Topic 2.1 Society. Social institutions

Plan:

2.1.1 Basic approaches to the definition of the concept of "society".

2.1.2 Signs of society. Conditions for the life of society.

2.1.3 Structural composition of society. Typology of society.

2.1.4 Social institutions.

2.1.1 Main approaches to the definition of the concept of "society"

The initial and most important category of sociology is society. The entire history of sociological thought is the history of the search for a definition of society, the construction of theories of society.

There are many definitions of the concept society. It is viewed as:

- an extremely wide community of people;

- as a rational form of organization of people's activities;

- as a historically developing set of relations between people that develop in the process of their joint activities.

The first theoretical attempts to understand the essence of social life are associated with the names of Aristotle and Plato. A feature of the ancient approach to society is the identification of society and the state.

Attempts at a systemic representation of society were made by German scientists I.G. Herder and G.F. Hegel. They essentially put two approaches to the consideration of society:

At the center of the concept of I.G. Herder lies idea of ​​world development, within the framework of this concept, evolution and its result (the human race and then society, its culture) are considered.

According to G.F. Hegel, society is a product evolutions of an idea passing sequentially through the stages of sociogenesis: family - civil society - state.

Among the approaches to the definition of society, the following are also distinguished:

1) Atomistic theory. Society is understood as a set of acting personalities or relations between them.“The whole society, after all,” says the American sociologist J. Davis, “can be represented as a light web of interpersonal feelings or attitudes. Each given person can be represented as sitting in the center of a web he has woven, connected directly to a few and indirectly to the whole world.

2) network theory R. Bertha, according to which society is represented by acting individuals who make socially significant decisions in isolation, independently of each other. The beginning of this theory was laid by G. Simmel. According to Simmel, society is a phenomenon that cannot be reduced to a simple sum of individuals. Society is the interaction of individuals guided by their goals, motives. This theory and its variants place the personal attributes of acting individuals at the center of attention in the explanatory concept of society.

3) B social group theories society has been interpreted as a collection of various overlapping groups of people who are varieties of one dominant group. In this sense, following the concept of F. Znaniecki, one can speak of a folk society, which means all kinds of groups and aggregates that exist within the same people or the Catholic community, meaning by this all sorts of aggregates and groups that exist within the Catholic Church.

If in the “atomistic” or “network” concepts an essential component in the definition of society is the type of relationship, then in the “group” theories it is human groups. Considering society as the most general set of people, the authors of this concept essentially identify the concept of "society" with the concept of "humanity".

4) institutional or organizational definitions society. There is a group of definitions of the category "society", according to which it is a system of social institutions and organizations. Society is a large collection of people who share social life within a range of institutions and organizations.“Society is not a simple sum of individuals, but a system formed from associations and representing a reality endowed with its own special properties” (E. Durkheim).

According to this concept, it is social institutions and organizations that guarantee the stability and constancy of relations between people, establish a stable structure for all kinds of forms of collective life. Without them, it would be impossible to meet needs, guarantee an organized process of collective activity, regulate conflicts, develop culture, etc. Without them (institutions and organizations), society could not guarantee its further evolution and self-development. This understanding of society is often found in the work of ethnologists.

5) functional theory, wherein society is a group of human beings constituting a self-sustaining system of action. On the basis of various conceptual definitions in sociology, another (analytical) definition has emerged: society as a relatively independent and self-supporting population characterized by internal organization, territoriality, cultural differences and natural reproduction.

Depending on what content is invested in the concepts of "self-sufficiency", "organization", "culture", etc., and what place is given to these concepts in a particular theory, this definition takes on a different character.

6) Sociological categories (of a lower order than the category "society"), which are included by representatives of various sociological schools, both in the analytical and conceptual definitions of society, are essential for understanding its nature and character. However, the common drawback of all the above definitions of the concept of "society" is that they identify the concept of "society" with the concept of "civil society", omitting the question of the material basis on which "civil society" arises and develops.

According to analytical theory, society is a relatively independent, or self-supporting population, characterized by internal organization, territoriality, and cultural differences.

Society definitions

1) Society- this is a relatively stable system of social ties and relations, established in the process of historical development, of large and small groups of people, supported by customs, traditions, laws, social institutions, determined by the peculiarities of the production of material and spiritual goods (G.V. Osipov);

2) Society is a social organism, an independent whole, a mega-system that includes all types of communities and is characterized by integrity, self-organization, spatio-temporal existence (G. Sbarovskikh).

In this way, society appears as an organic unity of the main social subjects (individuals, groups, communities, organizations and social institutions) interacting on a certain historically specific value-normative basis, the source of which is the culture of a given society.

The main task of the system approach is to combine knowledge about society into an integral system that could be the basis of a unified theory of society. This is an approach to society as an integral system of elements that are closely interconnected. The systems approach is complemented by deterministic and functionalist approaches.

The deterministic approach is clearly expressed in Marxism. Society in it appears as an integral system consisting of subsystems (which, in turn, can be considered as systems): economic, social, political, ideological.

Professor at the University of California at Berkeley, one of the patriarchs of modern American sociology Neil Smelser defined five main approaches used by sociologists in the study and explanation of various facts:

First approach - demographic (demography - from the Greek word demos - people). Demographics - study of the population, processes of fertility, mortality, migration and related activities of people. (For example, a demographic analysis could explain the economic underdevelopment of Third World countries by the fact that they have to spend a large part of the funds to feed a rapidly growing population).

The second approach is psychological . It explains behavior in terms of its significance to people as individuals. are being studied motives, thoughts, skills, social attitudes, ideas of a person about himself.

The third approach is collectivist . It applies when we studying two or more people who form a group or organization. For example, this approach can be used when studying such groups as the family, the army, the sports team, since they are collectives of individuals.

The fourth approach reveals relationships . Public life is considered not through certain people participating in it, but through their interaction with each other, due to their roles. A role is the behavior expected of a person who occupies a certain position in a group. There are hundreds of roles in society: a politician, an employee, a consumer, a policeman, a student. And the behavior of people to a certain extent is formed on the basis of these roles.

Fifth and final approach cultural . It is used in the analysis of behavior based on such elements of culture, such as social rules and social values. In the culturological approach, the rules of behavior or norms are considered as factors that regulate the actions of individuals and the actions of groups. For example, in accordance with the criminal code, murder, rape, robbery are considered unacceptable and punishable. There are also implied norms: don't point your finger at people, don't chew with your mouth open, and so on.

Public opinion as an object of sociological analysis.

Public opinion is an average and supported by the majority point of view of various social groups on any problem, taking into account the development of mass consciousness and the role representations of the social group about behavior and thinking within society.

