The main spheres of public life, their relationship. Material-production, political and social spheres of public life
Sphere of life of society- a certain set of stable relations between social subjects. Spheres public life are large, stable, relatively independent subsystems of human activity.
Traditionally, there are four main spheres of public life:
social (peoples, nations, classes, age and gender groups, etc.)
economic (productive forces, production relations)
political (state, parties, socio-political movements)
spiritual (religion, morality, science, art, education).
Social sphere is the relationship that arises in the production of immediate human life and man as a social being.
In social philosophy and sociology, this is a sphere of social life that includes various social communities and connections between them. In economics and political science, the social sphere is often understood as a set of industries, enterprises, organizations whose task is to improve the living standards of the population; at the same time, the social sphere includes health care, social security, utilities, etc.
Economic sphere- a set of relationships between people arising from the creation and movement of material wealth. Economic sphere- the area of production, exchange, distribution, consumption of goods and services. In order to produce something, people, tools, machines, materials, etc. are needed. - productive forces. In the production process, people enter into a variety of relationships with each other - relations of production. Production relations and productive forces in the aggregate constitute the economic sphere of the life of society:
productive forces- people (labor force), tools of labor, objects of labor;
industrial relations - production, distribution, consumption, exchange.
Political sphere- this is the relationship of people associated primarily with power, which ensure joint security. The modern term "politics" is now used to express social activities, in the center of which are the problems of acquiring, using and retaining power. The elements political sphere can be represented as follows:
political organizations and institutions- social groups, revolutionary movements, parliamentarism, parties, citizenship, presidency, etc .;
political norms - political, legal and moral norms, customs and traditions;
political communications - relations, connections and forms of interaction between participants in the political process, as well as between the political system as a whole and society;
political culture and ideology - political ideas, ideology, political culture, political psychology.
Spiritual realm- this is the area of ideal, non-material formations, which include ideas, values of religion, art, morality, etc.
The structure of the spiritual realm the life of society in the most general terms is as follows:
religion is a form of worldview based on belief in supernatural forces;
moral is a system of moral norms, ideals, assessments, actions;
art - artistic development of the world;
science is a system of knowledge about the laws of existence and development of the world;
legal - a set of norms supported by the state;
education is a purposeful process of education and training.
6. Dialectics of society and nature. Global problems.
The dialectic of nature and society is a developing, objective and contradictory process. Using the Hegelian scheme for the development of contradiction, a number of stages of interaction between society and nature can be distinguished.
The first stage characterizes the process of the formation of society. It covers the period from the emergence of the species Homo sapiens to the emergence of cattle breeding and agriculture. The second stage of interaction between nature and society is associated with the emergence and development of animal husbandry and agriculture, which characterizes the transition to a "producing" economy, since man began to actively transform nature, to produce not only instruments of labor, but also means of subsistence. The beginning of the third stage of interaction between nature and society is associated with the deployment of the industrial revolution of the 18th century in England.
The main global problems of our time: environmental, demographic, the problem of war and peace.
2. The main spheres of society
The complex nature of the development of society is determined by its very complex structure, the action of many heterogeneous factors in it. First of all, it carries out different types of social activities in their nature and content: production and economic, social, household, political, religious, aesthetic and others, which have, as it were, their own social space. The latter is outlined by the corresponding form public relations, within the framework of which this or that social activity takes place. As a result, various spheres of society are taking shape. The main ones are economic, social, political, spiritual.
The economic sphere includes the production, distribution, exchange and consumption of material goods. This is the sphere of the functioning of production, the direct implementation of the achievements of scientific and technological progress, the implementation of the entire set of production relations of people, including the relations of ownership of the means of production, the exchange of activities and the distribution of material wealth.
The economic sphere acts as an economic space in which the economic life of the country is organized, the interaction of all sectors of the economy is carried out, as well as international economic cooperation. Here the economic consciousness of people, their material interest in the results of their production activities, as well as their creative abilities are directly embodied. The activities of economic management institutions are also implemented here. In the economic sphere, the interaction of all objective and subjective factors of economic development is carried out. The importance of this area for the development of society is fundamental.
The social sphere is the sphere of relations between social groups existing in society, including classes, professional and socio-demographic strata of the population (youth, elderly people, etc.), as well as national communities regarding social conditions their lives and activities.
