1 society defining the types of functions public relations. The concept of society, social relations and social structure. spheres of public life. Topic: society and public relations

1. The concept of "material world". The structure of the material world.

The material world is everything that exists outside and besides human consciousness. Nature and society are two interconnected and interacting parts of the material world.

2. The concept of "society" in the broad and narrow senses.

In a narrow sense: a society is a certain group of people who have united to communicate and jointly carry out any activity, mutual assistance and support for each other (“ philatelic society”).

In a broad sense: society - a) a specific stage in the historical development of mankind ("slave-owning society"), b) any country or people ("English society"), c) humanity in the past, present and future, the entire population of the Earth (" human society").

Scientific understanding of society: society is a self-sufficient human collective capable of independently creating and recreating all the necessary conditions for its existence. But there is a broader understanding (based on opposition to nature): society is a part of the material world that is isolated from nature, but closely related to it, which includes ways of interacting people and forms of their unification.

3. Society as a system:

a) the concept of "system", "subsystem", "element"

System (translated from Greek means “a whole made up of parts”, “a set”) - a set of elements that are connected in a certain way and form a kind of integrity, subsystems - “intermediate” complexes, more complex than elements, but less complex, than the system itself, the element is the indecomposable further (in the given system and under the given method of consideration), the primary (initial) part of the system,

b) society as a complex, dynamic system

Society is characterized as: a) a complex system, since it consists of four main subsystems that cover complexes of various elements, b) a dynamic system, i.e. such a system that is capable of seriously changing, at the same time retaining its essence and quality certainty;

c) the main areas of public life, the relationship of the main areas of public life

According to the number of main functions that any society has to perform to maintain its existence, there are four spheres of society's life:

Functions of society as a system

The main subsystems (spheres) of society

Key Institutions

Relationship groups

Adaptation to the environment and its transformation

Economic

Material production, property, market institutions, financial institutions

Relations that arise between people in the process of production, distribution, exchange and consumption of material goods and services

Integration into the system of various communities and associations

Social

Large (strata, classes, ethnic groups) and small (family) social groups

Relations between different social groups in society

Achieving system goals through management and political leadership

Political (political and legal)

State, subjects of political activity (popular masses, political elites, leaders, organizations)

A complex of relations between states, parties, public organizations, individuals regarding the exercise of power

Maintaining Commitment to Meaningful Values

Spiritual (culture)

Forms and levels of social consciousness, science, education, religion

Relationships regarding the production and consumption of spiritual values

Each of these spheres, being a subsystem of the system called "society", in turn, turns out to be a system in relation to the elements that make it up.

All four spheres of public life are interconnected and interdependent, which follows from the integrity of society as a system. None of the subsystems is independent, but neither is it dominant.

d) basic social institutions

The most important elements of society are social institutions - stable collections of people, groups, institutions whose activities are aimed at performing certain social functions and are based on certain norms and standards of behavior. The fundamental institutions of society include family, school, church, state.

4. Society and nature:

a) the concept of "nature"

In the broadest sense, nature is the whole reality surrounding and embracing us - the Universe, of which society is also a part. In the narrow sense of the term, nature is a set of physicochemical and biological processes that appeared long before man and form the environment of his existence. Nature - a set of natural conditions for the existence of mankind, a natural component of the environment and human production activities.

b) nature and society have in common

Are part of the material world

Have the ability to self-organize

They form human habitats (natural and social),

They have the characteristics of a system

Are in the process of constant development (changes),

Their development is subject to objective laws (there are general laws of development of nature and society).

c) the difference between society and nature, the concept of "culture"

Society is a form and result of the joint activity of people, nature has developed as a result of natural processes,

The evolution of society is greatly influenced by the subjective aspirations of people who have consciousness and will and are able to significantly adjust the course and direction of social processes, nature obeys natural laws,

Society in the course of its activities creates a culture (“second nature”), which is understood as the totality of all types of transformative activities of a person and society, as well as the result of this activity.

For the worldview of ancient people, the “humanization” of nature (anthropomorphism) was characteristic: to stones, trees, natural elements (wind, fire), people attributed the ability to think, desire, create, animate them, (the so-called animism (lat. Anima - soul) ), believed in the consanguinity of man with nature (totemism). The anthropomorphic view of nature was born in the conditions of an appropriating economy, the total dependence of man on nature. Only creative activity, the creation of a different reality, pointed out to man his difference from nature and destroyed anthropomorphic thinking.

d) the influence of nature on society

Nature was the basis on which society arose and developed, and today it has a huge impact on social life, accelerating or slowing down the pace of development of individual countries and peoples.

e) the impact of society on nature, the concept of "ecology"

Society affects nature, transforms it, creating culture, but often this intervention leads to detrimental consequences (environmental pollution as a result of human activity).

Ecology is the activity of society aimed at protecting the environment.

f) the concept of "noosphere", the doctrine of the noosphere

The noosphere (sphere of the mind) is that part of the planet and circumplanetary space that bears the stamp of human intelligent activity. The famous Russian scientist created the doctrine of the noosphere, by which he understood such a stage in the evolution of the biosphere, when the rational activity of a person becomes the determining factor in its further development.

5. Public relations: concept, types

Social relations are diverse forms of interaction between people in the process of their joint activities, as well as connections that arise between different social groups (or within them). They are characterized by relative stability, repetition, formality (often impersonal) and affect important aspects of people's lives.