Public opinion is forming from widely disseminated information, such as: opinions, judgments, beliefs, ideologies, as well as from rumors, gossip, delusions. play an important role in shaping public opinion mass media(media), in particular: television, radio broadcasting, printed publications (press). Public opinion is influenced opinions of people recognized by society as authoritative and competent, personal experience of people

Stages of formation of public opinion

1. Perception of information (objective, subjective, tendentious, etc.) at the level of individuals.

2. Conclusions and assessments of the individual - based on existing knowledge, experience, ability to analyze, level of awareness.

3. Exchange of available information, conclusions, discussions with other people. On this basis, the formation of a certain opinion of a small group of people.

4.Exchange between small groups and the formation of the opinion of the social stratum.

5. The emergence of public opinion.

The subject of public opinion can be communities of various levels from the population of a state or the entire planet to individual settlement communities. In this case, the leading subject is population, people generally.

object public opinion can be

1) a phenomenon, event, fact that is associated with the interests of the subject (and not only in the material, but also in the political, cultural, social spheres of life) and has a high degree of relevance;

2) a phenomenon, an event, a fact that allows for the ambiguity of interpretation and the non-conditionality of value judgments;

3) what information is available to the subject.

Formation features:

Public opinion is very sensitive to significant events.

public opinion is usually , is more quickly formulated under the influence of events than words, at least until verbal statements become reality.

Public opinion does not foresee critical situations, it only reacts to them.

From a psychological point of view, public opinion chief driven by the vested interests of the people. Events, words, and any other stimuli affect opinion only to the extent that there is an obvious connection with self-interest..

Public opinion will long be in an agitated state if the people do not feel that their own interests are affected, or if the opinion awakened verbally is not confirmed by the course of events.

If an opinion is shared by a small majority of people, or if it has not yet been substantially constructed, a fait accompli may incline public opinion to its approval.

Public opinion, as well as personal opinion, is always emotionally colored. If public opinion is based mainly on emotions, then it will be ready for especially drastic changes under the influence of events.

9. Microsociology

Section of sociology, the object of study to-rogo are the so-called. small groups (small in composition social groups, members of which are in stable personal communication with each other). Small groups include the family, primary labor, scientific, sports, military, and other groups, the school class, and a religious sect. 20th century as one of the directions of bourgeois sociology. Its methodological basis was the philosophical principles of positivism, the theoretical basis was the work of G. Simmel, C. Cooley, Durkheim, F. Tennis and others, the empirical basis was the data of studies of various social problems of the bourgeois community (the need to resolve interclass, interethnic and interracial conflicts, the search for reserves to increase labor productivity, the effectiveness of propaganda, the fight against crime, the disintegration of the bourgeois family, the growth of mental illness, etc.). theoretical M. is represented by the works of Moreno, J. Homans, R. Bales (USA), Gurvich (France), R. Koenig (Germany), and others. from psychiatry (the Moreno school), psychological, or "group dynamics" (K. Levin's school), and behavioral, represented by the sociologists of the Mayo school. Within these areas, appropriate methods and techniques for studying small groups and contact groups, various types of observations, surveys, interviews, sociometric techniques (building scales, matrices, graphic representation of the structure of small groups, etc.) have been developed. consists in illegal attempts to transfer the conclusions received from studying of the small groups considered as a basic element about-va, on big social groups and about-in as a whole.

The reason for such errors is the idealistic absolutization by bourgeois sociologists of the primacy of psychological factors in the analysis of social phenomena. Marxist sociology recognizes both the existence of small groups and the social conditioning of their formation and activities. The study of the problems of small groups (microenvironment, interaction between the team and the individual, the team and the community, psychological relationships in groups - the "psychological climate", special group values ​​and norms of behavior - the "moral climate", etc.) is of great importance for the development sociological theory and social practice.

10.Socialization of the individual.

From the very beginning, a person interacts with the social. environment, with society. The process of this interaction is characterized by the concept of socialization.

Socialization is the process of mastering the surrounding social environment by a person. environment and its transformation into a person, i.e. social quality.

In the course of socialization, the natural inclinations inherent in a person are realized. . Society while creating the conditions for personal self-development. The process of socialization goes through a number of stages. In modern literature as main criterion socialization was taken labor activity, in accordance with this, 3 main stages of socialization were distinguished : pre-labour; labor; post-work (related to retirement). However, these stages did not take into account the features of the first and last stages. The third stage did not take into account the process resocialization, i.e. learning new roles.

In Western literature, there are 2 stages of socialization: primary (from birth to the formation of a mature personality); secondary or resocialization. The last stage is understood as a kind of restructuring of the personality in the period of its social. maturity.

Socialization occurs under the influence of social. environment conditions and social. institutions. To the social institutions of socialization include family(parents) school(broadly speaking), mass media, formal and informal organizations.

11.Prognostic function of sociology.

The practical orientation of sociology is expressed in the fact that it is able to develop scientifically based forecasts about the trends in the development of social processes and phenomena in the future. This is the prognostic function of sociology. It is especially important to have such forecasts in the transitional period of the development of society, which Russia is going through at the moment. In this regard, sociology is capable of:

determine the range of opportunities, probabilities that open up to the participants in events at a given historical stage;

· present alternative scenarios for the development of future social phenomena and processes associated with each of the chosen solutions;

Of great importance in the life of society is the use sociological research for planning the development of various spheres of public life. Social planning is developed in all countries of the world, regardless of social systems. It covers a wide range of areas, from from the specific processes of life of the world community, individual regions and countries, ending with the social planning of the life of cities, villages, individual industries, enterprises and collectives.

12. Ethnosociology.

Ethnosociology - a branch of sociological science that studies social processes in different ethnic environments and ethnic processes in social groups. In other words, ethnosociology studies the phenomena and events of social life, one way or another connected with the problems of ethnic groups, the influence of ethnic culture and traditions on social life, interethnic relations and conflicts. “Any ethnic community is based on traditional standards, norms, patterns, stereotypes of behavior, which are firmly established in one or another ethnic moral culture. The culture of each ethnic group is unique, its development takes place in the context of interaction with other ethnic cultures, and the accumulated socio-cultural experience of the ethnic group becomes the starting point in understanding foreign values ​​- language, traditions, etc. This actualizes the issues and problems of interethnic interaction, interethnic adaptation in modern Russian society.

If ethnography considers, describes and analyzes the customs and traditions, way of life and culture, language and folklore of various ethnic groups, then ethnosociology is a special middle-level sociological discipline that studies ethnic groups, their relationships in a broader context of social relations, considering them as parts of society more or less integrated into it and included in societal processes. The legitimacy of this approach is determined by the fact that everything that happens to ethnic groups is always inscribed in the dynamics of society as a whole and is largely explained by it.

