the same time, the priorities of state and market regulation alternate. This essence is the same for all systems, but it manifests itself differently in different systems and in the forms of each of them.
What does the non-linearity of social change and social development mean? As already mentioned, the evolutionism of the XVIII - the first half of the XX century. in his most radical versions, he believed that social evolution as a chain of social changes is linear, unidirectional, inevitably leads to unlimited progress, that such a principle of evolution is universal, extends to almost all social phenomena, that the direction of social evolution is generally predictable.
The real course of events in the world, especially in recent decades, has shown that a non-linear vision of social change and social development is more consistent with the observed processes in society. What does it mean?
First, a schematic sequential chain of social changes can be built not in one, but in different directions. In other words, a "point of change" - a bifurcation - is such a turning point, after which changes and, in general, development can go not in the same direction, but in a completely new, even unexpected direction.
Secondly, the non-linearity of social changes and social development means that there is an objective possibility of a multivariate sequence of events. In life, there are almost always alternative options for change and development. In this regard, the subject of change is in a situation of making a choice, and he becomes responsible for the chosen option.
Thirdly, the chain of social changes is not at all directed only towards progress, improvement or improvement. From "points of change" that can form in the most unexpected places, the movement can go in different directions, up to regression, decline, destruction.
Finally, the non-linear nature of social change means that in these changes one should always assume consequences, foreseen and unforeseen, predictable and unpredictable, desired and undesired. Practical life shows that changes in the second row are, unfortunately, much more common.
Of course, the emphasis on the nonlinearity of changes and development in society does not reject the very general idea of social evolution as the idea of the variability of social systems - social institutions, communities, processes, etc. The question is how to represent this evolution in science, with the help of what those orii, models, concepts. And one more question, especially relevant for modern Russian society, is the question of a conscious, thoughtful choice of one's own strategy, not just a way out of the most severe crisis that hit the country, but the choice of that strategy that will serve as the basis for the social development of the Russian person, people and the state in the long term.
Is there social progress? In sociological and related socio-philosophical literature, two extreme points of view have developed on the problem of progress in the history of society. One is to affirm the absoluteness and inevitability of the progressive development of society as a whole and of many of its individual spheres. As already mentioned, the evolutionists of the XVIII - early XX centuries. argued that progress is universal in nature and manifests itself in the development of productive forces, in science, technology and technology, in the political, social and spiritual spheres of society. Progress is unstoppable, the wheel of history cannot be reversed, the progressive trend will cut its way through all obstacles. From this, abstract-optimistic conclusions about a brighter future have been made and are being made, although, as a rule, no one knows what it consists of and in what specific ways and means it can be achieved.
The other extreme - a kind of specific reaction to the previous system of views - consists, in essence, in the denial of the possibility of a scientific formulation of the question of social progress, in the denial of the very possibility of speaking in the language of science about the higher quality of some forms of social life and institutions in comparison with others. . Representatives of such
views usually take the problem of progress beyond the scope of social science. At the same time, they refer to the fact that an attempt to qualify certain social changes as manifestations of progress means an assessment of these changes in terms of certain values. Such an assessment, they argue, will always be subjective. Therefore, the concept of progress is also a subjective concept, which has no place in rigorous science.
The presence of extreme positions and heated discussions around the applicability of the concept of “progress” to social changes and social development are largely due to the fact that this concept itself really carries a value meaning, is an evaluative concept. And, as you know, on this issue - about the admissibility of value judgments in scientific sociology - the opinions of scientists were again divided. Some of them are in favor of considering it appropriate to use value judgments in sociology. This position was adhered to by the classics of Marxism, but not only by them. A significant part of Western sociologists of left or center-left orientations (C. R. Mills, G. Marcuse, A. Goldner and others) consider it not only possible, but absolutely necessary to use value judgments and concepts in the social sciences, including in sociology. The exclusion of such judgments and concepts would deprive sociology and other sciences of human meaning, humanistic orientation. Other authors, on the contrary, referring to the fact that value judgments and value assessments are subjective, categorically reject the possibility of using such judgments and assessments in scientific sociological research. Probably, there is an element of truth in both extreme positions, and in order to highlight it, it is necessary, in turn, to free these positions from subjective predilections.