Social relations can be material and spiritual. Material relations arise and develop directly in the course of a person's practical activity, develop outside the consciousness of a person and independently of him, and spiritual relations are formed in advance “passing through the consciousness” of people, determined by their spiritual values. special kind public relations- interpersonal relationships. Interpersonal relationships are relationships between individuals. Interpersonal relations arise and are realized in society and are social relations even if they are in the nature of purely individual communication. They act as a personified form of social relations.

6. Social sciences, the subject of their study

Social sciences - a system of sciences about society, about the forms and laws of its development.

Philosophy is the science of the universal laws of the development of nature, society and thinking (but it underlies all sciences, cannot be called only social).

Sociology is the science of society as an integral system and of individual social institutions, processes, social groups and communities, the relationship of the individual and society.

Separate spheres of public life are studied by economics, history (development of society), political science, jurisprudence (law), cultural studies, religious studies, ethics (morality), aesthetics (beautiful).

Topic: Society and public relations class

Society as a joint life activity of people. countrystatesociety Part of the world or territory that has certain boundaries and enjoys state sovereignty. The political organization of the country, including a certain type of regime of power, bodies and management structure. ???

SOCIETY IN THE NARROW SENSE: Primitive, bourgeois society - 1. historical stage in the development of mankind French, English society - 2. country, state Noble society, high society - 3. circle of people united by a common position, origin Sports society, fishing society - 4. association of people for a purpose

Let us compare the definitions given by the sciences in a broad sense. Sociology Social Philosophy Society is a historically developing set of relations between people, formed on the basis of a constant change in the forms and conditions of their activity in the process of interaction with organic and inorganic nature. Society ... the sum of connections, the totality or system of relations arising from the joint life of people, reproduced and transformed by their activities.

AND

signs of society. External: territory chronology, that is, the sequence of historical events that determines the time frame of a particular society. Internal: dynamic (capable of development) stability, the ability to perform certain functions (production, distribution of material goods, reproduction and socialization of a person, spiritual production).

The concept of society SOCIETY: The historical stage in the development of mankind (primitive society, feudal society). The historical stage in the development of mankind (primitive society, feudal society). A circle of people united by a common goal, interest, origin (noble society, philatelist society). A circle of people united by a common goal, interest, origin (noble society, philatelist society). Country, state, region (French society, Soviet society). Country, state, region (French society, Soviet society). Humanity as a whole. Humanity as a whole. The totality of all ways of interaction and forms of bringing people together The totality of all ways of interaction and forms of bringing people together

Levels of socio-philosophical analysis of society level-essence-concrete-historical At this level, specific events, peoples, states are analyzed. Along with the description of individual facts, there are generalizing concepts and judgments. historical-typological Generalization related to the typology of society. socio-philosophical Isolation, analysis of the general properties of society.

It is customary to talk about the broad and narrow sense of the concept of "nature". Universe Biosphere

The concept of nature is used to denote not only the natural, but also the material conditions of its existence created by man - the second nature. To some extent, transformed and formed by a person. people act who are gifted with consciousness and have goals blind, unconscious forces act harmonious harmonious conflict conflict society nature nature interconnection interconnection

Ombem: As examples that reveal the relationship between nature and society, we can give: Man is not only a social, BUT also a biological being, and therefore, is a part of living nature. From the natural environment, society draws the necessary material and energy resources for its development. Man is not only a social, BUT also a biological being, and therefore, is a part of living nature. From the natural environment, society draws the necessary material and energy resources for its development. Degradation of the natural environment (pollution of air, water bodies, deforestation, etc.) leads to a deterioration in human health, a decrease in the quality of their life, etc. Degradation of the natural environment (pollution of air, water bodies, deforestation, etc.) leads to deterioration of people's health, to a decrease in their quality of life, etc.

What is the separation of society from nature? At the center of social development is a person with consciousness and will. Nature exists and develops according to objective laws. Unlike nature, society has spatio-temporal boundaries and, in its development, obeys, along with general, special and specific laws. Society is an organized system: social structure, social and political organizations and institutions. Society acts as a creator, culture transformer, i.e. man-made "second", artificial nature.

What unites and what distinguishes society and nature? Society: has the laws of historical development; has the laws of historical development; engaged in creative activities; engaged in creative activities; transforms the world, including nature. transforms the world, including nature. Nature: has its own laws; has its own laws; constant and continuous evolutionary process; constant and continuous evolutionary process; influences the formation of culture, traditions, customs; influences the formation of culture, traditions, customs; can slow down or accelerate the development of countries and peoples; can slow down or accelerate the development of countries and peoples; spontaneous; spontaneous; durable. durable.

The life of society is nothing but a process of joint activity of people. Social relations are stable ties between social groups, classes, nations, as well as within them in the process of economic, social, political, cultural life and activity Socialization is the process of including a person in a certain system of connections and relations.

Public relations. The scheme is 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. Public Relations: Steadily recurring, largely impersonal (formal), affecting important aspects of people Public relations exist in all social institutions and subsystems of society. Man is the connecting link of all elements and subsystems of society

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. In a broad sense, social relations are the entire system of social connections and dependencies of the activity and life of people in society. In a narrow sense - mediated connections between people.

Social relations are subdivided into Social relations are subdivided into unilateral and mutual. unilateral and mutual. One-sided are characterized by the fact that their participants put different meanings into them: love on the part of an individual can stumble upon complete indifference on the part of another. One-sided are characterized by the fact that their participants put different meanings into them: love on the part of an individual can stumble upon complete indifference on the part of another. Mutual social relations imply reciprocity of its manifestation. Mutual social relations imply reciprocity of its manifestation.

