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What is included in public relations. The concept of social relations, their types

In the course of his life, a person enters into various social relations with other people. Such diverse forms of interaction between people, as well as the connections that arise between different social groups (or within them), are commonly called public relations. Not all connections that arise between people in the process of communication and joint activities refer to public relations (is not such, for example, contact in public transport).

In this way, public relations - these are steadily repeating, largely impersonal (formal) relationships that affect important aspects of people's lives.

Social relations develop in all spheres public life(for example, property and distribution relations in the economy).

All public relations can be conditionally divided into two groups:

material;

Spiritual.

Material relations arise and develop directly in the course of a person's practical activity, outside the consciousness of a person and independently of him.

Spiritual relations are formed, preliminary "passing through the consciousness" of people, determined by their spiritual needs.

A special type of social relations are interpersonal relationships- the relationship between separate indie species, united by common needs and interests (leisure, everyday life).

Sociologist P. Sorokin singled out the following types interactions:

Between two individuals (for example, husband and wife; teacher and student; two comrades);

Between three individuals (for example, a family);

Between four or more individuals (the singer and his listeners);

Between many people (disorganized crowd). Interpersonal relationships also arise during individual communication(personified form of social relations).

DEVELOPMENT OF VIEWS ON SOCIETY

For a long time, people have tried to explain the reasons for the emergence of society, the driving forces of its development. Initially, such explanations were given by them in the form of myths. myths- these are the legends of ancient peoples about the origin of the world, about gods, heroes, etc. The totality of myths is called mythology . Along with mythology, religion and philosophy also tried to find their answers to questions about pressing social problems, about the relationship of the universe with its laws and people. It is precisely the philosophical doctrine of society that is the most developed today.

The Indian sages first tried to combine mythology and philosophy. The first philosophical work can be called the texts of the Veda, which were created in the period from 1500 to the 600s. BC. in ancient India. Vedic literature not only tried to explain the origin of the Universe and all living beings, but also covered the social inequality of Indian society - the division into castes (Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, Shudras, etc.). This injustice was opposed by Buddhism / Buddhism is both a religion and a philosophical doctrine that offers a way to rid a person of life's suffering.


In the 19th century part of the knowledge about society, which gradually accumulated in the depths of philosophy, stood out and began to constitute a separate science of society - sociology. The very concept of "sociology" was introduced into scientific circulation by the French philosopher and sociologist O. Comte.

A new stage in the development of problems social development became the materialist theory of Marxism. K. Marx and F. Engels developed the doctrine of socio-economic formations, the determining role of material production in the life of society and the decisive role of the masses in social development. They see the source of the development of society in society itself, in the development of its material production, believing that social development is determined by economic factors, and the political, social, spiritual development of society is only a reflection of the material life of people.

Human society, according to Marx, goes through five socio-economic formations in its development: primitive communal, slave-owning, feudal, capitalist and communist. Under the socio-economic formation, Marx understood a historically defined type of society, which is a special stage in its development, determined by the level of development of the productive forces and production relations.

The views of R. Aron, D. Bell, W. Rostow and others are close to the materialist theory of social life. They put forward a number of theories, including theories of industrial and post-industrial society, which explained the processes taking place in society, not just the development of its economy , but by specific changes in technology, economic activities of people. The theory of industrial society (R. Aron) considers the process of progressive development of society as a transition from a backward agrarian "traditional" society, dominated by a subsistence economy and a class hierarchy, to an advanced, industrialized "industrial" society.

In the 60-70s. in the works of D. Bell, Z. Brzezinski, A. Toffler, three stages of the development of society were distinguished:

The first is pre-industrial (agrarian);

The second is industrial;

The third is post-industrial (D. Bell), or technotronic (A. Toffler), or technological (3. Brzezinski).

On the first stage, the main area of ​​economic activity is agriculture, at second- industry, on third- services sector. Each of the stages has its own, special forms. social organization and its social structure.

These theories, although they were within the framework of the materialistic understanding of the processes of social development, nevertheless had a significant difference from the views of Marx and Engels. According to the Marxist concept, the transition from one socio-economic formation to another was carried out through a social revolution, which was understood as a radical qualitative change in the entire system of social life. As for the theories of industrial and post-industrial society, they are within the framework of a current called social evolutionism: according to them, the technological revolutions taking place in the economy, although they entail revolutions in other areas of public life, are not accompanied by social conflicts and social revolutions.

A new stage in the study of social phenomena was the theory of cultural and historical types of the Russian researcher of the 19th century. N.L. Danilevsky, according to which individual societies (civilizations) develop similarly biological organisms. Civilization theory was developed by O. Spengler and A. Toynbee.

relations between people, established in the process of their joint practical and spiritual activities; divided into material and ideological. Production wealth makes a basis of existence and development of human about-va. Therefore from all O. about. the most important are production, economic. The relations of production constitute the basis of all other production relations. - political, legal, moral, religious, etc. Understanding the interdependence of all o. o., their connection with production for the first time made it possible to explain on a scientific basis the laws of the historical development of the society.