First of all, it is necessary to define as strictly as possible the very concept of social progress, its content. Progress is usually understood as the improvement of the social structure of society and the improvement of the quality of human life. It presupposes such a direction of social development, which is characterized by a transition from lower forms to higher ones, from less perfect ones to more perfect ones.
It is hard not to agree that, on the whole, the development of human society proceeds along the lines of the growth of progressive
social change. Here it is important to note such indicators as the improvement of working conditions, the acquisition by the human person of greater freedom, political and social rights (which is recorded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights), the complication of the tasks facing modern societies, and the increase in technical, social opportunities for solving them. . Finally, the unprecedented development in the last two or three centuries of education, science, technology, which have provided modern man with the opportunity to humanize and democratize his way of life and social institutions.
At the same time, it is important not to fall into the euphoria of such an optimistic understanding of progress. The point is that it is extremely difficult to translate the general theoretical understanding of social progress into the concrete language of sociology. Is it possible, for example, to state unequivocally that the stages of transformation of the legislative power in Russia in the 20th century (the State Duma in pre-revolutionary Russia, the Supreme Soviet in the Soviet period, the Federal Assembly in the post-Soviet period) are stages of progressive development? Is it possible to consider that the way of life of a modern person in a developed country is not more progressive than, say, the way of life of people in medieval Europe or in the era of ancient Greece? The questions are very difficult.
To this it should be added that in the international sociological literature of the early 20th century. there was much more confidence in the presence of social progress than at the end of the century. At the beginning of the century, the problem of progress was actively discussed by virtually all major sociologists. Some articles on this topic have been published in the collection New Ideas in Sociology. Sat. third. What is progress” (St. Petersburg, 1914). In particular, these are the articles: P. A. Sorokin “Review of theories and main problems of progress”, E. V. de Roberti “The idea of progress”, M. Weber “Evolution and progress”, etc. At the end of the 60- x years. the famous French sociologist and philosopher R. Aron publishes a book with the symbolic title "Disappointment in Progress", in which he substantiates the idea that it is impossible to put into practice the high ideals generated by the progress of science and technology, and this leads to the spread of social pessimism.
Prominent contemporary Western sociologist, President (currently) of the International Sociological Association
In this regard, I. Wallerstein makes a very cautious statement: “It seems that morally and intellectually it is much more reliable to admit the possibility of progress, but such a possibility will not mean its inevitability” .
The contradictory nature of social progress. When considering such questions, it seems necessary first of all to single out certain areas, areas of social life, regarding which one can directly say that the concept of progress is not applicable to these areas, although they are subject to significant evolution. The stages in the evolution of these areas can by no means be considered stages of progressive development from the simple to the complex, from the less perfect to the more perfect. This applies primarily to the field of art. Art as a social institution does not stand still, it is constantly subject to change. However, the concept of progress is inapplicable when the artistic, aesthetic side of art is considered. How can one apply it, for example, when comparing Aeschylus and L. Tolstoy, Dante and Pushkin, Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev, etc. One can only speak of a certain progress in the technical means of creating, preserving and distributing works of art. Quill pen, fountain pen, typewriter, personal computer; simple gramophone record, long-playing phonograph record, magnetic tape, CD; handwritten book, printed book, microfilm, etc. - all these lines can be considered in certain respects as lines of technical progress. But, as is obvious, they do not affect the artistic value, the aesthetic significance of works of art.
Similarly, the evolution of some other social institutions and phenomena should be evaluated. Apparently, they include world religions. The same can be said about fundamental philosophical systems: their evolution during intellectual history takes place, but the concept of progress in relation to the entire philosophical content of these systems (not the political positions of the authors) is hardly applicable here.
At the same time, it is necessary to single out such spheres of the life of society as social institutions, the historical development of which can quite clearly be qualified.