Public relations are heterogeneous; primary and secondary levels are distinguished in their system. Public relations are heterogeneous; primary and secondary levels are distinguished in their system. Material relations belong to the primary level, i.e., social relations that develop independently of consciousness and will and are formed in the sphere of material production. They provide society with material opportunities for existence and development. These include relations of production, social relations, and others. Material relations belong to the primary level, that is, social relations that develop independently of consciousness and will and are formed in the sphere of material production. They provide society with material opportunities for existence and development. These include relations of production, social and domestic, etc. The secondary level is formed by relations that arise only passing through consciousness, on the basis of certain ideas and views. These relations permeate the spiritual life of society (ideological, cultural, religious, moral, etc.), they are the result and condition for the interaction of people in the process of creating and disseminating spiritual cultural property. The secondary level is formed by relationships that arise only passing through consciousness, on the basis of certain ideas and views. These relations permeate the spiritual life of society (ideological, cultural, religious, moral, etc.), they are the result and condition for the interaction of people in the process of creating and disseminating spiritual and cultural values.

Social relations Material relations Spiritual (ideal) relations Arise and develop directly in the course of a person’s practical activity outside his consciousness and independently of him Formed in advance “passing through the consciousness” of people, determined by their spiritual values political, legal, artistic, philosophical, religious relations

All public organizations and enterprises serve three types of public relations socio-cultural political production family Mass media church creative unions cultural institutions parties movements lobby groups (groups of pressure on the authorities) private enterprises joint-stock companies professional societies

Society and culture The concept of "society" is related to the system of relationships between individuals belonging to a common culture

"Second nature" Culture (cultivation, upbringing, education) These are the achievements of mankind in the spiritual field (art, science, etc.) Narrow meaning All types of transformative human activity aimed not only at the external environment, but also at himself. Broad meaning Cannot exist outside of society Characterized by historicity Material Spiritual Culture Characterized by diversity

According to the philosopher Z. Freud, culture is everything in which human life has risen above its biological circumstances and how it differs from animal life. What is culture? Let's try to explore this concept. - Read paragraph 3 of § 9. - Why is culture called "second nature"? What do we mean by culture? - Expand the meaning of this concept in its narrow sense. - Describe the broad meaning of the concept of "culture" - What role does culture play in the life of society? -Name the main features of culture. - Describe the conditional division of culture into separate components. - Why is this division conditional? - What are "cultural universals"? Give examples.

The concepts contained in the language, with the help of which people systematize and generalize the experience of knowing themselves and the world; the concepts contained in the language, with the help of which people systematize and generalize the experience of knowing themselves and the world; relationships with each other in space and time, by meaning, on the basis of causality; relationships with each other in space and time, by meaning, on the basis of causality; values - generally accepted beliefs about the goals to which a person should strive; values - generally accepted beliefs about the goals to which a person should strive; rules and norms that regulate people's behavior in accordance with the values of a particular culture. rules and norms that regulate people's behavior in accordance with the values of a particular culture.

Consistent actions of people aimed at achieving a specific goal are called activities. Activity is a way of being that distinguishes people from nature.

Types of activity types of areas of activity The economic sphere is the economic activity of a 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. Characteristics of the branch of social science Economics - a system of sciences that study economic relations, the problem of using limited resources in order to meet the unlimited needs of society. Philosophy is the science of the most general laws of the development of society, nature, and consciousness.

Characteristics of the branch of social science Sociology is the science of the community as an integral system and of individual social institutions, processes, social groups and communities, the relationship of the individual and society, the laws of mass behavior of people. Political science is a science that studies politics, political processes and behavior of political subjects, political relations, political consciousness and culture, ways of solving political problems.

Characteristics of the branch of social science Legal science is a social science that studies law as a special system of social norms, individual branches of law, the history of the state and law. Culturology is a single social and humanitarian science about the spiritual culture of the people.

Characteristics of the branch of social science Historical science is a complex of social sciences that study the past of mankind in all its concreteness and diversity. Social psychology is a science that studies the patterns of formation, functioning and development of socio-psychological phenomena, processes and states, the subjects of which are individuals and social communities. 43

The existence of people in society is characterized by various forms of life and communication. Everything that has been created in society is the result of the cumulative joint activity of many generations of people. Actually, society itself is a product of the interaction of people, it exists only where and when people are connected with each other by common interests.

In philosophical science, many definitions of the concept of "society" are offered. In a narrow sense, society can be understood as a certain group of people who have united for communication and joint performance of any activity, as well as a specific stage in the historical development of a people or country.

In a broad sense, society is a part of the material world isolated from nature, but closely connected with it, which consists of individuals with will and consciousness, and includes ways of interacting people and forms of their unification.

In philosophical science, society is characterized as a dynamic self-developing system, that is, such a system that is capable of seriously changing, at the same time retaining its essence and qualitative certainty. The system is understood as a complex of interacting elements. In turn, an element is some further indecomposable component of the system that is directly involved in its creation.

To analyze complex systems, like the one that society represents, the concept of "subsystem" was developed. Subsystems are called "intermediate" complexes, more complex than the elements, but less complex than the system itself.

1) economic, the elements of which are material production and relations that arise between people in the process of production of material goods, their exchange and distribution;

2) social, consisting of such structural formations as classes, social strata, nations, taken in their relationship and interaction with each other;

3) political, including politics, the state, law, their correlation and functioning;

4) spiritual, covering various forms and levels of social consciousness, which, being embodied in the real process of the life of society, form what is commonly called spiritual culture.