In the history of sociology, initially the study of ethnic traditions and rituals was of great importance and was associated with the formation of proper sociological classical paradigms. Thus, E. Durkheim, L. Levy-Bruhl, B. Malinovsky, A. Radcliffe-Brown and other prominent sociologists and social anthropologists of the past turned to the study of the ethnic culture of primitive tribes in order to better understand the origins of sociality as such. Modern ethnosociology is focused on the study of the social parameters of the interaction between ethnic groups and ethnic groups that is currently taking place.

In parallel, there is a related sociological discipline - historical egnosociology, the subject of which is the ethnic problems of the past.

The subject area of ​​ethnosociology includes research related to the following issues:

· Traditions as a factor influencing the social behavior of individuals and ethnic groups;

· the dynamics of ethno-socio-cultural changes arising as a result of modernization;

· socio-cultural differences between the modern city and the countryside;

social components of the process of ethnic identification and self-identification;

· the dynamics of interethnic relations, in particular the development and course of interethnic conflicts;

· mobility of ethnic groups, interregional and interstate migration;

· the origin and social characteristics of ethnic diasporas, including the recently formed Russian diasporas within the borders of the post-Soviet space;

· features of linguistic communication in various ethnic environments, in particular, the processes of displacement of the Russian language and its replacement by the languages ​​of the titular nations in the republics of the former USSR, as well as the problems of bilingualism and polylingualism;

· the specifics of intra-family relations in various ethnic groups;

· ethnic culture, intercultural interactions, the role of religion in the formation of intercultural distances, the development of ethnic stereotypes and their social functioning;

Tolerance and intolerance in interethnic relations;

· Formation and development of national and nationalist movements and features of social movements in the ethnic environment.

13.O.Kont - the founder of functionalism.

The origins of structural functionalism were the first sociologists: Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim. They strove to create a science of society that, like physics or biology, could discover and substantiate the laws of social development.

The founder of sociology, Auguste Comte, proclaimed the main task of sociology to be the search for objective laws of social development that do not depend on a particular person.

Comte relied on the methods of analysis of the natural sciences. By analogy with sections of physics, Comte subdivided sociology into "social statics" and "social dynamics". The first was focused on the study of how parts (structures) of society function, interact with each other in relation to society as a whole. First of all, he considered how the main institutions of society (family, state, religion) function, ensuring social integration. In cooperation based on the division of labor, he saw the factor of affirming "universal consent". These ideas of Comte would later be developed by scientists representing structural functionalism in sociology and studying mainly the institutions and organizations of society.

social dynamics was is devoted to understanding the problems of social development and the policy of change. The scientist sought to create, in his own words, " abstract history" without names and without relation to specific peoples.

The founder of positivism was the French thinker Auguste Comte.

His name is associated with the development of the first stage of positivism - "the first positivism".

Main work O. Comte "Positive Philosophy Course" in six volumes it was published in 1830-1846, and subsequently reprinted several times. The main idea of ​​positivism was that the era of metaphysics had ended, the era of positive knowledge had begun, the era of positive philosophy.

Since science relies on laws and strives to discover them, Comte also tried to substantiate his teaching with several laws formulated by him.

"The Law of Three Stages", according to Comte, first of all determines those stages that humanity goes through in its mental development, in its desire to know the world around.

The first stage is theological. Being at this stage of his spiritual development, a person seeks to explain all phenomena by the intervention of supernatural forces, understood by analogy with himself: gods, spirits, souls, angels, heroes, etc.

The second stage that humanity goes through in its mental development is the metaphysical one. It, like the theological stage, is characterized by the desire to achieve an exhaustive absolute knowledge of the world. But unlike the first stage, the explanation of the phenomena of the world is achieved not by referring to the divine principles and forces, but is reduced to a reference to various fictitious primordial essences, allegedly hiding behind the world of phenomena, behind everything that we perceive in experience, the basis of which they form.

The third stage, according to Comte, is positive. Having risen to this stage, humanity abandons hopeless and fruitless attempts to cognize the first and final causes, to cognize the absolute nature or essence of all things, i.e. renounces both theological and metaphysical questions and claims and rushes along the path of accumulating positive knowledge obtained by particular sciences.

14. Classical concepts of personality development.

Basic theories of personality development.

The Mirror Self Theory by Charles Cooley. Man evaluates himself according to the following criteria:

a) the view of other people on him, their assessment;

b) response to their opinions and views.

These factors and influence the formation of personality.

The theory of personality formation by George Herbert Mead. Personality is formed in the process interaction with people . This process includes the following steps:

a) imitation of someone else's activities;

b) game stage;

c) collective games of children.

At the last stage, the interaction between individuals is enhanced.

Theory of Sigmund Freud . The desires of the individual are limited by the norms accepted in society, hence the conflict between the person and society arises. The personality structure is as follows: “It” (a person’s desire for pleasure), “I” (orientation in the present

world), "Super-I" (regulator of moral values).

Psychoanalytic theory of Erik Erickson. Personality is formed in accordance with the stages of development. These stages are associated with overcoming crises of a different nature by the individual.

Jean Piaget's theory of the development of knowledge. The process of personality formation is carried out as a person's ability to master new skills. Children go through these stages gradually. They can last longer or shorter, digested with ease or with difficulty, but in a strictly defined sequence.

Lawrence Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development. This scientist paid great attention to the moral aspect of personality development. A person overcomes several stages of development, and throughout life, and not just in childhood. The higher the level reached by a person, the more moral his actions in relation to other people.

15 Durkheim is a representative of sociology.

Émile Durkheim (1858-1917) French sociologist. Partly sharing the point of view of positivism, he opposed the biologization of sociology by Comte.. The structure of sociology, according to Durkheim, includes social morphology, social physiology and general sociology. . Social morphology, like human anatomy, deals with the structure of society. Social physiology studies social life, all spheres, etc. General (theoretical) sociology establishes the general social laws of the functioning of society.

Society is the totality of social facts and the relationships between them. The subject of sociology is social facts (institutions) that represent objective phenomena available for observation: marriage, family, social groups, etc.

The doctrine of Durkheim's society formed the basis of many modern sociological theories, and above all - structural-functional analysis.

As a general concept that expresses the basic principles of the theory and methodology of Durkheim's sociology, stands for "sociologism".

There are two aspects to this concept:

ontological (the doctrine of being, of the most general laws of being): a) social reality; b) society is a reality of a special kind, which means it is autonomous from other realities;

methodological (follows from the ontological): a) since sociology is a part of nature, then sociology is methodologically similar to the science of nature, b) “social facts” should be considered as things (objective realities).