Great Definition

Incomplete definition ↓

PUBLIC RELATIONS

relations that include as their elements: 1) subjects with their statuses and roles, values ​​and norms, needs and interests, incentives and motives; 2) the content of the activities of subjects and their interactions, the nature of these interactions - the equivalence or non-equivalence of social exchanges, the degree of independence or controllability of actions; 3) assessment of relations, carried out by the subjects by comparing the elements of their relations with the elements of relations of other subjects participating in similar relationships; 4) structures and norms that ensure the stability of relations, the institutionalization of their reproduction in Everyday life.

The subjects of social relations are individuals, small and large groups, territorial communities, ethnic groups, organizations, social institutions, large societies themselves as integrity. Accordingly, there are interpersonal, intra-group and inter-group, local, ethnic, organizational, institutional, intra-country and international relations. Diverse subject-mixed relations are also observed, when an individual interacts with an organization, an organization finds itself in conflict with an ethnic group, etc.

According to the subject content, social relations are differentiated according to the main spheres of the life of society into: economic, social, political, moral, ideological, etc. Each of these types of social relations has its own grounds that distinguish it from others: economic relations are formed on the basis of production, exchange and distribution of goods and services; social - based on the status of various subjects in the social structure and in society as a whole; political - on the basis of public authority, etc. The specific content of each type of social relations historically changes along with the change of the whole society. Having arisen, new elements of social relations are gradually established in the daily life of people, acquire the character of social institutions, steadily reproducing themselves and their relationships with the environment.

Social relations are very diverse in their nature, their inner content. There are direct and indirect, direct and indirect, formalized and non-formalized relations. Critical importance for the subjects of public relations has the parity or disparity of their relationship: equality and inequality, cooperation and competition, domination and subordination, antagonism and cooperation. No less significant is the trend in which social relations become a force dominating subjects, turn into an alienation of their interactions.

In the philosophical aspect, the key question is the nature of the relationship between various types social relations: whether their interrelations are plural, multifactorial, or more justifiably monistic division of all types of social relations into two groups - determining (primary, material) and deterministic (secondary, ideological).

The materialistic understanding of history created by K. Marx and F. Engels proceeds from a monistic division, which makes it possible to explain the entire history of mankind, the fundamental structure, functioning and development of each society from a unified position. Marxism identifies economic, production relations as material, the nature of which is determined by the productive forces of society and does not depend on the will and consciousness of people. They serve as a basis on which political, legal, moral and other ideological relations corresponding to it (determined by it) are formed in the form of a superstructure (see Basis and superstructure). As the productive forces develop, they come into conflict with production relations, which leads to a revolutionary change in the base and superstructure, the entire system of social relations. One social formation is replaced by another. The causal dependence of ideological relations on material ones is not unambiguous and includes the reverse effect of superstructural relations on the basic ones; for example, a socialist revolution begins with the demolition of the old political superstructure and the creation of a new one, which actively builds the basis of socialist society and itself changes under its influence.

in social science in the 20th century. other approaches are common. Thus, M. Weber substantiated the significant role of the spirit of Protestantism (its values ​​and norms) in the development of bourgeois economic relations in Western Europe and North America. This historical example is interpreted as one of the proofs of the defining influence of culture on the economy. P. A. Sorokin, based on a study of the cultural history of many countries of the world for 2 thousand years, proposed a socio-cultural approach in which cultural and social relations (including economic ones) are correlated as equally influential, and not one-sidedly determining the functioning and evolution of society.

The most general and influential concept of plural interconnections of social relations as an integral system is structural functionalism (T. Pearson, R. Merton). The starting point here is the structure of social action, which includes four functions (adaptation, goal achievement, integration, latency) and the corresponding subsystems (behavioral, personal, social, cultural), each of which combines a set of factors and relationships. The relationship between these subsystems has a dual character: the flows of determining energy move from the behavioral subsystem through the personal and social to the cultural; but the hierarchy of informational control has the opposite direction: the informational generalizations of a higher order contained in the culture control the corresponding generalizations of the social, then the personal, and finally the behavioral subsystems. The real interconnection of the four subsystems of relations that form an integral system turns out to be a complex resultant of two oppositely directed flows of influences.

The latest approaches to understanding the nature and interconnections of social relations focus on a person as a subject of activity and relations (Margaret Archer, W. Buckley, E. Giddens, M. Crozier, A. Touraine, P. Sztompka, A. Etzioni). In addition to the structural-functional model, the concepts of morphogenesis, the interdependence of actors and systems, social reality as a certain coefficient of activity are proposed. Once again, the humanistic approach of the early Marx, his dialectical concept of activity, the problem of overcoming the alienation of man, comes into view.

Lit .: Weber M. On some categories of understanding of sociology.- He. Selected works. M-, 1990; Marx K. Toward a critique of political economy. Preface.- Marx K., Echgelsf. Works, vol. 13; Pearson T. The concept of society. - "Tesis", 1993, vol. l, No. 2; Sorokin P. Generic structure of socio-cultural phenomena, - In the book: Man. Civilization. Society. M., 1992; Sztompka P. Sociology of social changes. M., 1996; Archer M. Culture and Agency Cambr., 1988; CivwrM., Freiberg E. Actors and Systems. Chi.-L., 1980; EtyoniA. The Active Society. N.Y., 1968; GiddensA. The Constitution of Society Cambr., 1984; LuhmannN. Sociale Systeme. Fr./M., 1993; Merlon R. Social Theory and Social Structure. Glencoe, 1968; Pamons T. The Social System. N.Y., 1964; TouraineA. The Self-production of Society. L „1977.