Each of these spheres, being an element of the system called "society", in turn, turns out to be a system in relation to the elements that make it up. All four spheres of social life are not only interconnected, but also mutually condition each other. The division of society into spheres is somewhat arbitrary, but it helps to isolate and study certain areas of a truly integral society, a diverse and complex social life.

Sociologists offer several classifications of society. Societies are:

a) pre-written and written;

b) simple and complex (the criterion in this typology is the number of levels of management of a society, as well as the degree of its differentiation: in simple societies there are no leaders and subordinates, rich and poor, and in complex societies there are several levels of management and several social strata of the population, arranged from top to bottom in descending order of income);

c) society of primitive hunters and gatherers, traditional (agrarian) society, industrial society and post-industrial society;

d) primitive society, slave society, feudal society, capitalist society and communist society.

In Western scientific literature in the 1960s. the division of all societies into traditional and industrial has become widespread.

The German sociologist F. Tennis, the French sociologist R. Aron, and the American economist W. Rostow made a great contribution to the formation of this concept.

The traditional (agrarian) society represented the pre-industrial stage of civilizational development. All societies of antiquity and the Middle Ages were traditional. Their economy was dominated by subsistence agriculture and primitive handicrafts. Extensive technology and hand tools predominated, initially providing economic progress. In his production activities, man sought to adapt to the environment as much as possible, obeyed the rhythms of nature. Property relations were characterized by the dominance of communal, corporate, conditional, state forms of ownership. Private property was neither sacred nor inviolable. The distribution of material wealth, the product produced depended on the position of a person in the social hierarchy. The social structure of a traditional society is corporate by class, stable and immovable. There was virtually no social mobility: a person was born and died, remaining in the same social group. The main social units were the community and the family. Human behavior in society was regulated by corporate norms and principles, customs, beliefs, unwritten laws. Providentialism dominated the public consciousness: social reality, human life were perceived as the implementation of divine providence.

The spiritual world of a person in a traditional society, his system of value orientations, way of thinking are special and noticeably different from modern ones. Individuality, independence were not encouraged: the social group dictated the norms of behavior to the individual. The number of educated people was extremely limited ("literacy for the few") oral information prevailed over written.

The political sphere of traditional society is dominated by the church and the army. The person is completely alienated from politics. Power seems to him of greater value than law and law. In general, this society is extremely conservative, stable, immune to innovations and impulses from outside, being a "self-sustaining self-regulating immutability."

Changes in it occur spontaneously, slowly, without the conscious intervention of people. The spiritual sphere of human existence is a priority over the economic one.

Traditional societies have survived to this day mainly in the countries of the so-called "third world" (Asia, Africa). From a Eurocentric point of view, traditional societies are backward, primitive, closed, unfree social organisms, to which Western sociology opposes industrial and post-industrial civilizations.

As a result of modernization, understood as a complex, contradictory, complex process of transition from a traditional society to an industrial one, the foundations of a new civilization were laid in the countries of Western Europe. It is called industrial, technogenic, scientific and technical or economic.

The economic base of an industrial society is industry based on machine technology. The volume of fixed capital increases, long-term average costs per unit of output decrease. In agriculture, labor productivity rises sharply, natural isolation is destroyed. An extensive economy is replaced by an intensive one, and simple reproduction is replaced by an expanded one. All these processes occur through the implementation of the principles and structures of a market economy, based on scientific and technological progress. A person is freed from direct dependence on nature, partially subordinates it to himself. Stable economic growth is accompanied by an increase in real per capita income. In the social sphere of an industrial society, traditional structures and social barriers are also collapsing. Social mobility is significant. As a result of the development of agriculture and industry, the share of the peasantry in the population is sharply reduced, and urbanization is taking place. New classes appear - the industrial proletariat and the bourgeoisie, the middle strata are strengthened. The aristocracy is in decline.

In the spiritual sphere, there is a significant transformation of the value system. The man of the new society is autonomous within the social group, guided by his personal interests. Individualism, rationalism and utilitarianism (a person does not act in the name of some global goals, but for a certain benefit) are new systems of personality coordinates. There is a secularization of consciousness (liberation from direct dependence on religion). A person in an industrial society strives for self-development, self-improvement. Global changes are also taking place in the political sphere. The role of the state is growing sharply, and a democratic regime is gradually taking shape. Law and law dominate in society, and a person is involved in power relations as an active subject.

Thus, industrial civilization opposes traditional society in all directions. The majority of modern industrialized countries (including Russia) are classified as industrial societies.

But modernization gave rise to many new contradictions, which eventually turned into global problems (environmental, energy and other crises).

By resolving them, progressively developing, some modern societies are approaching the stage of a post-industrial society, the theoretical parameters of which were developed in the 1970s. American sociologists D. Bell, E. Toffler and others. This society is characterized by the promotion of the service sector, individualization of production and consumption, an increase in the share of small-scale production with the loss of dominant positions by mass production, the leading role of science, knowledge and information in society. In the social structure of post-industrial society, there is an erasure of class differences, and the convergence of the incomes of various groups of the population leads to the elimination of social polarization and the growth of the share of the middle class. The new civilization can be characterized as anthropogenic, in the center of it is man, his individuality. Sometimes it is also called information, which reflects the ever-increasing dependence Everyday life society from information. Transition to a post-industrial society for most countries modern world is a very distant prospect.

In the course of his activity, a person enters into various relationships with other people. Such diverse forms of interaction between people, as well as connections that arise between different social groups (or within them), are usually called social relations.