The central sociological idea of ​​Durkheim's teaching is the idea of ​​social solidarity. Starting from two types of society - traditional and modern, he distinguishes two types of social solidarity:

mechanical social solidarity is inherent in traditional society.

organic solidarity is generated by the social division of labor and is based on the division of individuals.

If the first presupposes the absorption of the individual by the collective, then the second presupposes the development of the individual, based on the division of labor.

Thus, the division of labor is a source of social solidarity, and the existence of problems and conflicts in modern society is explained by scientists as a simple deviation from the norms caused by insufficient regulation of relations between the main classes of society.

16 Sociology of the city

The emergence of the sociology of the city is associated with the names of such authors as M. Weber, G. Simmel, F. Tennis. The main task facing the founders of the sociology of the city was a critical analysis of the idea of ​​the alienness of the urban way of life and its opposition to the rural communal way of life.

Among the theoretical approaches to the study of the city, one can single out the territorial-settlement one (the city as a special type of ecological settlement (the city as the ratio of natural and artificial components of the environment;

economic (typologies of cities according to production and economic functions and identification of the morphological structure of the urban territory; urban planning (city as a system of social and functional settlement;

historical and cultural (city in evolutionary development and urban mentality;

sociological (the city as a place for the development of social relations and communicative space, the structure and features of the city as a habitat; features of the urban lifestyle;

The city is, first of all, a special space that organizes the very life of citizens, setting them the trajectory of behavior and life path. M. Weber and F. Tennis formed the idea of ​​the city as a space of communication, different from the traditional (community).

The life of the city is determined by city-forming and city-serving factors. City-forming factors include industry, transport, communications, science, sanatorium and resort business, etc. From a sociological point of view, these factors reflect the interaction of the city and society, predetermining the number of jobs and the structure of employment in general, as well as the social aspects of the functioning of a resident in his work and everyday life. The city-serving factors include the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of jobs associated with the sphere of social services. These are public transport, children's and educational institutions, household and medical services, trade, cultural institutions, etc.

The social development of the city involves the implementation of measures to systematically influence negative processes: crime, child neglect, misconduct against the rules and norms of behavior.

Thus, the sociology of the city is a sociological discipline, the object of study of which is the social life of the city, urban life. The sociology of the city studies the origin of cities, urbanization, urban morphology, urban systems, problems of urban governance, urban communities and power structures. A sociological view of this object implies an analysis of the forms and types of activities of individuals and communities in the urban space, as well as the study of the specifics of the organization of urban space.

17 Tocqueville - political sociology

3. Tocqueville Alexis De, 1805-1859. About democracy.

Tocqueville Alexis De (1805-1859) - fr. sociologist, historian and politician. The main theme of his research and reflection is the historical genesis, essence and prospects of democracy, which he understood as the principle of the social organization of modern society, opposite to feudal.

The subject of greatest interest for Tocqueville Alexis De was democracy, which he saw as the most significant phenomenon of the era. According to Tocqueville, the core of democracy is the principle of equality. . Universal equality, taken by itself, does not automatically lead to the establishment of a political regime that firmly protects the individual and excludes arbitrariness on the part of the authorities.

For Tocqueville it is obvious the greatest social value of freedom. Ultimately, only thanks to her man gets the opportunity to realize themselves in life. Tocqueville is convinced that modern democracy possible in the union of equality and freedom. The problem according to Tocqueville is, on the one hand, to get rid of everything that interferes with the establishment of a reasonable balance of equality and freedom. On the other hand, to develop political and legal institutions that ensure the creation and maintenance of such a balance. Tocqueville believed that one of the most serious problems of freedom and democracy in general is the centralization of state power. To avoid this, Tocqueville proposed a separation of powers.

Tocqueville understood democracy lack of class distinctions, civil (political) equality.

Tocqueville believed that the goal of democracy as the rule of the majority is the welfare of the population.. The world is moving towards ensuring equal conditions of existence for all. Its political form is democracy, which is based on equality of conditions. The result is freedom, the components of which are: 1) the absence of arbitrariness (legality);

2) federation (taking into account the interests of individual parts of the state);

3) the presence of public associations (civil society);

4) independence of the press; 5) freedom of conscience.

18 Socio-territorial communities.

Society, understood as a "product of people's interaction", as the integrity of people's social relations to nature and to each other, consists of many heterogeneous elements, among which the economic activity of people and their relations in the process of material production are the most significant, basic, but not the only ones. Against, the life of a society consists of many diverse activities, social relations, public institutions, ideas and other social elements. All these social phenomena are mutually interconnected and always act in a certain relationship and unity. This unity is permeated material and mental processes, and the integrity of social phenomena is in the process of constant changes, taking various forms. The study of society as the integrity of social relations in all its various manifestations requires grouping heterogeneous elements of society into separate entities in accordance with their common features and then identifying the relationships of such groups of phenomena. One of the important elements of the social structure of society is the social group. Of great importance is the socio-territorial group, which is an association of people that has a unity of relations to a certain territory they have mastered. An example of such communities can be: a city, a village, and in some aspects - a separate district of a city or state. In these groups there is their relationship with the environment. Territorial groups have similar social and cultural traits that have arisen under the influence of certain situations. This happens even though the members of this group have differences: class, professional and others. And if we take the characteristics of various categories of the population of a certain territory, then we can judge the level of development of this territorial community in social terms. For the most part, territorial communities are divided into two groups: rural and urban population. Relations between these two groups developed differently at different times. Of course, the urban population prevails. For the most part, urban culture today, with its patterns of behavior and activity, is penetrating more and more into the village, village. The resettlement of people is also important, because regional differences have a significant impact on the economic, cultural state, on the social appearance of a person - there is a lifestyle. All this is influenced by the movement of migrants. The highest level of development of the socio-territorial community is the people. The next step is national territorial communities. The initial is the primary territorial community, which is integral and indivisible. An important function of this community is the socio-demographic reproduction of the population. It ensures the satisfaction of people's needs through the exchange of certain types of human activities. An important condition for reproduction is the self-sufficiency of the elements of the artificial and the nature of the environment. It is also important to take into account the mobility of territorial communities. In some cases, the living environment for reproduction requires the formation of a combination of urban and rural environments, taking into account the natural environment (agglomeration).

19V. Pareto is a representative of psychologism in sociology.

According to Pareto, society has a pyramidal structure, at the top of which is the elite - the leading social layer that guides the life of the whole society. In his works, Pareto was skeptical of democratic regimes, calling them "pluto-democratic" or "demagogic plutocracy", believing that in political life there is a universal law under which the elite always deceives the masses.