Great Definition

Incomplete definition ↓

Various concepts are used to designate a system of relations: “social relations”, “public relations”, “ human relations" etc. In one case they are used as synonyms, in another they are sharply opposed to each other. In fact, despite the semantic proximity, these concepts differ from each other.

Social relations are relations between or their members. A slightly different layer of relations characterizes the concept of "public relations", which is understood as the diverse ties that arise between these communities, as well as within them in the process of economic, social, political, cultural life and activity. Relations are classified according to the following grounds: - in terms of ownership and disposal of property (class, class);
- in terms of power (relationships vertically and horizontally);
- by spheres of manifestation (legal, economic, political, moral, religious, aesthetic, intergroup, mass, interpersonal);
- from the position of regulation (official, unofficial);
- based on the internal socio-psychological structure (communicative, cognitive, conative, etc.).

In addition to the concept of "public relations", the concept of "human relations" is also widely used in science. As a rule, it is used to refer to all kinds of subjective manifestations of a person in the process of his interaction with various objects of the external world, not excluding the attitude towards himself. Social relations are expressed in the form of industrial, economic, legal, moral, political, religious, ethnic, aesthetic, etc.

Relations of production are concentrated in a variety of professional and labor roles-functions of a person (for example, an engineer or a worker, a manager or a performer, etc.). This set is predetermined by the variety of functional and production relations of a person, which are set by the standards of professional labor activity and at the same time arise spontaneously as the need to solve new problems.

Economic relations are realized in the sphere of production, ownership and consumption, which is a market for material and spiritual products. Here the person acts in two interconnected roles - the seller and the buyer. Economic relations are woven into production through ( work force) and the creation of consumer goods. In this context, a person is characterized by the role of the owner and owner of the means of production and manufactured products, as well as the role of the labor force that is hired.

Economic relations are planned-distributive and market. The first arise as a result of excessive state intervention in the economy. The second are formed due to liberalization, freedom of economic relations. However, the degree of their freedom is different - from full to partially regulated. The main feature of normal economic relations is self-regulation at the expense of ratios. But this does not mean that the state is generally removed from control over economic relations. It levies taxes, controls sources of income, etc.

Legal relations society is enshrined in legislation. They establish the measure of individual freedom as a subject of industrial, economic, political and other social relations. Ultimately, legal relations provide or do not ensure the effective fulfillment of the role of social active person. Legislative imperfection is compensated by unwritten rules of human behavior in real communities of people. These rules carry a huge moral burden.

moral relations are fixed in the corresponding rituals, traditions, customs and other forms of ethno-cultural organization of people's lives. These forms contain the moral norm of behavior at the level of existing interpersonal relationships which stems from the moral self-awareness of a particular community of people. In the manifestation of moral relations, there are many cultural and historical conventions that come from the way of life of society. At the center of these relationships is a person who is regarded as an intrinsic value. By the manifestation of moral relations, a person is defined as “good-bad”, “good-evil”, “fair-unfair”, etc.

Religious relations reflect the interaction of people, which is formed under the influence of ideas about the place of a person in the universal processes of life and death, about the mysteries of his soul, the ideal properties of the psyche, spiritual and moral foundations existence. These relationships grow out of a person's need for self-knowledge and self-improvement, from the consciousness of the higher meaning of being, understanding one's connections with the cosmos, explaining mysterious phenomena that are not amenable to natural science analysis. These relationships are dominated by irrational principles. mental reflection reality based on feelings, intuition and faith.

The idea of ​​God makes it possible to combine disparate and vague forebodings of random and regular events in a person's life into a holistic image of the earthly and heavenly existence of a person. Differences in religions are primarily differences in the ethnocultural concepts of the deity as the guardian of the human soul. These differences are manifested in everyday, cult and temple religious behavior (rituals, ceremonies, customs, etc.). If all believers are united in accepting the idea of ​​God, then in the ritual part of worship and approaching God, they can become fanatically irreconcilable to each other. Religious relations are embodied in the roles of a believer or a non-believer. Depending on religion, a person can be Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, Mohammedan, etc.

Political relations concentrate around the problem. The latter automatically leads to the dominance of those who possess it and the subordination of those who lack it. The power intended for the organization of public relations is realized in the form of leadership functions in communities of people. Its absolutization, like its complete absence, is harmful to the life support of communities. Harmony power relations can be achieved through the separation of powers - legislative, executive and judicial. Political relations in this case should take on the character of a democratic process, in which the task of power structures and leaders is to maintain a balance of the rights to freedom of each member of society. Ethnic relations arise from differences in the similarity of the way of life of local population groups that have a common anthropological (tribal) and geographical origin. The differences between ethnic groups are natural-psychological, since the way of life of an ethnic group is fixed in the way of social relations that contribute to the optimal adaptation of a person to a specific natural (geographical and social) environment. This way of life naturally follows from the characteristics of the reproduction of life in specific conditions. The corresponding way of life of the ethnos is fixed in stereotypes of behavior and activity, in language, rituals, traditions, customs, holidays and other cultural forms of social life.

aesthetic relationship arise on the basis of the emotional and psychological attractiveness of people for each other and the aesthetic reflection of the material objects of the outside world. These relationships are highly subjective. What may be attractive to one person may not be to another. The standards of aesthetic appeal have a psychobiological basis, which is associated with the subjective side of human consciousness. They acquire constancy in ethno-psychological forms of behavior, undergoing cultural processing through different kinds art and becoming fixed in the socio-historical stereotypes of human relations.