All social relations can be conditionally divided into two large groups- material relations and spiritual (or ideal) relations. Their fundamental difference from each other lies in the fact that 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, and spiritual relations are formed, having previously “passed through the consciousness” of people, determined by their spiritual values. In turn, material relations are divided into production, environmental and office relations; spiritual on moral, political, legal, artistic, philosophical and religious social relations.

A special type of social relations are interpersonal relations. Interpersonal relationships are relationships between individuals. At the same time, individuals, as a rule, belong to different social strata, have different cultural and educational levels, but they are united by common needs and interests in the sphere of leisure or everyday life. The famous sociologist Pitirim Sorokin identified the following types of interpersonal interaction:

a) between two individuals (husband and wife, teacher and student, two comrades);

b) between three individuals (father, mother, child) -

c) between four, five or more people (the singer and his listeners);

d) between many and many people (members of an unorganized crowd).

Interpersonal relations arise and are realized in society and are social relations even if they are in the nature of purely individual communication. They act as a personified form of social relations.

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State budgetary professional educational institution of the Krasnodar Territory

Krasnodar Architecture and Construction College

GBPOU KK KAST

Essay

SocietyAndpublicrelationship.

Completed by: 1st year student

Groups 306 “SEZS” Mishustin S.S.

Checked by the teacher: Lukyanenkova V.V.

Krasnodar 2016

Introduction

1. Public relations

Conclusion

social society progress global

Introduction

The concept of society is very multifaceted. It can be attributed to relatively small groups of people united for some reason significant to them, for example, societies of athletes, politicians, animal lovers.

Society can be understood as a separate country, for example, Russian or American society. To characterize stable interethnic, interstate formations, the concept of a community (European community) is used.

Society is also understood as the whole of humanity as a certain, relatively isolated part of nature, as a bearer of reason, a source of culture, as a universal form of human existence.

Society is a multilevel system. The main levels can be represented as follows. The first level is social roles that determine the structure of social interactions. The second level is the various social groups and institutions in which these social roles are distributed. The third level is culture, which sets patterns of human activity, maintains and reproduces norms tested by the experience of many generations. The fourth level is the political system, which regulates and strengthens ties within the social system through legal acts.

Society exists and develops only due to the presence of stable relationships between its subjects. Various forms of interaction between people, connections that arise between social subjects or within them are called social relations.

The purpose of the work: to consider social relations.

1. Public relations

1) economic, the elements of which are material production and relations that arise between people in the process of production of material goods, their exchange and distribution;

2) social, consisting of such structural formations as classes, social strata, nations, taken in their relationship and interaction with each other;

3) political, including politics, the state, law, their correlation and functioning;

4) spiritual, covering various forms and levels of social consciousness, which, being embodied in the real process of the life of society, form what is commonly called spiritual culture.

Sociologists offer several classifications of society. Societies are:

a) pre-written and written;

c) society of primitive hunters and gatherers, traditional (agrarian) society, industrial society and post-industrial society;

d) primitive society, slave society, feudal society, capitalist society and communist society.

In Western scientific literature in the 1960s. the division of all societies into traditional and industrial has become widespread.

The German sociologist F. Tennis, the French sociologist R. Aron, and the American economist W. Rostow made a great contribution to the formation of this concept.

Human behavior in society was regulated by corporate norms and principles, customs, beliefs, unwritten laws. Providentialism dominated the public consciousness: social reality, human life were perceived as the implementation of divine providence.

Changes in it occur spontaneously, slowly, without the conscious intervention of people. The spiritual sphere of human existence is a priority over the economic one.

Thus, industrial civilization opposes traditional society in all directions. The majority of modern industrialized countries (including Russia) are classified as industrial societies.

But modernization gave rise to many new contradictions, which eventually turned into global problems (environmental, energy and other crises).

By resolving them, progressively developing, some modern societies are approaching the stage of a post-industrial society, the theoretical parameters of which were developed in the 1970s. American sociologists D. Bell, E. Toffler and others. This society is characterized by the promotion of the service sector, individualization of production and consumption, an increase in the share of small-scale production with the loss of dominant positions by mass production, the leading role of science, knowledge and information in society. In the social structure of post-industrial society, there is an erasure of class differences, and the convergence of the incomes of various groups of the population leads to the elimination of social polarization and the growth of the share of the middle class. The new civilization can be characterized as anthropogenic, in the center of it is man, his individuality. Sometimes it is also called informational, which reflects the ever-increasing dependence of the daily life of society on information. The transition to a post-industrial society for most countries of the modern world is a very distant prospect.

All social relations can be conditionally divided into two large groups - material relations and spiritual (or ideal) relations. Their fundamental difference from each other lies in the fact that 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, and spiritual relations are formed, having previously “passed through the consciousness” of people, determined by their spiritual values. In turn, material relations are divided into production, environmental and office relations; spiritual on moral, political, legal, artistic, philosophical and religious social relations.

a) between two individuals (husband and wife, teacher and student, two comrades);

b) between three individuals (father, mother, child).

c) between four, five or more people (the singer and his listeners);

d) between many and many people (members of an unorganized crowd).

2. Formational and civilizational approaches to the study of society

The most developed approaches in Russian historical and philosophical science to explaining the essence and characteristics of the historical process are formational and civilizational.

The first of them belongs to the Marxist school of social science. Its key concept is the category of "socio-economic formation".