It is on the creation of healthy conditions for the production of people, on ensuring the necessary standard of living for all strata of the population, on solving the problems of health care, public education and social security, on the observance of social justice in the exercise of each person's right to work, as well as in the distribution and consumption of created in society material and spiritual benefits, on the resolution of contradictions arising from the social stratification of society, on the social protection of the relevant strata of the population. This refers to the regulation of the entire complex of social, class and national relations concerning working conditions, everyday life, education and the standard of living of people.
As you can see, the functioning of the social sphere is associated with the satisfaction of a special circle of social needs. The possibilities for their satisfaction are determined by the social status of a person or social group, as well as the nature of existing social relations. The degree of satisfaction of these needs determines the level and quality of life of a particular person, family, social group, etc. These are generalizing indicators of the achieved level of people's well-being and the effectiveness of the functioning of his social sphere. The social policy of the state should be aimed at this.
The political sphere is the space for the political activity of classes, other social groups, national communities, political parties and movements, and various kinds of social organizations. Their activity takes place on the basis of the established political relations and is aimed at the implementation of their political interests.
These interests concern primarily political power, as well as the exercise of their political rights and freedoms. It is in the interests of some subjects to consolidate the existing political power. Others - its elimination. Still others seek to share political power with other actors. As a result, everyone wants to influence political processes in one form or another in their own interests.
To this end, each of the actors in the political sphere, be it a class, a political party or an individual, seeks to expand their political rights and freedoms. This pushes the boundaries of their political activity, creates great opportunities for the realization of their political interests and the embodiment of their political will.
Modern political processes significantly politicize the consciousness of many people and increase their political activity. This enhances the role and importance of the political sphere in the life of society.
The spiritual sphere is the sphere of people's relations with regard to various kinds of spiritual values, their creation, dissemination and assimilation by all strata of society. At the same time, spiritual values mean not only, say, objects of painting, music or literary works, but also the knowledge of people, science, moral norms of behavior, etc., in a word, everything that makes up the spiritual content of social life or the spirituality of society.
The spiritual sphere of public life has developed historically. It embodies the geographical, national and other features of the development of society, everything that has left its imprint on the soul of the people, its national character. The spiritual life of a society is formed from the everyday spiritual communication of people and from such areas of their activity as knowledge, including scientific, education and upbringing, from manifestations of morality, art, religion. All this constitutes the content of the spiritual sphere, develops the spiritual world of people, their ideas about the meaning of life in society. This has a decisive influence on the formation of spiritual principles in their activities and behavior.
Of great importance in this regard is the activities of institutions that perform the functions of education and upbringing - from primary schools to universities, as well as the atmosphere of family education of a person, the circle of his peers and friends, all the wealth of his spiritual communication with other people. An important role in the formation of human spirituality is played by original folk art, as well as professional art - theater, music, cinema, painting, architecture, etc.
One of the fundamental problems of the development of modern society is how to form, preserve and enrich the spiritual world of people, attach them to true spiritual values and turn them away from false ones that destroy the human soul and society. Everything suggests that the importance of the spiritual sphere in the development of modern society, for its present and future, can hardly be overestimated. Scientists, philosophers, religious leaders, and other representatives of spiritual culture are increasingly turning to the study of the processes taking place here.
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The main spheres of society are economic, political, social and spiritual.
The basis of the economic sphere is the material production of immediate welfare. The philosophy of Marxism asserts its leading role in the development of society as a whole. Perhaps there is a rational grain here, however, it should be noted that all spheres of society are very closely interconnected and have a noticeable and indisputable influence on each other.
Material production appears in the concrete historical form of the mode of production, which is characterized by the unity of productive forces and production relations. Productive forces include the means of production (means of labor and objects of labor) and the employee with his qualifications, physical strength, labor skills, intellect, etc.
The relations of production characterize the way of connecting the means of production with the worker and include the relations of ownership, distribution, exchange and consumption.