The successful development of society, however, is possible only with the timely renewal of the elites, which was understood by Pareto, in the concept of “circulation of elites” put forward by him, as the absorption and inclusion of the most mobile representatives of non-elites or counter-elites into the elite by directive “election from above” by the very or the ruling elite. Otherwise, according to his concept, society will stagnate and, as a result of the revolution, the old elite will be replaced by a new one.

The analysis of human actions and their motives carried out in the works of Pareto was of great scientific importance. The terms and, and subsequently, were practically not used in sociology. Nevertheless, the analysis of the phenomena themselves denoted by these terms revealed to sociologists the essential role of irrational and emotional factors of social behavior, various predispositions, attitudes, prejudices, stereotypes, consciously and unconsciously masked and rationalized in beliefs, etc. That fact that it is precisely this kind of emotional factors that are often much more effective than logical reasoning in inducing mass man to action, is now widely recognized in political science, propaganda theory and mass communication.

Pareto was the first to develop an expanded theory of the elite. He described some socio-psychological characteristics of elite groups and such features of the masses as authoritarianism, intolerance and neophobia. In his concept of elite circulation, he substantiated the need for social mobility to maintain social balance and the optimal functioning of social systems.

The development of the theory of the elite paradoxically contributed to the deepening and refinement of the idea of ​​democracy, so unloved by Pareto himself. Understanding the true place of the elite in society made it possible to move from empty and vague provisions about democracy as the power of the People Itself, about the Self-Government of the People, to the idea of ​​democracy, in particular, as a specific open system for the formation of elites that publicly and on equal terms compete with each other for prestige and power in society.

True, Pareto's theory of the elite partly contradicts his systemic orientation. He is inclined not so much to deduce the characteristics of elites from social systems as, on the contrary, to consider social systems as a consequence of the mental traits and activities of elite groups. Meanwhile, methods of recruitment, functioning and change of elites are not self-contained phenomena and processes. They are different in different social systems, because they are conditioned by the latter; the top of the social pyramid is determined by its base, its entire configuration.

20. Social mobility.

Social mobility is a change by an individual or group of their social position in social space. The concept was introduced into scientific circulation by P. Sorokin in 1927. He singled out two main types of mobility: horizontal and vertical.

Vertical mobility implies a set of social movements, which is accompanied by an increase or decrease in the social status of an individual. Depending on the direction of movement, upward vertical mobility (social rise) and downward mobility (social decline) are distinguished.

Horizontal mobility is the transition of an individual from one social position to another, which is at the same level. An example is the movement from one citizenship to another, from one profession to another, which has a similar status in society. Varieties of horizontal mobility often include geographic mobility, which implies moving from one place to another while maintaining the existing status (moving to another place of residence, tourism, etc.). If social status changes when moving, then geographic mobility turns into migration.

The following types of migration are available:

character - labor and political reasons:

duration - temporary (seasonal) and permanent;

Territories - domestic and international:

status - legal and illegal.

According to the types of mobility, sociologists distinguish between intergenerational and intragenerational. Intergenerational mobility suggests the nature of changes in social status between generations and allows you to determine how much children rise or, conversely, fall on the social ladder compared to their parents. Intragenerational mobility is associated with a social career, which means a change in status within one generation.

The subject of social philosophy is

1) society, taken in the interaction of all its parties, i.e. as an integral social system, as well as the laws of functioning and development of society. This means that social philosophy considers and explains various social phenomena and processes at the macro level, that is, at the level of the whole society as a self-developing and self-reproducing social system.

2) interaction between different societies.

3) the historical process as a whole, the interaction of its objective and subjective aspects, the laws of its development.

3) the practical activities of people and their social relations. After all, it is in the process of their practical activities - production, economic, spiritual, socio-political, scientific, moral, aesthetic - that people produce the material and spiritual benefits necessary for their existence, transform nature, create the spiritual atmosphere and socio-cultural environment necessary for themselves.

Basic approaches to the study of society

In the process of developing scientific knowledge, several basic approaches to the study and explanation of society have developed.

1) naturalistic (17-18 centuries). It is connected with the development of natural science. Based on natural science views, many thinkers of the past argued that society is a kind of continuation of nature. The type of social structure was considered the result of the influence of the geographical environment and other natural factors on people's lives. This point of view was defended by the French thinker C. Montesquieu, the Russian historian L.N. Gumilyov. This approach is also manifested in the understanding of society as a special living organism.

2) Cultural-historical approach to the study of society (late 19th - early 20th century). Its formation is connected with the development of such sciences as history, cultural studies, anthropology. Within the framework of this approach, differences in natural and social processes are revealed. The life of society is considered here as an area of ​​influence of moral, aesthetic and other spiritual values ​​that form the basis of culture. The creator of the theory of cultural-historical types of social life was the Russian scientist N.Ya. Danilevsky.

3) Some thinkers believed that society is a simple sum of people living in it and is formed as a result of the addition of abilities, behavior, actions of many individual atoms. This approach arose in the philosophy of modern times. (T. Hobbes and J. Locke.)

4) Idealistic approach. The integrity and unity of society in its spiritual life. History is often seen here as a process of movement towards the achievement of some ideal, a higher spiritual goal.

5) materialistic approach in understanding social life. For example, German thinkers of the XIX century. K. Marx (1818-1883) and F. Engels (1820-1895) believed that its basis is the activity of people to satisfy their material needs. Such activity is material production. Without denying the existence of ideological or spiritual motives in social life, the materialistic approach is based on the fact that the real material life of people determines their consciousness. The materialistic and idealistic approaches to understanding the basis of social life largely complement each other, since in our life there are indeed both material and spiritual aspects, motivating causes of activity, and they are closely interconnected.

The essence of the materialistic understanding of history

Historical materialism is a Marxist science of society that studies the general sociological laws of historical development and the forms of their implementation in people's activities. Historical materialism affirms the material basis of social life, which determines the development of all its other aspects. Taking as its starting point the acquisition of means of subsistence, Marxism connected with it the relations into which people enter in the process of producing their lives, and in the system of these -legal superstructures and various forms of social consciousness. Each system of production relations that arises at a certain stage in the development of the productive forces is subject both to the laws common to all formations and to the laws of emergence, functioning and transition to a higher form that are specific to only one of them. "Poverty of Philosophy" 1847 - the foundations of historical materialism.

Unity and difference of nature and society

Nature in the broadest sense of the word means all matter, the Universe. In a narrower sense, it is a part of matter, with the exception of society, i.e. everything that is the object of study of the natural sciences. In the narrowest sense, nature refers to the geographic environment. The geographical environment is the human habitat, a part of nature with which society is in direct contact at a given stage of development and which is involved in its activities. Society refers to people and the relationships that exist between them.