The formation was understood as a historically defined type of society, considered in the organic interconnection of all its aspects and spheres, arising on the basis of a certain method of production of material goods. In the structure of each formation, an economic basis and a superstructure were distinguished. Basis (otherwise it was called relations of production) is a set of social relations that develop between people in the process of production, distribution, exchange and consumption of material goods (the main among them are the ownership of the means of production). The superstructure was understood as a set of political, legal, ideological, religious, cultural and other views, institutions and relations not covered by the base. Despite relative independence, the type of superstructure was determined by the nature of the basis. He also represented the basis of the formation, determining the formation affiliation of a particular society. The relations of production (the economic basis of society) and the productive forces constituted the mode of production, often understood as a synonym for the socio-economic formation. The concept of "productive forces" included people as producers of material goods with their knowledge, skills and labor experience, and means of production: tools, objects, means of labor. The productive forces are a dynamic, constantly developing element of the mode of production, while the relations of production are static and inert, not changing for centuries. At a certain stage, a conflict arises between the productive forces and production relations, which is resolved in the course of the social revolution, the destruction of the old basis and the transition to a new stage of social development, to a new socio-economic formation. The old relations of production are being replaced by new ones, which open up scope for the development of the productive forces. Thus, Marxism understands the historical process as a regular, objectively determined, natural-historical change of socio-economic formations.

In some works of K. Marx himself, only two large formations are singled out - primary (archaic) and secondary (economic), which includes all societies based on private property.

The third formation will be communism. In other works of the classics of Marxism, a socio-economic formation is understood as a specific stage in the development of a mode of production with a corresponding superstructure. It was on their basis that in Soviet social science by 1930 the so-called “five-term” was formed and received the character of an indisputable dogma. According to this concept, all societies in their development go through five socio-economic formations in turn: primitive, slave-owning, feudal, capitalist and communist, the first phase of which is socialism.

The formational approach is based on several postulates:

1) the idea of history as a natural, internally conditioned, progressively progressive, world-historical and teleological (directed towards the goal - the construction of communism) process. The formational approach practically denied the national specificity and originality of individual states, focusing on the general that was characteristic of all societies;

2) the decisive role of material production in the life of society, the idea of economic factors as basic for other social relations;

3) the need to match production relations with the productive forces;

4) the inevitability of the transition from one socio-economic formation to another.

At the present stage of development of social science in our country, the theory of socio-economic formations is experiencing an obvious crisis, many authors have highlighted the civilizational approach to the analysis of the historical process.

The concept of "civilization" is one of the most complex in modern science: many definitions have been proposed. The term itself comes from the Latin word for civil. In a broad sense, civilization is understood as a level, a stage in the development of society, material and spiritual culture, following barbarism, savagery. This concept is also used to refer to the totality of unique manifestations of social orders inherent in a certain historical community. In this sense, civilization is characterized as a qualitative specificity (originality of material, spiritual, social life) a particular group of countries, peoples at a certain stage of development.

The well-known Russian historian M. A. Barg defined civilization as follows: "... This is the way in which a given society resolves its material, socio-political, spiritual and ethical problems." Different civilizations are fundamentally different from each other, as they are based not on similar production techniques and technologies (like societies of the same Formation), but on incompatible systems of social and spiritual values. Any civilization is characterized not so much by a production basis as by a way of life specific to it, a system of values, vision and ways of interconnection with the outside world.

In the modern theory of civilizations, both linear-stage concepts (in which civilization is understood as a certain stage of world development, opposed to "uncivilized" societies), and the concepts of local civilizations are widespread. The existence of the former is explained by the Eurocentrism of their authors, who represent the world historical process as the gradual introduction of barbarian peoples and societies to the Western European system of values and the gradual advancement of mankind towards a single world civilization based on the same values. Supporters of the second group of concepts use the term "civilization" in the plural and proceed from the idea of the diversity of ways of development of various civilizations.

Various historians distinguish many local civilizations, which may coincide with the borders of states (Chinese civilization) or cover several countries (ancient, Western European civilization). Civilizations change over time, but their "core", due to which one civilization differs from another, remains. The uniqueness of each civilization should not be absolutized: they all go through stages common to the world historical process. Usually, the whole variety of local civilizations is divided into two large groups - eastern and western. The former are characterized by a high degree of dependence of the individual on nature and the geographical environment, the close connection of a person with his social group, low social mobility, and the dominance of traditions and customs among the regulators of social relations. Western civilizations, on the contrary, are characterized by the desire to subordinate nature to human power by the priority of individual rights and freedoms over social communities, high social mobility, democratic political regime and the rule of law.

Thus, if the formation focuses on the universal, general, repetitive, then civilization focuses on the local-regional, unique, original. These approaches are not mutually exclusive. In modern social science, there are searches in the direction of their mutual synthesis.

3. Social progress and its criteria

It is fundamentally important to find out in which direction a society is moving, which is in a state of continuous development and change.

Progress is understood as the direction of development, which is characterized by the progressive movement of society from lower and simpler forms of social organization to higher and more complex ones. The concept of progress is opposed to the concept of regress, which is characterized by a reverse movement - from higher to lower, degradation, a return to obsolete structures and relationships. The idea of the development of society as a progressive process appeared in antiquity, but it finally took shape in the works of the French enlighteners (A. Turgot, M. Condorcet, and others). They saw the criteria for progress in the development of the human mind, in the spread of enlightenment. This optimistic view of history changed in the 19th century. more complex representations. Thus, Marxism sees progress in the transition from one socio-economic formation to another, higher one. Some sociologists considered the complication of the social structure and the growth of social heterogeneity to be the essence of progress. In modern sociology, historical progress is associated with the process of modernization, i.e., the transition from an agrarian society to an industrial one, and then to a post-industrial one.