The development of the productive forces is an evolutionary-revolutionary process. The first revolution in the productive forces was associated with the beginning of the production of not only instruments of labor, but also means of subsistence (the emergence of cattle breeding and agriculture). On the basis of the division of labor and the growth of its productivity, a surplus product arose, which led to the emergence of systematic exchange and trade, the concentration of the surplus product in the hands of a part of society and the emergence of private property and exploitation. Through exploitation, labor has become more intense. There was a separation of mental labor from physical labor, handicrafts from agriculture, economic specialization of countries and regions took place. The second most important revolution is the transition from manual tools to the machine. The role of scientific knowledge began to increase, but at the same time of practical skills. Man became an appendage of the machine. At the same time, there was a gradual democratization of society. The third - the scientific and technological revolution (STR) began in the middle of the last century. It is characterized by the transition from machine to automated production, the introduction of computer technology. The importance of knowledge-intensive industries is growing. Scientific activity becomes a link in material production. A qualitatively new type of continuously learning and improving worker is being formed. In connection with the environmental crisis, there is a need for long-term accounting of the large-scale consequences of the use of science and technology.
Changes in productive forces are accompanied by corresponding processes in production relations. Commodity-money relations cut off useless and low-quality labor.
Consequently: the main components of the economic sphere of society are production (industry and Agriculture), trade, consumption.
The political sphere of society emerges in a class, antagonistic society. The political system is closely related to political power. Power is the ability to impose your will on other people. The means of imposition are direct violence, persuasion, authority, compromise. The most important component of the political system is the state. The functions of the state include the regulation of public relations, the organization of public life, compulsory pacification actions, the protection of human rights to life, property, etc., the regulation of relations with other states, and the solution of social issues.
With the growth of universal human interests, the importance of politics is increasing, performing the function of stabilizing society, giving it stability and vitality to harmonize relations.
Distinguish between democratic, totalitarian and authoritarian political regimes. The totalitarian regime controls all the main spheres of citizens' life and strives for complete uniformity. The authoritarian regime also strives for uniformity of sentiments, but controls only the basic public spheres, rests on the authority of a political leader. The democratic regime proclaims and seeks to ensure civil and political rights and freedoms, relies on the election of government bodies, the principle of real separation of the branches of government (legislative, executive and judicial). A form of control over power in a democracy is the institutions of civil society - organizations independent of the government that have authority and influence in society.
The social sphere of society covers the social interaction of individuals and society. With the integration of a multitude of goals, interests, aspirations, and wills, individual interactions accumulate into mass ones, and a social structure is formed. Social relationships include platform (interest, orientation, shared interest) and responsibilities between partners. In a socially differentiated society, nations, classes, social groups, primary collectives of people, families, individuals are distinguished. There are also informal groups in society (they unite to solve some common problems), diffuse groups (temporary non-permanent associations), etc.
The theory of stratification divides society into groups according to profession, income level, education, etc.
V modern society processes of social integration and social differentiation coexist.
The main functions of the spiritual sphere of society are cognitive and informational, ideological substantiation of social relations, the formation of a social ideal, projects of changes in reality, communication, and educational. At the same time, all kinds of design constructions can be implemented only when there are material opportunities for this. On the other hand, any change in the economic, political spheres "emerges" and takes shape precisely in the spiritual sphere of society.
The spiritual sphere of society also includes its culture as an indicator of development. Various types of art, philosophy, science, religion, etc. take a person out of the ordinary, contribute to giving meaning to his life.
As already noted, society is a systemic education. As an extremely complex whole, as a system, society includes subsystems - "spheres of public life" - a concept first introduced by Karl Marx.
The concept of "the sphere of public life" is nothing more than an abstraction that allows one to isolate and study individual areas of social reality. The basis for identifying spheres of public life is the qualitative specificity of a number of social relations, their integrity.
Traditionally, following Marx, there are four main spheres of social life: economic, social, political and spiritual... Each area is characterized by the following parameters:
This is the area of human activity necessary for the normal functioning of society, through which their specific needs are satisfied;
Each sphere is characterized by certain social relations that arise between people in the course of a certain type of activity (economic, social, political or spiritual);
As relatively independent subsystems of society, the spheres are characterized by certain patterns according to which they function and develop;
In each sphere, a set of certain institutions is formed and functions, which are created by people to manage this social sphere.
The economic sphere of the life of society - defining, named by K. Marx basis society (that is, its foundation, foundation). It includes relations about the production, distribution, exchange and consumption of material goods. Its purpose is meeting the economic needs of people.
The economic sphere is the genetic basis of all other spheres of social life, its development is the cause, condition and driving force of the historical process. The importance of the economic sphere is enormous:
It creates the material basis for the existence of society;
Directly affects the social structure of society (for example, the emergence of private property led to the emergence of economic inequality, which, in turn, became the cause of the emergence of classes);
Indirectly (through the social-class sphere) affects the political processes in society (for example, the emergence of private property and class inequality became the cause of the emergence of the state);
It indirectly affects the spiritual sphere (especially legal, political and moral ideas), directly - on its infrastructure - schools, libraries, theaters, etc.