In psychology, for many decades, the category of relations has been developed in a manner specific to this science. But for the sake of objectivity, it should be noted that other psychological schools were wary of attempts to create a theory of human relations. However, this approach is clearly unjustified, since the named theory carries a strong humanistic principle. E. Mayo is considered the founder of the theory of human relations in the West, although in Russia, V.M. , A. F. Lazursky, V. N. Myasishchev.

The concept of "human relations" is broader than all the others, denoting certain relationships. What content should be invested in the category of relations?

Let us abstract from the many aspects of being with which each person is connected and to which he has his own attitude, and we will dwell only on his relations with various communities of which he is a member, as well as on his relations with certain people. In this case, it can be revealed that the attitude, firstly, involves the actualization of knowledge in a figurative-conceptual form about the community or about the personality of those who interact; secondly, it always carries in itself one or another emotional response of interacting individuals (communities) to a community or personality; thirdly, it simultaneously actualizes a certain treatment of them. Then, if we further objectify the “psychological underside” of each of the relationships in which a person is included, one can see the goal pursued by a person, entering into interactions with communities and individuals, necessarily needs that directly affect the nature of her relationships. Every individual usually has different relationships with some kind of community and even with an individual who enters the immediate or more distant environment. In the relationship of one person with another, one finds feature- the presence of a positive or negative emotional reaction to another person. This reaction can be neutrally indifferent or contradictory. Naturally, some relationships, by virtue of their nature, can carry a constructive beginning and “work” for the mental, moral, aesthetic, labor and physical development personality, and the action of other relationships can have a destructive result for her. In this sense, relationships with subjectively significant people are especially important for a person. It is they who most strongly influence the perception of the environment around the person and push her to non-standard actions.

A particular problem in studying the interdependencies of communication and attitudes is to establish the degree of correspondence between the nature of the attitude and the form of its expression in human behavior, or, as V.N. Myasishchev, in the treatment of man with man. Forming as a person in a particular social environment, a person also learns the “language” of expressing relations that is characteristic of this environment. Without dwelling on the peculiarities of the expression of relations observed among representatives of various ethnic communities, it should be noted that even within the boundaries of one ethnic community, but in its different social groups, this "language" can have its own very specific specifics.

A deeply intelligent person expresses his dissatisfaction with another person in a correct, non-degrading form. In a poorly educated, rude person, the form of expression of such discontent is completely different. Even the manifestation of joy among representatives of one social subgroup differs depending on their inherent different ones. Naturally, in order to adequately perceive and understand his attitude when communicating with another person, one must show very subtle observation, including the form of expression of this attitude. Of course, what has been said does not assert that the attitude is transmitted only through speech and voice. Both facial expressions and pantomime participate in live, direct communication. And finally, the form of expression of attitude can be action and deed.

However, there are not only individual forms of expression of the same relationship. In life, there are cases when a person in communication skillfully imitates some other attitude, which he actually does not have. And such a person is not necessarily a hypocrite. Most often, when communicating, the true attitude is hidden, and another attitude is imitated if a person wants to appear better than he really is in the eyes of those whose opinion he values. We envy a more successful colleague, but pretend to rejoice in his success. We do not like the leadership style of the boss, and we not only do not argue with him, but we also loudly approve of his deeds. There is a common phrase in life: “Do not spoil the relationship!”, The meaning of which just corresponds to the given examples. Of course, in similar cases people make a deal with their conscience. The moral price of this deal is the higher, the more serious the social consequences of our duplicity. The foregoing does not mean at all that one should never, under any circumstances, hide one's true attitude towards something or someone. So, in the work of a doctor, investigator, scout, coach, situations sometimes arise when it is impossible to solve one's professional tasks without masking the experienced attitude.

A detailed description of other types of social relations that have not been the subject of consideration in this study guide, is contained in the book by D. Myers "Social Psychology".

Discussing the problem of the relationship between communication and attitude, as well as the relationship between the content of the attitude and the form of its expression, it should be emphasized that a person’s choice of the most psychologically appropriate form of expressing his attitude in communication occurs without tension and conspicuous deliberateness, if he has formed mental personality traits, which are essential for successful interpersonal communication: the ability to identify and decenter, empathy and self-reflection. The hostility or sympathy experienced by the participants in communication affects its ease and sincerity, the degree of ease of developing consensus, on those psychological consequences with which each of the participants "leaves" the communication that took place. Psychological mechanism The effect of the attitude on the unfolding process of communication is understandable: a hostile attitude makes a person blind to the merits of a communication partner and pushes her to underestimate the positive steps on his part, aimed at a successful outcome of communication. In the same way, a hostile attitude provokes a person to behavior that does not lead to a deepening of mutual understanding of those communicating, to the establishment of genuine cooperation between them.