Some thinkers reject the idea of progress in social development, either considering history as a cyclical cycle with a series of ups and downs (J. Vico), predicting the imminent "end of history", or asserting ideas about the multilinear, independent of each other, parallel movement of various societies (N (J. Danilevsky, O. Spengler, A. Toynbee). So, A. Toynbee, abandoning the thesis of the unity of world history, singled out 21 civilizations, in the development of each of which he distinguished the phases of emergence, growth, breakdown, decline and decay. O. Spengler also wrote about the “decline of Europe”. K. Popper's "anti-progressism" is especially bright. Understanding progress as movement towards some goal, he considered it possible only for an individual, but not for history. The latter can be explained both as a progressive process and as a regression.

Obviously, the progressive development of society does not exclude return movements, regression, civilizational dead ends and even disruptions. And the very development of mankind is unlikely to have an unambiguously straightforward character; both accelerated leaps forward and rollbacks are possible in it. Moreover, progress in one area of social relations can be the cause of regression in another. The development of labor tools, technical and technological revolutions are clear evidence of economic progress, but they have brought the world to the brink of an ecological catastrophe and depleted the Earth's natural resources. Modern society is accused of the decline of morality, the crisis of the family, the lack of spirit. The price of progress is also high: the conveniences of city life, for example, are accompanied by numerous "diseases of urbanization." Sometimes the costs of progress are so great that the question arises: is it even possible to talk about the movement of mankind forward?

In this regard, the question of the criteria for progress is relevant. There is no agreement among scientists here either. The French enlighteners saw the criterion in the development of the mind, in the degree of rationality of the social order. A number of thinkers (for example, A. Saint-Simon) assessed the movement forward by the state of public morality, its approximation to early Christian ideals. G. Hegel linked progress with the degree of consciousness of freedom. Marxism also proposed a universal criterion for progress -- the development of the productive forces. Seeing the essence of progress in the ever greater subordination of the forces of nature to man, K. Marx reduced social development to progress in the production sphere. He considered progressive only those social relations that corresponded to the level of productive forces, opened up scope for the development of man (as the main productive force). The applicability of such a criterion is disputed in modern social science. The state of the economic basis does not determine the nature of the development of all other spheres of society. The goal, and not the means of any social progress, is to create conditions for the comprehensive and harmonious development of man.

Consequently, the criterion of progress should be the measure of freedom that society is able to provide to the individual for the maximum development of its potentialities. The degree of progressiveness of this or that social system must be assessed by the conditions created in it to satisfy all the needs of the individual, for the free development of a person (or, as they say, according to the degree of humanity of the social structure).

There are two forms of social progress: revolution and reform. A revolution is a complete or complex change in all or most aspects of social life, affecting the foundations of the existing social order. Until recently, the revolution was seen as a universal "law of transition" from one socio-economic formation to another. But scientists could not find signs of a social revolution in the transition from a primitive communal system to a class one. It was necessary to expand the concept of revolution so much that it was suitable for any formational transition, but this led to the emasculation of the original content of the term. The "mechanism" of a real revolution could only be discovered in the social revolutions of modern times (during the transition from feudalism to capitalism).

According to Marxist methodology, a social revolution is understood as a radical change in the life of society, changing its structure and signifying a qualitative leap in its progressive development. The most general, deepest cause of the advent of the era of social revolution is the conflict between the growing productive forces and the established system of social relations and institutions. The aggravation of economic, political and other contradictions in society on this objective basis leads to a revolution.

A revolution is always an active political action of the popular masses and has as its first aim the transfer of the leadership of society into the hands of a new class. The social revolution differs from evolutionary transformations in that it is concentrated in time and the masses directly act in it.

The dialectics of the concepts "reform - revolution" is very complex. A revolution, as a deeper action, usually "absorbs" the reform: the action "from below" is supplemented by the action "from above".

Today, many scholars call for abandoning the exaggeration in history of the role of the social phenomenon that is called “social revolution”, from declaring it an obligatory regularity in solving urgent historical problems, since the revolution was by no means always the main form of social transformation. Much more often, changes in society occurred as a result of reforms.

Reform is a transformation, reorganization, a change in any aspect of social life that does not destroy the foundations of the existing social structure, leaving power in the hands of the former ruling class. Understood in this sense, the path of gradual transformation of existing relations is opposed to revolutionary explosions that sweep away the old order, the old system, to the ground. Marxism considered the evolutionary process, which preserved for a long time many remnants of the past, too painful for the people. And he argued that since reforms are always carried out "from above" by forces that already have power and do not want to part with it, the result of reforms is always lower than expected: the transformations are half-hearted and inconsistent. The scornful attitude to reforms as forms of social progress was also explained by V. I. Ulyanov-Lenin's famous position about reforms as a "by-product of the revolutionary struggle." Actually, K. Marx already noted that “social reforms are never due to the weakness of the strong, they must be and will be brought to life by the strength of the “weak”. The denial of the possibility that the “tops” might have incentives at the start of reforms was strengthened by his Russian follower: “The real engine of history is the revolutionary struggle of classes; reforms are a by-product of this struggle, a by-product because they express unsuccessful attempts to weaken, to stifle this struggle. Even in those cases where the reforms were clearly not the result of mass actions, Soviet historians explained them by the desire of the ruling classes to prevent any encroachment on the ruling system in the future.