Nature and society are interconnected, there is unity and differences between them. Unity is as follows:

1) society is a product of the self-development of nature;

2) society is a part of nature in a broad sense, and as a part it is subject to the whole, subject to the laws of nature;

3) nature and societies interact, influence each other.

There are differences between nature and society. Society is a relatively isolated part of nature. In society, there are people who have consciousness and are able to work. Society is characterized by a social form of movement, which is qualitatively different from the lower forms of movement of matter. The social movement is subject to its own laws: economic, political, socio-psychological, etc. If the laws of nature are made up of the action of blind forces, then the laws of society are made up of the actions of people with consciousness and will. People cannot cancel social laws, as well as the laws of nature, but they can actively influence them (accelerate or slow down the operation of the law, strengthen or weaken it). Thus, unlike the laws of nature, the laws of society are the laws of human activity and the results of this activity. The specificity of social laws, their difference from nature, lies in the fact that they are much shorter in duration. With the replacement of one society by another, certain laws often die out, and new ones arise.

The interaction of man and society with the environment is studied by social ecology. In the 20th century, this interaction rose to a new level, to describe which the concept of "noosphere" appeared (V.I. Vernadsky). The noosphere (sphere of the mind) is the shell of the Earth, within which rational human activity is the determining geological force. But the power of reason opposed man to nature. The spontaneous growth of production led to an increase in the ecological crisis.

Geographical and demographic factors in the development of society

The geographical environment has a significant impact on the development of society:

1) it affects the division of labor, the distribution of branches of production;

2) it affects the pace of development of society, may be more or less favorable;

3) the geographical environment indirectly affects the political system;

4) the geographical environment is reflected in culture, leaves an imprint on the formation of the psychological image of society.

At the same time, it must be remembered that the geographical environment is not a determining factor in the development of society. How exactly its impact on society will affect will depend on the society itself. A favorable geographical environment creates an objective opportunity for the accelerated development of society.

The demographic factor also plays an important role in the development of society. The main indicators are: population size, sex and age structure, population density, migratory mobility, health. On the one hand, demographic indicators influence the nature and pace of development of society, and on the other hand, they themselves become the result of this development.

The material life of society is the production of material goods and services, their distribution, exchange and consumption. Material production is the process of interaction between society and nature, during which people transform the natural environment to obtain the necessary material benefits. The most famous analysis of the material sphere of society belongs to Marxism. The central concept of Marxist sociology is productive forces: it is a system of elements necessary for the exchange of substances between society and nature. The productive forces include: a person, his knowledge and experience - the main productive force; tools of labor - what a person directly affects nature; objects of labor - what a person's labor is aimed at; means of labor - everything else necessary for the production process (transport, industrial buildings). Also, according to K. Marx, in the process of social production and the movement of a social product, industrial relations develop between people. They include the relations of people in production (including the organization of the economy), distribution, exchange, and consumption. The basis of production relations is the ownership of the means of production and the product produced.

leading side production method- productive forces, which correspond to certain production relations. At the same time, production relations can influence the productive forces, accelerating or hindering their development. The productive forces are constantly developing, and, finally, they come into conflict with the existing production relations, which turn into a brake on their development. The contradiction intensifies and is resolved by revolution - the destruction of outdated production relations and the establishment of new ones. Public life, according to K. Marx, has two sides - objective, or public being, and subjective, or public consciousness. Social being is the material conditions of the life of society, the material relations of people to each other and to nature. They are objective, that is, they exist independently of people's consciousness. Social being includes: the material and technical base of society - a set of tools and means of labor, technologies and methods of organizing production; geographical conditions - climate, minerals, plants and animals, etc.; demographic characteristics - population size, density, etc.; relations of production. Public consciousness is a system of feelings, views, ideas, theories that are characteristic of society as a whole; awareness of society itself and the surrounding reality. K. Marx argued that consciousness cannot be anything other than conscious being, i.e. awareness of real life: “It is not the consciousness of people that determines their being, but, on the contrary, their social being determines their consciousness”1. Of the complex of social relations, K. Marx considered production to be the leading ones, calling them the basis “on which the legal and political superstructure rises and to which certain forms of social consciousness correspond”2. The basis is a set of production relations that arise in the process of production, distribution and exchange of material goods.

Each society has a complex structure: it is a system of interconnected groups that differ in their social functions. The elements of the social structure are: national communities, classes and social strata, professional groups, demographic, religious, etc. This structure is constantly changing. In modern society, national and class communities are most important.

The national community is a collection of people with a unique originality, united by historically established stable ties and relationships. It arises independently of the will and consciousness of people, changes in the course of history and is presented in the form of basic types:

1. Clan and tribe - these communities are characteristic in the early stages of development, they are small and provide a joint opposition to external natural forces. The genus is the primary form of social organization based on consanguinity, the bearer of the totality of social relations (industrial, domestic, ideological, religious, etc.). The genus is characterized by common labor, common property, equal distribution. Several clans united into a tribe that had territory and self-government, as well as a common language, religion, customs, self-consciousness.

2. Nationality - a historically established community of people that has a common territory, language, culture, religion. Neither economic nor political community is obligatory for a nationality. This form arises in a class society.

3. Nation - a community of people, characteristic of modernity. Its features are common economic life (economic specialization of various regions and strong trade ties between them), political, linguistic, cultural, territorial commonality (including freedom of movement of people across the territory) and a single national identity (already based on the national idea, and not on religion). ).

Human society is characterized by the division of labor: gradually certain types of activities were assigned to separate groups. A different place in the system of social production and management led to differences in people's lives. The main social divisions of labor are the separation of pastoral tribes (nomadic) from agricultural (sedentary), crafts from agriculture, trade from production, mental labor from physical labor. The emergence of private property divided people according to their attitude towards the means of production. Already by the end of the primitive system, social strata emerged within the community - groups of people united by the nature of work, the amount of income and methods of obtaining it, access to power, and social prestige.

In relation to the structure of society, reflecting the social division of labor, there are two main approaches:

class - society is divided into large groups of people with antagonistic interests - social classes, between which there is a constant struggle;

stratified - society consists of numerous social groups that cooperate and complement each other, conflicts between them are temporary.

A social community (or group) is a social entity that develops on the basis of stable ties between people and is expressed in the unity of the way of life, the general direction of development, manifested in the nature of relationships with other social groups.

Social structure is a set of social groups in a particular society, which differ depending on their position in society. They are divided into five types:

by socio-economic status (classes, strata, estates);

on ethnic grounds (nations, nationalities);

according to socio-demographic characteristics (gender-age, professional groups);

in relation to the family (multi-family, small-family, without a family, singles);

in relation to religion (atheists, unbelievers, adherents of various religions).