If the relations of the participants in communication are, so to speak, asymmetrical, for example, one of the communicants shows to the other passionate love, and the latter feels dislike for him and even, perhaps, hatred - normal interpersonal communication will not happen. Most often, on the part of one of the communicants, there will be a desire for genuine interpersonal interaction, and on the part of the other, either communication at a formal level, or attempts to “put the communication partner in place,” or outright avoidance of communication.

So, we examined, the subjects of which were individuals. However, in everyday life, in addition to human communication with real partners, there is communication with oneself. Such communication "in the mind" is called prolonged. An individual can mentally continue a conversation with a person with whom he recently communicated, especially if they were arguing and some arguments came to his mind later.

In the internal, mental plane, a person’s pre-communion also occurs: he can think about the upcoming conversation in advance, suggest possible arguments and counterarguments of the participants in the communication. As a rule, a conversation tactic is thought out, which implies an orientation in the content of communication, in possible types contacts, spatial and temporal organization of communication (accommodation of participants, start time of communication, etc.).

Thinking through "in the mind" communication tactics implies that a person has an image of a partner (partners) for interaction and, above all, anticipation of who will strive to dominate communication or take a subordinate position, and who is disposed to equal communication, cooperation and mutual understanding. Based on the foregoing about prolonged communication and pre-communication, we can talk about communication with a represented partner, an imaginary interlocutor. In contrast to the communication that takes place in the imagination of writers, here there is a representation of the image of a real person who, in this moment missing. This type of communication is extremely important for the development of the personality and the formation of its self-awareness. This can be communication with your second "I" or inner speech, which is a retroreflection, i.e., an analysis of the actions taken, deeds, their critical assessment in the present period.

A kind of communication with oneself can be an extreme version of egocentric speech. In this case, communication can proceed with real person or specific people, but the person is so carried away by making a speech, by his statements, that he forgets about his partners and continues to say “infinitely”, although the listeners are clearly tired of this and they stop listening.

Here communication is clearly one-sided. This paragraph contains the most General characteristics communication and relationships, which will be further covered in a new perspective and more specifically.

In a broad sense, society is a part of the material world isolated from nature, but closely connected with it, consisting of people united by historically established forms of interaction. In a narrow sense, society is a collection of people who are aware that they have permanent common interests who can be best satisfied only by their own actions.

SOCIETY:

  1. Historical stage in the development of mankind (primitive society, feudal society).
  2. A circle of people united by a common goal, interests, origin (noble society, society of philatelists).
  3. Country, state, region (French society, Soviet society).
  4. Humanity as a whole.

The formation of society precedes the state organization of its life, that is, there was a time when society existed, but the state did not.

The main purpose of society is to ensure the survival of man as a species. Therefore, the main elements of society, considered as a system, are the spheres in which the joint activities of people are carried out, aimed at preserving and expanding the reproduction of their lives.

The economic sphere is the economic activity of society, when material goods are created.

The social sphere is the emergence and interaction of people with each other.

The political sphere is the area of ​​interaction between people about power and subordination.

The spiritual sphere is the area of ​​creation and development of spiritual goods.

Man is the highest stage in the development of living organisms on Earth, the subject of labor, the social form of life, communication and consciousness. Therefore, the concept of "man", which defines the bodily-spiritual social being, is wider than the concept of "personality".

The concept of personality expresses the social essence of man. A personality is a subject of activity that has a certain consciousness, self-consciousness, worldview, is influenced by social relations and at the same time comprehends its social functions, its place in the world as a subject of the historical process. There is no more individualized object in the world than a person: how many people, so many individuals. Every person has individual features memory, attention, thinking. A person becomes a personality through self-knowledge, which allows you to freely subordinate your "I" to the moral law.

Under the activity in science understand the relationship of man to outside world and to himself. Social activity is the interaction of socially significant actions implemented by the subject (society, class, group, individual) in various fields life.

There are two significant points to be made here:

  1. The result of human activity is the development of the whole society as a whole.
  2. As a result of this activity, the formation and self-realization of the personality takes place.
The difference between human activity and the activity of other living beings:
  • transformation of the natural and social environment,
  • going beyond experience, goal-setting, expediency.
The structure of human activity is as follows:
  1. Target -
  2. Means to achieve the goal -
  3. Actions aimed at achieving the goal -
  4. Result.
Human needs:
  • Biological (self-preservation, breathing),
  • Social (communication, self-realization, public recognition),
  • Ideal (in knowledge, in art).

Types of human activity: Practical:

  • material and production,
Spiritual:
  • cognitive activity,
  • value-oriented
  • prognostic.

A norm is a model, a rule of behavior, and social norms are for a person a measure and a rule of his behavior in society.

Human behavior is regulated through:

  • permission - desirable behaviors,
  • precepts are specified rules of conduct,
  • Prohibitions are acts that are forbidden or should not be done.
Kinds social norms:
  • customs,
  • traditions,
  • moral standards,
  • religious,
  • political,
  • legal.

Deviant (deviant) behavior. Social norms, rules generally accepted within a social community or group, patterns of behavior or actions in a certain situation. Norms represent the main regulator of human behavior in society and are necessary for the implementation of concerted collective actions.