Wano as progress. These include, first of all, science, engineering, and technology. Each new step, each new stage in the development of science, technology, technology is a step and a stage in their progress. It is no coincidence that such a concept as scientific and technological progress has developed.
But most often the sociologist encounters such social structures and processes in the evolution of which progress can be recorded, but it is carried out in a very contradictory way. It must be said that sociology must see the whole variety of types of social change. Progress is not the only type. There is also such a type as regression, which is opposite to progress in its direction. This is development from higher to lower, from complex to simple, degradation, lowering the level of organization, weakening and attenuation of functions, stagnation. Along with these types, there are so-called dead-end lines of development, leading to the death of certain socio-cultural forms and structures. Examples are the destruction and death of certain cultures and civilizations in the history of society.
The contradictory nature of social progress is also manifested in the fact that the development of many social structures and processes, phenomena, objects simultaneously leads to their advance in some directions and to retreat, backtracking in other directions; to perfection, improvement in one and destruction, deterioration in another, to their progress in some respects, and to regression or dead ends in other respects.
The assessment of the nature of social changes is also carried out according to their results. Of course, assessments can be subjective, but they can also be based on fairly objective indicators. Subjective assessments include those that come from the desires, aspirations, positions of certain groups or strata of the population, or even individuals. The main role here is played by the satisfaction of social groups with the changes that have taken place or are taking place. If this or that social change has negative consequences for the situation, the status of some (let's say, a small) group, it is usually assessed by it as unnecessary, wrong, even anti-people, anti-state. Although for other groups and the majority of society it may be important
living meaning. But it also happens vice versa, when the minority wins from the changes, and the clear majority loses. In any case, representatives of the winning group will evaluate the results of the changes as positive, and the losers - as negative.
Humanistic meaning of the criteria of social progress. As for specific criteria for social progress, discussions are also underway on this issue between representatives of different sociological schools and trends. Most preferable are the positions of those authors who seek to give the criterion of social progress a humanistic meaning. The point is that it is not enough to talk about social changes, including social development, only as objectively ongoing processes, “processes in themselves,” in philosophical terms. No less important are their other sides - their appeal to the individual, groups, society as a whole. After all, the task is not only to fix the very fact of social changes and social development, to determine their types, to identify driving forces, etc. The task is also to expose their humanistic (or anti-humanistic) meaning - they lead whether they contribute to human well-being, prosperity, or worsen the level and quality of his life.
The sociologist must strive to find more or less objective indicators for evaluating social change, qualifying it as progress or regression. As a rule, in such situations, a special system of social indicators is developed, which can serve as the basis for evaluation. Thus, the ISPI RAS has developed a detailed "System of social indicators of Russian society". It was divided into four groups according to the spheres of public relations: social, socio-political, socio-economic, and spiritual and moral. In each of the areas, the indicators are divided into three groups according to the types of measurement: social conditions as objective data that determine the "background" of social relations; social indicators as quantitative characteristics of social relations, fixed by statistical methods, and, finally, social indicators as qualitative characteristics of social relations, fixed by sociological methods.
tods. The imposition of indicators on the spheres of public relations makes it possible to identify 12 measuring subsystems that can serve as the basis for a systematic assessment of the level of development of each sphere of public relations and society as a whole.
Over the past decades in different countries there has been an active development of systems of social, demographic, economic, and other statistical indicators, and the number of such indicators, expressed in value (cash), natural, combined and other forms, reaches several hundred. At the same time, along with the development of sectoral indicators, they are synthesized and combined to assess the overall level of the country's social development and for the purposes of international comparisons. Thus, the Goskomstat of Russia is developing a system of unified socio-demographic statistics, which can be presented in the form of large sectoral blocks that meet the standards of international comparisons: demographic statistics; environment, urbanization, living conditions; health care and nutrition; education; economic activity of the population; social groups and population mobility; income, consumption and welfare; social Security; leisure and culture; use of time; public order and security; social relations; political activity. A system of such indicators can serve as the basis for a comprehensive assessment of the level of social development of a particular society and the opportunities that it provides for the development of a person himself.
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