The ethnic structure of society and its components:

The clan, as the first association of people, was a unity of blood relatives with a common origin, a common place of settlement, a common language, common customs and beliefs. The economic basis of the clan was communal ownership of land, hunting and fishing grounds.

The society developed, and the clan was replaced by the tribe as an association of clans that came out of the same root, but subsequently separated from each other. The tribe performed only part of the social functions, and for example, the household functions were performed by the tribal community.

The basis of the next, higher form of community - nationality - was no longer kinship, but territorial, neighborly ties between people. A nationality is a historically formed community of people that has its own language, territory, a certain common culture, and the beginnings of economic ties.

An even more complex nationality is the nation. The nation is characterized by the following features. First, it is a common territory. Secondly, to the commonality of the territory, in order to be able to talk about a nation, a common language must also be added. The third sign of a nation is the community of economic life. On the basis of the historically long commonality of territory, language, economic life, the fourth sign of a nation is formed - the common features of the mental warehouse, enshrined in the culture of a given people.

Special attention requires such a sign as national self-consciousness, or conscious attribution of oneself to one or another national community, identification with it.

Throughout the history of sociology, one of the most important problems has been the problem: what is a society? Sociology of all times and peoples has tried to answer the questions: how is the existence of society possible? What is the original cell of society? What are the mechanisms of social integration that ensure social order, despite the huge diversity of interests of individuals and social groups?

What is the basis of society?

When addressing this issue in sociology, different approaches are found. The first approach consists in the assertion that the initial cell of society is living acting people, whose joint activity forms society.

Thus, from the point of view of this approach, the individual is the elementary unit of society.

Society is a set of people who carry out joint activities and relationships.

But if a society consists of individuals, then the question naturally arises, should not society be considered as a simple sum of individuals?

Putting the question in this way casts doubt on the existence of such an independent social reality as society. Individuals really exist, and society is the fruit of the mentality of scientists: philosophers, sociologists, historians, and so on.

If society is an objective reality, then it must spontaneously manifest itself as a stable, repetitive, self-producing phenomenon.

society individual sociological approach

Therefore, in the interpretation of society, it is not enough to indicate that it consists of individuals, but it should be emphasized that the most important element in the formation of society is their unity, community, solidarity, and the connection of people.

Society is a universal way of organizing social ties, interactions and relationships between people.

These connections, interactions and relationships of people are formed on some common basis. As such a basis, various schools of sociology consider "interests", "needs", "motives", "attitudes", "values", etc.

For all the differences in the approaches to interpreting society on the part of the classics of sociology, they have in common the consideration of society as an integral system of elements that are in a state of close interconnection. This approach to society is called systemic.

Basic concepts of a systematic approach:

A system is a set of elements ordered in a certain way, interconnected and forming some integral unity. The internal nature of any integral system, the material basis of its organization is determined by the composition, the set of its elements.

The social system is a holistic formation, the main element of which are people, their connections, interactions and relationships. They are stable and are reproduced in the historical process, passing from generation to generation.

Social connection is a set of facts that determine the joint activity of people in specific communities at a specific time to achieve certain goals.

Social ties are established not at the whim of people, but objectively.

Social interaction is the process in which people act and experience interactions with each other. Interaction leads to the formation of new social relations.

Social relations are relations between groups.

From the point of view of supporters of a systematic approach to the analysis of society, society is not a summative, but an integral system. At the level of society, individual actions, connections and relationships form a new systemic quality.

Systemic quality is a special qualitative state that cannot be considered as a simple sum of elements.

Social interactions and relations are of a supra-individual, transpersonal nature, that is, society is some kind of independent substance that is primary in relation to individuals. Each individual, being born, constitutes a certain structure of connections and relations and is included in it in the process of socialization.

A holistic system has many connections, interactions and relationships. The most characteristic are correlative links, including the coordination and subordination of elements.

Coordination is a certain consistency of elements, that special nature of their mutual dependence, which ensures the preservation of an integral system.

Subordination is subordination and subordination, indicating a special specific place, the unequal significance of elements in an integral system.

So, society is an integral system with qualities that do not contain any of the elements included in it separately.

As a result of its integral qualities, the social system acquires a certain independence in relation to its constituent elements, a relatively independent way of its development.

On what principles does the organization of the elements of society take place, what kind of connections are established between the elements?

In answering these questions, a systematic approach to society is supplemented in sociology with deterministic and functionalist approaches.

The deterministic approach is most clearly expressed in Marxism. From the point of view of this doctrine, society as an integral system consists of several subsystems. Each of them can be considered as a system. To distinguish these systems from the social, they are called social. In the relationship between these systems, cause-and-effect relationships play a dominant role, that is, the systems are in a cause-and-effect relationship.

Marxism clearly points to the dependence and conditionality of all systems on the characteristics of the economic system, which is based on material production based on a certain nature of property relations. Based on the deterministic approach in Marxist sociology, the following definition of society has become widespread.

Society is a historically established relatively stable system of connections, interactions and relations between people, based on a certain method of production, distribution, exchange and consumption of material and spiritual goods, supported by the power of political, moral, spiritual, social institutions, customs, traditions, norms, social , political institutions and organizations.

Along with economic determinism, there are schools and currents in sociology that develop political and cultural determinism.

Political determinism in explaining social life gives priority to power and authority.

The deterministic approach is complemented in sociology by the functionalist one. From the point of view of functionalism, society combines its structural elements not by establishing causal relationships between them, but on the basis of functional dependence.

Functional dependency is what gives the system of elements as a whole such properties that no single element has individually.

Functionalism interprets society as an integral system of coordinated acting people, whose stable existence and reproduction is ensured by the necessary set of functions. Society as a system is formed during the transition from an organic to an integral system.

The development of an organic system consists in self-dismemberment, differentiation, which can be characterized as a process of formation of new functions or corresponding elements of the system. In the social system, the formation of new functions occurs on the basis of the division of labor. Societal needs are the driving force behind this.

Marx and Engels called the production of the means necessary to satisfy needs and the continuous generation of new needs the first prerequisite for human existence. On the basis of this development of needs and the means of satisfying them, society generates certain functions without which it cannot do. People acquire special interests. Thus, according to Marxists, social, political and spiritual spheres are built over the sphere of material production, performing their specific functions.

The ideas of functionalism are more inherent in Anglo-American sociology. The main provisions of functionalism were formulated by the English sociologist G. Spencer (1820 - 1903) in his three-volume work "The Foundation of Sociology" and developed by the American sociologists A. Radcliffe - Brown, R. Merton, T. Parsons.

Basic principles of the functional approach:

· As well as supporters of the systemic approach, the functionalists considered society as an integral single organism, consisting of many parts: economic, political, military, religious, etc.

· But at the same time they emphasized that each part can exist only within the framework of integrity, where it performs specific, strictly defined functions.