The sphere of positive deviations approved by society or a group is talents and geniuses.

The sphere of negative deviations, condemned by society or a group, is alcoholism, drug addiction, prostitution, suicide, and criminal behavior.

Let's start with the position that society is isolated from nature (in this case, nature is understood as a set of natural conditions existence of man) part of the world. What is this isolation? Unlike natural natural forces in the center of social development is a person with consciousness and will. Nature exists and develops according to its own laws independent of man and society. There is one more circumstance: human society acts as a creator, reformer, creator of culture.

Society consists of a huge number of its constituent elements and subsystems, which are updated and are in changing relationships and interactions. Let's try to isolate some of these parts and trace the connections between them. Among the subsystems can be attributed primarily to the spheres of public life.

There are several areas of life:

  • economic (relations in the process of material production),
  • social (interaction of classes, social strata and groups),
  • political (activities of state organizations, political parties),
  • spiritual (morality, religion, art, philosophy, activities of scientific, religious, educational organizations and institutions).

Each sphere of public life is also a complex formation: its constituent elements give an idea of ​​society as a whole. It is no coincidence that some researchers consider society at the level of organizations operating in it (states, churches, education systems, etc.), others - through the prism of the interaction of social communities. A person enters society through a collective, being a member of several collectives (labor, trade union, dance, etc.). Society is presented as a collective of collectives. A person enters into larger communities of people. He belongs to a certain social group, class, nation.

The diverse connections that arise between social groups, classes, nations, as well as within them in the process of economic, social, political, cultural life and activity, are called social relations. It is customary to distinguish between the relations that develop in the sphere of material production and those that permeate the spiritual life of society. If the former provide society with material opportunities for existence and development, then the latter (ideological, political, legal, moral, etc.) are the result and condition for the interaction of people in the process of creating and disseminating spiritual and cultural values. At the same time, material and spiritual social relations are interconnected and ensure the development of society.

Public life is complex and multifaceted, therefore it is studied by many sciences, called public(history, philosophy, sociology, political science, jurisprudence, ethics, aesthetics). Each of them considers a certain area of ​​public life. Thus, jurisprudence explores the essence and history of the state and law. The subject of ethics is the norms of morality, aesthetics - the laws of art, artistic creativity of people. The most general knowledge about society as a whole is called upon to provide such sciences as philosophy and sociology.

Society has its own specifics in comparison with nature. “In all areas of nature ... a certain regularity dominates, independent of the existence of thinking humanity,” wrote the greatest physicist M. Planck. Therefore, natural science can concentrate on the study of these objective laws of development, independent of man. Society, on the other hand, is nothing more than a collection of people endowed with will and consciousness, carrying out actions and deeds under the influence of certain interests, motives, and moods.

Approaches to the study of man are different. In some cases, it is considered as if "from outside". Then it is important to understand what a person is by comparing him with nature (cosmos), society, God, himself. At the same time, fundamental differences between a person and other living beings are revealed. Another approach - "from the inside" - involves the study of a person from the point of view of his biological structure, psyche, moral, spiritual, social life, etc. And in this case, the essential features of a person are also revealed.

The concept of "individual" was first used in his writings by the ancient Roman scientist and politician Cicero. So he translated the word “atom” from Greek, which meant indivisible and referred to the smallest and indivisible, according to ancient philosophers, components of the surrounding world. The term "individual" characterizes a person as one of the people. This term also means how typical the signs of a certain community are for its various representatives (priest of Amon Anen, Tsar Ivan the Terrible, plowman Mikula Selyaninovich). Both meanings of the term "individual" are interconnected and describe a person from the point of view of his identity, features. This means that the features depend on society, on the conditions in which this or that representative of the human race was formed.

The term "individuality" makes it possible to characterize the differences of a person from other people, implying not only the appearance, but also the totality of socially significant qualities. Each person is individual, although the degree of this originality may be different. Multi-talented people of the Renaissance era were bright individuals. Remember the painter, sculptor, architect, scientist, engineer Leonardo da Vinci, painter, engraver, sculptor, architect Albrecht Dürer, statesman, historian, poet, military theorist Niccolò Machiavelli and others. They were distinguished by originality, originality, bright originality. All of them can be attributed to both individuals and personalities. But the word “personality”, which is close in meaning, is usually accompanied by the epithets “strong”, “energetic”. This emphasizes independence, the ability to show energy, not to lose one's face. The concept of "individuality" in biology means specific features inherent in a particular individual, organism due to a combination of hereditary and acquired properties.

In psychology, individuality is understood as holistic characterization certain person through his temperament, character, interses, intellect, needs and abilities. Philosophy regards individuality as the unique originality of any phenomenon, including both natural and social. In this sense, not only people, but also historical epochs (for example, the era of classicism) can have individuality. If the individual is considered as a representative of the community, then individuality is seen as the originality of the manifestations of a person, emphasizing the uniqueness, versatility and harmony, naturalness and ease of his activity. Thus, in a person, the typical and the unique are embodied in unity. The development of society is the result of human activity. In the process of activity, the formation and self-realization of the personality takes place. In everyday language, the word "activity" is used in the sense of the activity of someone or something. For example, they talk about volcanic activity, about the activity internal organs person, etc. In a narrower sense, this word means the occupation of a person, his work.