Social sphere of public life- This is an area where historical communities (nations, peoples) and social groups of people (classes, strata, etc.) interact about their social status, place and role in the life of society. The social sphere covers the interests of classes, nations, social groups; relations between the individual and society; working and living conditions, upbringing and education, health and leisure. The core of social relations is the relationship of equality and inequality of people according to their position in society. The basis of the different social status of people is their attitude to ownership of the means of production and the type of labor activity.
The main elements of the social structure of society are classes, strata (social strata), estates, urban and rural residents, representatives of mental and physical labor, socio-demographic groups (men, women, youth, pensioners), ethnic communities.
The political sphere of society- the area of functioning of politics, political relations, the activities of political institutions (primarily the state) of organizations (political parties, unions, etc.). This is a system of public relations about the conquest, retention, strengthening and use of state authorities in the interests of certain classes and social groups.
The specificity of the social sphere is as follows:
It develops as a result of the conscious activity of people, classes, parties striving to seize power and government in society;
To achieve political goals, classes and social groups create political institutions and organizations that act as a material force of influence on the state, power, economic and political structures in society.
The elements of the political system of society are: the state (the main element), political parties, public and religious organizations, trade unions, etc.
The sphere of the spiritual life of society - it is the sphere of production of ideas, attitudes, public opinion, customs and traditions; the sphere of functioning of social institutions that create and disseminate spiritual values: science, culture, art, education and upbringing. This is a system of social relations about production and consumption. spiritual values.
The main elements of the spiritual life of society are:
Activities for the production of ideas (theories, views, etc.);
Spiritual values (moral and religious ideals, scientific theories, artistic values, philosophical concepts, etc.);
Spiritual needs of people, which determine the production, distribution and consumption of spiritual values;
Spiritual relationships between people, exchange of spiritual values.
The basis of the spiritual life of society is public consciousness- a set of ideas, theories, ideals, concepts, programs, views, norms, opinions, traditions, rumors, etc., circulating in a given society.
Public consciousness is associated with individual(with the consciousness of an individual), because, firstly, it simply does not exist without it, and secondly, all new ideas and spiritual values have as their source the consciousness of individuals. Therefore, a high level of spiritual development of individuals is an important prerequisite for the development of social consciousness. , public consciousness cannot be regarded as the sum of individual consciousnesses if only because the individual does not assimilate the entire content of social consciousness in the process of socialization and life. On the other hand, not everything that arises in the mind of an individual becomes the property of society. Public consciousness includes knowledge, ideas, representations, are common for many people, therefore, it is viewed in an impersonal form as a product of certain social conditions, enshrined in the language and cultural works. The bearer of social consciousness is not only an individual, but also a social group, society as a whole. In addition, individual consciousness is born and dies together with a person, and the content of social consciousness is passed from one generation to another.
In the structure of public consciousness, there are reflection levels(ordinary and theoretical) and forms of reflection of reality(law, politics, morality, art, religion, philosophy, etc.)
Reality reflection levels differ in the nature of their formation and by the depth of penetration into the essence of phenomena.
Mundane level of public consciousness(or "social psychology") is formed as a result of Everyday life people, covers superficial connections and relationships, giving rise, at times, various delusions and prejudices, public opinion, rumors and moods. It is a shallow, superficial reflection of social phenomena, so many ideas that arise in the mass consciousness are erroneous.
The theoretical level of public consciousness(or "social ideology") provides a deeper understanding of social processes, penetrates into the essence of the studied phenomena; it exists in a systematized form (in the form of scientific theories, concepts, etc.) In contrast to the ordinary level, which develops mainly spontaneously, the theoretical level is formed deliberately. This is the area of activity of professional theorists, specialists in various fields - economists, lawyers, politicians, philosophers, theologians, etc. Therefore, theoretical consciousness not only more deeply, but also more correctly reflects social reality.
Forms of public consciousness differ among themselves in the subject of reflection and in the functions that they perform in society.