· The functions of the parts always mean the satisfaction of some social need. Yet together they are aimed at maintaining the stability of society and the reproduction of the human race.

Since each of the parts of society performs only its inherent function, in the event of a violation of the activity of this part, the more the functions differ from each other, the more difficult it is for other parts to compensate for the violation of the function.

In the most developed and consistent form, functionalism is developed in the sociological system of T. Parsons. Parsons formulated the main functional requirements, the fulfillment of which ensures the stable existence of society as a system:

· It must have the ability to adapt, adapt to changing conditions and the growing material needs of people, be able to rationally organize and distribute internal resources.

It must be goal-oriented, able to set the main goals and objectives and to support the process of achieving them

· It must have the ability to integrate, to be included in the system of new generations.

· It should have the ability to reproduce the structure and relieve tension in the system.

Society can be viewed from different angles, for example, it can be reduced to the totality of all groups included in it, and then we will deal primarily with the population. We can assume that the core of society is a social hierarchy in which all people are built according to the criterion of wealth and the amount of power. At the top there will be a rich and all-powerful elite, in the middle there will be a middle class, and at the bottom there will be a poor and disenfranchised majority or minority of society. Society can be reduced to a set of five fundamental institutions: family, production, state, education (culture and science), and religion.

Finally, the whole society can be divided into four main spheres - economic, political, social and cultural. Such an approach, as the division of society into four spheres, helps to navigate well in the diversity of social phenomena. The word "sphere" means almost the same thing as part of society.

The economic sphere includes four main activities: production, distribution, exchange and consumption. It includes not only firms, enterprises, factories, banks, markets, but also flows of money and investments, capital turnover, and so on.

The political sphere is the president and the presidential apparatus, the government and parliament, its apparatus, local authorities, the army, the police, the tax and customs service, which together make up the state, as well as political parties that are not part of it.

The spiritual sphere (culture, science, religion, education) includes universities and laboratories, museums and theaters, art galleries and research institutes, magazines and newspapers, cultural monuments and artistic national treasures, religious communities, etc.

The social sphere embraces classes, social strata, nations, taken in their relations and interaction with each other. It is understood in two senses - broad and narrow.

The social sphere in a broad sense is a set of organizations and institutions responsible for the well-being of the population. In this case, this includes shops, passenger transport, public and personal services, catering, health care, communications, as well as leisure and entertainment establishments. In the first sense, the social sphere covers almost all strata and classes - from the rich and middle to the poor.

The social sphere in a narrow sense means only socially unprotected segments of the population and institutions serving them: pensioners, the unemployed, the low-income, those with many children, the disabled, as well as social protection and social security agencies (including social insurance) of both local and regional subordination. In the second meaning, the social sphere does not include the entire population, but only a part of it - as a rule, the poorest strata.

So, we have identified four main areas of modern society. They are closely related and influence each other.

The spheres of society can be arranged on a plane in such a way that they will all be equal to each other, i.e. be at the same horizontal level. But they can also be built in a vertical order, defining for each of them its own function or role in society that is not similar to others.

Thus, the economy performs the function of obtaining means of subsistence and acts as the foundation of society. The political sphere at all times played the role of a managerial superstructure of society, and the social sphere, which describes the socio-demographic and professional composition of the population, the totality of relationships between large groups of the population, permeates the entire pyramid of society. The spiritual sphere of society, the spiritual life of people, has the same universal or cross-cutting character. It affects all levels of society. The new picture of the world can be expressed graphically as follows.

Fig.1. The vertical structure of society.

Approaches to the definition of society?

Today, there are two approaches to understanding society. In the broad sense of the word, society is a set of historically established forms of joint life and activity of people on earth. In the narrow sense of the word, society is a specific type of social and state system, a specific national-theoretical formation. However, these interpretations of the concept under consideration cannot be considered sufficiently complete, since the problem of society has occupied the minds of many thinkers, and in the process of developing sociological knowledge, various approaches to its definition have been formed.

Thus, E. Durkheim defined society as a supra-individual spiritual reality based on collective ideas. From the point of view of M. Weber, society is the interaction of people who are the product of social, i.e., focused on other actions. K. Marx presents society as a historically developing set of relations between people that develop in the process of their joint actions. Another theorist of sociological thought, T. Parsons, believed that society is a system of relations between people based on norms and values ​​that form culture.

Thus, it is easy to see that society is a complex category characterized by a combination of various features. Each of the above definitions reflects some specific features characteristic of this phenomenon. Only taking into account all these characteristics allows us to give the most complete and accurate definition of the concept of society. The most complete list of characteristic features of society was singled out by an American sociologist E. Shiels. He developed the following features characteristic of any society:

1) it is not an organic part of any larger system;

2) marriages are concluded between representatives of this community;

3) it is replenished at the expense of the children of those people who are members of this community;

4) it has its own territory;

5) it has a self-name and its own history;

6) it has its own control system;

7) it exists longer than the average life span of an individual;

8) it is united by a common system of values, norms, laws, rules.

Considering all these features, we can give the following definition of society: it is a historically formed and self-reproducing community of people.

Aspects of reproduction are biological, economic and cultural reproduction.

This definition makes it possible to distinguish the concept of society from the concept of "state" (an institution for managing social processes that arose historically later than society) and "country" (a territorial-political entity that has developed on the basis of society and the state).

The study of society within sociology is based on a systematic approach. The use of this particular method is also determined by a number of characteristic features of society, which is characterized as: a social system of a higher order; complex system education; complete system; self-developing system, because the source is within society.

Thus, it is not difficult to see that society is a complex system.

A system is a set of elements ordered in a certain way, interconnected and forming a certain integral unity. Undoubtedly, society is a social system, which is characterized as a holistic formation, the elements of which are people, their interaction and relationships, which are stable and reproduced in the historical process, passing from generation to generation.

Thus, the following can be distinguished as the main elements of society as a social system:

2) social connections and interactions;

3) social institutions, social strata;

4) social norms and values.

As with any system, society is characterized by close interaction of its elements. Given this feature, within the framework of the system approach, society can be defined as a large ordered set of social processes and phenomena more or less connected and interacting with each other and forming a single social whole. Society as a system is characterized by such features as coordination and subordination of its elements.

Coordination is the consistency of elements, their mutual functioning. Subordination is subordination and subordination, indicating the place of elements in an integral system.

The social system is independent in relation to its constituent elements and has the ability to self-develop.

On the basis of a systematic approach to the analysis of society, functionalism was developed. The functional approach was formulated by G. Spencer and developed in the works of R. Merton and T. Parsons. In modern sociology, it is complemented by determinism and an individualistic approach (interactionism).