Only a person is inherent in such a form of activity as activity that is not limited to adaptation to environment, but transforms it. For this, not only natural objects are used, but, above all, means created by man himself. Both animal behavior and human activity are consistent with the goal (i.e., expedient). For example, a predator hides in an ambush or sneaks up to the victim - his behavior is consistent with the goal: to get food. The bird flies away from the nest with a cry, distracting the attention of a person. Compare: a person builds a house, all his actions in this case are also expedient. However, for a predator, the goal is, as it were, set by him. natural qualities and external conditions. At the heart of this behavior is a biological program of behavior, instincts. Human activity is characterized by historically developed (as a generalization of the experience of previous generations) programs. At the same time, a person himself determines his goal (carries out goal-setting). He is able to go beyond the program, i.e. existing experience, to define new programs (goals and ways to achieve them). Goal-setting is inherent only in human activity. In the structure of activity it is necessary, first of all, to distinguish subject and an object activities. The subject is the one who carries out the activity, the object is what it is aimed at. For example, a farmer (subject of activity) affects the land and crops grown on it (object of activity). The goal is a conscious image of the anticipated result, the achievement of which is aimed at the activity.

Exist various classifications activities. First of all, we note the division of activity into spiritual and practical. Practical activity is aimed at the transformation of real objects of nature and society. It includes material production activity (transformation of nature) and social transformation activity (transformation of society). Spiritual activity is associated with a change in people's consciousness. It includes: cognitive activity (reflection of reality in artistic and scientific form, in myths and religious teachings); value-oriented activity (definition of positive or negative attitude people to the phenomena of the surrounding world, the formation of their worldview); predictive activity (planning or foresight possible changes reality). All these activities are interconnected. Other classifications distinguish labor, higher nervous, creative, consumer, leisure, educational, recreational activities (rest, restoration of human strength expended in the labor process). As in the previous classification, the allocation of these species is conditional.

What is creativity? This word is used to designate an activity that generates something qualitatively new, which has never existed before. It could be new goal, new result or new means, new ways of achieving them. Creativity is most clearly manifested in the activities of scientists, inventors, writers, and artists. Sometimes they say that these are people of creative professions. In fact, not all people professionally engaged in science make discoveries. At the same time, many other activities include elements of creativity. From this point of view, all human activity that transforms the natural world and social reality according to their goals and needs. Creativity lies not in that activity, where each action is completely regulated by rules, but in that, the preliminary regulation of which contains a certain degree of uncertainty. Creativity is an activity that creates new information and involves self-organization. The need to create new rules, non-standard techniques arises when we encounter new situations that differ from similar situations in the past.

Labor is a type of human activity that is aimed at achieving a practically useful result. It is carried out under the influence of necessity and, ultimately, has the goal of transforming the objects of the surrounding world, turning them into products to satisfy the many and varied needs of people. At the same time, labor transforms the person himself, improves him as a subject of labor activity and as a person.

The word "norm" is of Latin origin and means literally: the guiding principle, the rule, the pattern. Norms are developed by society, social groups that are part of it. With the help of norms, requirements are imposed on people, which their behavior must satisfy. Social norms guide behavior, allow it to be controlled, regulated and evaluated. They guide a person in questions: what should be done? What can be done? What can not be done? How should you behave? How should you not behave? What is acceptable in human activities? What is undesirable? With the help of norms, the functioning of people, groups, the whole society acquires an orderly character. In these norms, people see standards, models, standards of proper behavior. Perceiving them and following them, a person is included in the system of social relations, gets the opportunity to interact normally with other people, with various organizations, with society as a whole. The norms existing in society can be represented in a number of their varieties.

Customs and traditions, in which habitual patterns of behavior are fixed (for example, wedding or funeral rites, household holidays). They become an organic part of people's way of life and are supported by the power of public authority.

Legal regulations. They are enshrined in laws issued by the state, clearly describing the boundaries of behavior and punishment for breaking the law. Compliance legal regulations secured by the power of the state.

Moral standards. In contrast to law, morality carries mainly an evaluative load (good - bad, noble - vile, fair - unfair). Compliance moral rules provided by the authority of the collective consciousness, their violation meets public condemnation.

Aesthetic standards reinforce ideas about the beautiful and the ugly, not only in artistic creativity but also in people's behavior, in production and in everyday life.

Political norms regulate political activity, the relationship between the individual and the government, between social groups, states. They are reflected in laws, international treaties, political principles, moral norms.

Religious norms. In terms of content, many of them act as norms of morality, coincide with the norms of law, and reinforce traditions and customs. Compliance with religious norms is supported by the moral consciousness of believers and religious belief in the inevitability of punishment for sins - deviation from these norms.

When answering, pay attention to the fact that this topic is related to the history of mankind, because society is the result of the development of mankind.

Imagine yourself in the place of a researcher when you answer tasks about a person, an individual, a person.

You have known examples of social norms and what deviant behavior of a person or group of people leads to since childhood.

Try to speak your mind.