Political consciousness is a reflection of political relations between classes, nations, states. It directly reveals economic relations and interests of various classes and social groups. The specificity of political consciousness is that it directly affects the sphere of state and power, the relationship of classes and parties to the state and government, the relationship between social groups and political organizations. It most actively affects the economy, all other forms of social consciousness - law, religion, morality, art, philosophy.
Legal consciousness- is a set of views, ideas, theories expressing people's attitude to existing law - a system of legal norms and relations established by the state. At the theoretical level, legal consciousness acts as a system of legal views, legal doctrines, codes. At the ordinary level, these are people's ideas about what is legal and illegal, just and unjust, what is proper and what is optional in relations between people, social groups, nations, and the state. Legal consciousness performs a regulatory function in society... It is associated with all forms of consciousness, but especially with politics. It is no coincidence that K. Marx defined law as "the will of the ruling class, raised to law."
Moral consciousness(morality) reflects the attitude of people to each other and to society in the form of a set of rules of behavior, moral norms, principles and ideals by which people are guided in their behavior. Everyday moral consciousness includes ideas about honor and dignity, about conscience and a sense of duty, moral and immoral, etc. Everyday moral consciousness arose in the primitive communal system and performed there function of the main regulator of relationships between people and teams. Moral theories arise only in a class society and represent a coherent concept of moral principles, norms, categories, ideals.
Morality performs a number of important functions in society:
Regulatory (regulates human behavior in all spheres of public life, and, unlike law, morality is based on the strength of public opinion, on the mechanism of conscience, on habit);
Evaluative-imperative (on the one hand, it evaluates a person's actions, on the other, it commands one to behave in a certain way);
Educational (actively participates in the process of socialization of the individual, the transformation of "person into person").
Aesthetic consciousness- artistic, figurative and emotional reflection of reality through the concepts of the beautiful and the ugly, the comic and the tragic. Art is the result and the highest form of manifestation of aesthetic consciousness. In the process of artistic creation, the aesthetic representations of artists are "reified" by various material means (paints, sounds, words, etc.) and appear as works of art. Art is one of the most ancient forms of human life, but in pre-class society it was in a single syncretic bond with religion, morality, cognitive activity (primitive dance is both a religious rite that embodies moral norms of behavior and a method of transferring knowledge to a new generation).
Art in modern society performs the following functions:
Aesthetic (satisfies the aesthetic needs of people, forms their aesthetic tastes);
Hedonistic (gives people pleasure, pleasure);
Cognitive (in an artistic-figurative form it carries information about the world, being a fairly accessible means of enlightenment and education of people);
Educational (affects the formation of moral consciousness, embodying the moral categories of good and evil in artistic images, forms aesthetic ideals).
Religious consciousness - a special type of reflection of reality through the prism of belief in the supernatural. Religious consciousness, as it were, doubles the world, believing that in addition to our reality ("natural", obeying the laws of nature) there is a supernatural reality (phenomena, beings, forces), where natural laws do not work, but which affects our life. Belief in the supernatural comes in various forms:
Fetishism (from the Portuguese "fetiko" - made) - belief in the supernatural property of real objects (natural or specially made);
Totemism (“to-tem” in the language of one of the North American Indian tribes means “his kind”) - belief in supernatural blood relations between people and animals (sometimes - plants) - the “ancestors” of the genus;
Magic (translated from ancient Greek - witchcraft) is a belief in supernatural connections and forces existing in nature, using which you can achieve success where a person is really powerless; therefore, magic covered all spheres of life (love magic, harmful magic, fishing magic, military magic, etc.);
Animism - belief in ethereal spirits, in an immortal soul; arises at the later stages of the tribal system as a result of the disintegration of mythological thinking, which has not yet distinguished between living and nonliving, material and immaterial; ideas about the spirits of nature became the basis for the formation of the idea of God;
theism (Greek theos - god) belief in God, which originally existed as polytheism (polytheism); the idea of a single god - monotheism (monotheism) was first formed in Judaism, and later was adopted by Christianity and Islam.
Religion as a social phenomenon besides religious consciousness includes cult(ritual actions aimed at communication with the supernatural - prayers, sacrifices, fasts, etc.) and one or another form of organization of believers(church or sect) .
Religion in the life of a person and society performs the following functions:
Psychotherapeutic - helps to overcome the feeling of fear and horror in front of the outside world, eases feelings of grief and despair, allows you to remove the feeling of helplessness and uncertainty in the future;
World outlook; like philosophy, it forms a person's worldview - the idea of the world as a single whole, of the place and purpose of a person in it;
Educational - affects a person through the system of moral norms that exist in every religion, and through the formation of a special attitude towards the supernatural (for example, love for God, fear of ruining an immortal soul);
Regulatory - affects the behavior of believers through a system of numerous prohibitions and prescriptions covering almost the entire daily life a person (especially - in Judaism and Islam, where there are 365 prohibitions and 248 prescriptions);
Integrative-segregative - rallying co-religionists (integrative function), religion at the same time opposes them to carriers of a different faith (segregative function), which is, to this day, one of the sources of serious social conflicts.
Religion, therefore, is a contradictory phenomenon and it is impossible to unequivocally assess its role in the life of a person and society. Since modern society is polyreligious, the basis for a civilized solution to the problem of attitudes towards religion is principle of freedom of conscience, which gives a person the right to profess any religion or be an unbeliever, prohibiting insults to the religious feelings of believers and open religious or anti-religious propaganda.
Thus, the spiritual life of a society is a very complex phenomenon. Forming the consciousness of people, regulating their behavior, political, moral, philosophical, religious and other ideas have an impact on all other spheres of society and on nature, becoming a real force that changes the world.
The structure of society has interested people at all times. For many centuries, scientists have tried to find a model, an image with which it was possible to reproduce human society. It was represented in the form of a pyramid, clockwork, branchy tree.
Modern scientists argue that society is an integral, naturally functioning and developing system. The word "system" is of Greek origin and means a whole, made up of parts, an aggregate. So, a system is a collection of interconnected elements, each of which performs a specific task.
Society as a social system is a holistic education, the main element of which are people, their connections, interactions and relationships, which are sustainable and passed from generation to generation.
In this case, society can be compared to a gigantic organism, and just as a living organism has a heart, arms, legs, brain, nervous system, so in society there are certain mechanisms of influence on the environment - its own center for controlling various processes and means of communication. And just as in a living organism they function various systems life support, and in society, each of its "organs" performs only its own function. Finally, just as in the body, it is possible to distinguish several interrelated levels of its vital activity, depending on the significance of each of them for the whole organism (nervous system, circulatory and digestive systems, metabolism, etc.), so it is possible to isolate specific levels in society ( in scientific literature, more often - "spheres") of his life - economic, social, political and spiritual.
Economic sphere is the area of implementation economic activity society, the area of wealth creation. As one of the main subsystems of society, it can also be considered as an independent system. The elements of the economic sphere are material needs, economic goods (goods) that satisfy these needs, economic resources(sources of production of goods), economic entities ( individuals or organization). The economic sphere is firms, enterprises, factories, banks, markets, flows of money and investment, capital turnover, etc. In other words, what allows society to put into production the resources at its disposal (land, labor, capital and management ) and create such a number of goods and services that will satisfy the vital needs of people for food, housing, leisure, etc.
In the economic life of society, 50-60% of the population directly participates, who are called the economically active population: workers, employees, entrepreneurs, bankers, etc. participants economic process... Pensioners have already left production, and children have not yet entered it. They do not create material values but they are consumed.
Political sphere- This is the area of implementation between people of relations of power and subordination, the area of social management. The main elements of the political system of society are political organizations and institutions (state, political parties, public organizations, mass media), norms of political behavior and political culture, political ideologies. The main elements of the political system of modern Russian society are the president and the presidential apparatus, the government and parliament (Federal Assembly), their apparatus, local authorities authorities (provincial, regional), army, police, tax and customs service. Together they make up the state.
The political sphere also includes political parties that are not part of the state. The main task of the state is to ensure social order in society, resolving conflicts between partners, for example between workers, trade unions and employers, establishing new laws and monitoring their strict implementation by all structures, preventing political upheavals, protecting the country's external borders and sovereignty, collecting taxes and providing money to social and cultural institutions, and etc. The main function of the political sphere is to legitimize the methods of struggle for power and to defend it. The task of parties is to express the diversity of political interests of various, often opposite, groups of the population through the channels established by law.
Social sphere- this is the area of origin and functioning of the relationship of people with each other. The social sphere is understood in two senses - broad and narrow - and, depending on this, covers different volumes of social space.