To complete tasks on Topic 1, you need to be able to:

1. LIST:
The most important institutions of society, the sciences that study society, the sciences that study man.

2. DEFINE CONCEPTS:
Society, human existence, creativity, human activity, lifestyle.

3. COMPARE:
Society and nature, the role of play, communication, work in human life.

4. EXPLAIN:
Correlation of spheres of social life, variety of ways and forms of social development, relationship of spiritual and bodily, biological and social principles in man.


Recommended literature:
  • Bogolyubov L.N. MAN AND SOCIETY.

Social life is impossible without the interaction of man with nature, but it is also impossible without the interaction of people with each other. These two are inseparable related parties single process of human life. But first you need to clarify the concepts "connection" and "attitude". These are philosophical categories used to characterize interaction processes. concept "connection" captures the interdependence and interdependence of phenomena separated in space and time. concept "attitude", reflecting the moment of dependence and conditionality of phenomena, also fixes the moment of their independence and relative independence.

Unlike natural processes and phenomena, social relations are relations between people (social subjects) and in this they are qualitatively different from natural relations. First of all, it is necessary to distinguish between two main types of relations that take place in society: social relations proper and what is commonly called “psychological” relations of the individual. Public relations include production and economic, organizational and technological, social, political, legal, interethnic, international and others.

So the concept "public relations" can be used in a broad sense, when referring to any relationship between people, including interpersonal - “psychological”, and in a narrow sense, when it comes only to relationships between large social groups of people or between individuals as representatives of these social groups. Within the framework of philosophical and sociological approaches to society, the concept of “public relations” is most often used in the second, narrow sense. Under public relations, in this case, they understand relatively stable forms of interaction and interconnections that arise in the process of activity between large social groups and individuals as representatives of these social groups, differing in their position in society and their social roles.

Public relations, speaking necessary form human activities are diverse in their types. They can be classified according to the types of activity, the form of which they are: production, political, legal, and other relations. Social relations can be divided into material and spiritual (or ideological). The determining criterion for such a classification is the independence of material relations in the process of their emergence from the consciousness of people. Unlike material, ideological relations are formed under the condition of their prior awareness. The material relations primarily include production relations, i.e. those into which people are forced to enter in the process of production, distribution, exchange and consumption of material goods and services. Material relations also include family and domestic relations as relations objectively necessary for production and reproduction. human race. Among ideological (or spiritual) relations, legal, political, moral, aesthetic, religious, etc. are distinguished. secondary and dependent, ultimately, on material relations, although they play an active role in the system of social relations.


Social relations, existing as social form activities of people, represent the real social space in which every individual entering the world falls and within which he lives and acts, develops as a person. At the same time, social relations, as well as the activity of which they are a form, can be objectified, objectified both in the means of their implementation and in their results. objectification they call the processes during which human abilities pass into objects and are embodied in them, due to which these objects become socio-cultural or, as K. Marx wrote in his time, “human objects”. Activity is objectified not only in the external result, but also in the qualities of the subject himself - a person. By changing the world, a person changes himself.

Corporal (biosocial) form of objectivity It is represented by the activity of the person himself as a physical, biosocial being - the subject, the creator of activity and social relations and their product and result. The real form of objectivity is the result of man's transformation of the substance of nature in the process of labor activity. basis sign-symbolic form of objectivity constitutes human language.

For understanding social life, of particular interest is institutional form of objectivity - social institutions .

The concept itself "social institution"(from Latin institutum - establishment, institution) came to social philosophy and sociology from the legal sciences, where it was used to refer to a set of legal norms governing social and legal relations (for example, the institution of inheritance, the institution of property, the institution of family and marriage, etc.). P.). One of the first among philosophers who paid considerable attention to the problem of organization and institutionalization of public life was the positivist G. Spencer.

With all the differences in approaches to understanding a social institution that exist in modern literature, it can be stated that a social institution is viewed not as a process, but as a result of a certain activity of people, determined by the socially significant needs and interests of social subjects in its organization, differentiation and specialization. Based on this, it is possible to give such a definition social institution: it is a sustainable way and form of organizing joint activities of people (society as a whole or individual social groups, classes, nations), through which their common needs and interests (economic, political, cultural, etc.) are realized. A social institution thus fixes some kind of human activity and social relations. In its developed form, it is a holistic systemic formation, which includes: firstly, a certain association of people, their organization. secondly, a certain regulatory system- a set of certain principles of activity, rules and norms of behavior that are mandatory for a given association of people, their organization; thirdly, certain value system, assuming the existence of common goals, common ideals, i.e. everything that motivates the common actions of people and contributes to the development of their common will; fourthly, the totality of certain material and economic means of joint activity of people: technical means of activity, buildings, lines of communication, finance, etc.

Functions that are inherent in all social institutions:

Providing conditions for meeting the needs and interests of social actors;

Consolidation and reproduction of certain social relations;

Regulation of activities and public relations;

Inclusion of people in certain types activities and relationships.

Social institutions are diverse. They can be classified on various grounds: firstly, according to the main spheres of society's life (economic, political, etc.); secondly, according to the functions performed (institutions associated with the performance of the functions of political power in society, the production and distribution of material goods, cultural values, etc.); thirdly, by types of activity (the church - as an institution engaged in religious activities, the school system - educational, the Academy of Sciences - scientific, the state - political, banks - financial and credit, etc.).