The social sphere of society 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, utilities and consumer services (ZhEKi and dry cleaners), catering(canteens and restaurants), healthcare, communications (telephone, post office, telegraph), as well as leisure and entertainment facilities (parks of culture, stadiums). In this 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, unemployed, low-income, large families, disabled people, as well as social protection and social security bodies (including social insurance) of both local and federal subordination.
The social system consists of social groups, social ties, social institutions, social norms, values of social culture.
TO spiritual realm include morality, religion, science, education, culture. Its constituent parts are schools, museums, theaters, art galleries, mass media, cultural monuments and national art treasures, and a church.
Society consists of a huge number of elements and subsystems that are in constant interaction... Various examples can be used to illustrate the connections between subsystems and elements of society. So, the study of the distant past of mankind allowed scientists to conclude that the moral relations of people in primitive conditions were built on collectivist principles, that is, in modern terms, priority was always given to the collective, and not to the individual.
It is also known that the moral norms that existed among many tribes in those archaic times allowed the killing of weak members of the clan - sick children, old people, and even cannibalism. Have these ideas and views of people about the limits of the morally permissible influenced the real material conditions of their existence? The answer is clear. The need to jointly obtain material wealth, the doom of a quick death of a person who has broken away from his family - this is where the sources of collectivist morality should be sought. Also, from the standpoint of the struggle for existence and survival, people did not consider it immoral to get rid of those who could become a burden for the collective.
The connection between legal norms and socio-economic relations is well traced. Let's turn to the well-known historical facts. In one of the first codes of laws of Kievan Rus, which is called "Russkaya Pravda", various punishments are provided for murder. At the same time, the measure of punishment was determined primarily by the place of a person in the system of hierarchical relations, his belonging to a particular social stratum or group. Thus, the penalty for killing a tiun (steward) was enormous: it was equal to the cost of a herd of 80 oxen or 400 rams. The life of a smerd or a slave was valued 16 times cheaper.
Society is in continuous movement and development. Since ancient times, thinkers have pondered the question, in which direction is society developing? Can its movement be likened to cyclical changes in nature?
Development direction, which is characterized by the transition from lower to higher, from less perfect to more perfect, is called progress... Accordingly, social progress is a transition to a higher level of the material condition of society and the spiritual development of the individual. An important sign of social progress is the tendency towards human liberation.
The following criteria of social progress are distinguished:
1) an increase in the well-being and social protection of people;
2) weakening of confrontation between people;
3) approval of democracy;
4) the growth of morality and spirituality of society;
5) improving human relations;
6) the measure of freedom that society is able to provide to an individual, the degree of individual freedom guaranteed by society.
If we tried to graphically depict the development of society, then we would not get an ascending straight line, but a broken line, reflecting ups and downs, accelerated forward movement and giant leaps back. We are talking about the second direction of development - regression.
Regression - development along a downward line, transition from higher to lower... For example, the period of fascism was a period of regression in world history: millions of people died, various peoples were enslaved, many monuments of world culture were destroyed.
But the point is not only in such turns of history. Society is a complex organism in which various spheres function, many processes take place at the same time, various activities of people unfold. All these parts of one social mechanism and all these processes and types of activity are interconnected and, at the same time, may not coincide in their development. Moreover, individual processes, changes occurring in different areas of society, can be multidirectional, i.e. progress in one area may be accompanied by regression in another.
So, throughout history, technical progress can be clearly traced - from stone tools to the most complex machine tools with programmed control, from pack animals to cars, trains and airplanes. At the same time, technological progress leads to the destruction of nature, to the undermining of the natural conditions for the existence of mankind, which, of course, is a regression.
In addition to directions, there are also forms of development of society.
The most common form of social development is evolution - gradual and gradual changes in social life that occur naturally. The nature of evolution is gradual, continuous, upward. Evolution is divided into successive stages or phases, none of which can be skipped. For example, the evolution of science and technology.
Under certain conditions, public changes take place in the form of a revolution - these are rapid, qualitative changes, a radical revolution in the life of society. Revolutionary change is radical and fundamental. Revolutions are long-term or short-term, in one or several states, in one sphere. If a revolution affects all levels and spheres of society - economy, politics, culture, social organization, everyday life of people, then it is called social. Such revolutions cause strong emotions and mass activity of people. An example is the Russian revolution of 1917.
Social changes also take place in the form of reform - this is a set of measures aimed at transforming, changing certain aspects of public life. For instance, economic reform, education reform.