The reforms in these cases were the result of the potential threat of the revolutionary movement of the masses.

Gradually, Russian scientists freed themselves from traditional nihilism in relation to evolutionary transformations, recognizing at first the equivalence of reforms and revolutions, and then, changing signs, attacked the revolutions with crushing criticism as an extremely inefficient, bloody, replete with numerous costs and leading to dictatorship path.

Today great reforms (i.e. revolutions "from above") are recognized as the same social anomalies as great revolutions. Both of these ways of resolving social contradictions are opposed to the normal, healthy practice of "permanent reform in a self-regulating society." The "reform-revolution" dilemma is being replaced by a clarification of the relationship between permanent regulation and reform. In this context, both the reform and the revolution “treat” an already neglected disease (the first with therapeutic methods, the second with surgical intervention), while constant and possibly early prevention is necessary. Therefore, in modern social science, the emphasis is shifted from the antinomy "reform - revolution" to "reform - innovation". Innovation is understood as an ordinary, one-time improvement associated with an increase in the adaptive capabilities of a social organism in given conditions.

4. Global problems of our time

Global problems are the totality of the problems of mankind that confronted him in the second half of the 20th century. and on the solution of which the existence of civilization depends. These problems were the result of contradictions that have accumulated in the relationship between man and nature for a long time.

The first people who appeared on Earth, getting food for themselves, did not violate natural laws and natural circuits. But in the process of evolution, the relationship between man and the environment has changed significantly. With the development of tools, man increasingly increased his "pressure" on nature. Already in ancient times, this led to the desertification of vast areas of Asia Minor and Central Asia and the Mediterranean.

The period of the Great geographical discoveries was marked by the beginning of the predatory exploitation of the natural resources of Africa, America and Australia, which seriously affected the state of the biosphere on the entire planet. And the development of capitalism and the industrial revolutions that took place in Europe gave rise to environmental problems in this region as well. The impact of the human community on nature reached global proportions in the second half of the 20th century. And today the problem of overcoming the ecological crisis and its consequences is perhaps the most urgent and serious.

In the course of his economic activity, for a long time, man occupied the position of a consumer in relation to nature, exploited it mercilessly, believing that natural resources are inexhaustible. One of the negative results of human activity has been the depletion of natural resources. So, in the process of historical development, people gradually mastered more and more new types of energy: physical strength (first of their own, and then of animals), wind energy, falling or flowing water, steam, electricity and, finally, atomic energy.

Currently, work is underway to obtain energy by thermonuclear fusion. However, the development of nuclear energy is held back by public opinion, which is seriously concerned about the problem of ensuring the safety of nuclear power plants. As for other widespread energy carriers - oil, gas, peat, coal - the danger of their depletion in the very near future is very high. So, if the growth rate of modern oil consumption does not grow (which is unlikely), then its proven reserves will last at best for the next fifty years. Meanwhile, most scientists do not confirm the forecasts, according to which in the near future it is possible to create this type of energy, the resources of which will become practically inexhaustible. Even if we assume that in the next 15-20 years, thermonuclear fusion will still be able to "tame", then its widespread introduction (with the creation of the necessary infrastructure for this) will be delayed for more than one decade. And therefore humanity, apparently, should heed the opinion of those scientists who recommend him voluntary self-restraint both in the production and consumption of energy.

The second aspect of this problem is environmental pollution. Every year, industrial enterprises, energy and transport complexes emit more than 30 billion tons of carbon dioxide and up to 700 million tons of vapor and gaseous compounds harmful to the human body into the Earth's atmosphere.

The most powerful accumulations of harmful substances lead to the appearance of so-called "ozone holes" - such places in the atmosphere through which the depleted ozone layer allows the ultraviolet rays of sunlight to more freely reach the Earth's surface. This has a negative impact on the health of the world's population. "Ozone holes" - one of the reasons for the increase in the number of cancers in humans. The tragedy of the situation, according to scientists, is also that in the event of the final depletion of the ozone layer, humanity will not have the means to restore it. Not only air and land are polluted, but also the waters of the oceans. It annually receives from 6 to 10 million tons of crude oil and oil products (and taking into account their effluents, this figure can be doubled). All this leads both to the destruction (extinction) of entire species of animals and plants, and to the deterioration of the gene pool of all mankind. It is obvious that the problem of general degradation of the environment, the consequence of which is the deterioration of the living conditions of people, is a problem for all mankind. Humanity can solve it only together. In 1982, the UN adopted a special document - the World Charter for Conservation of Nature, and then created a special commission on the environment. In addition to the UN, non-governmental organizations such as Greenpeace, the Club of Rome, etc. play an important role in developing and ensuring the environmental safety of mankind. As for the governments of the leading powers of the world, they are trying to combat environmental pollution by adopting special environmental legislation.

Another problem is the problem of world population growth (demographic problem). It is associated with a continuous increase in the number of people living on the territory of the planet and has its own background. Approximately 7 thousand years ago, in the Neolithic era, according to scientists, no more than 10 million people lived on the planet. By the beginning of the XV century. this figure doubled, and by the beginning of the XIX century. approached a billion. The two-billion mark was crossed in the 20s. XX century, and as of 2000, the population of the Earth has already exceeded 6 billion people.

The demographic problem is generated by two global demographic processes: the so-called population explosion in developing countries and underreproduction of the population in developed countries. However, it is obvious that the Earth's resources (primarily food) are limited, and today a number of developing countries have had to face the problem of birth control. But, according to scientists, the birth rate will reach simple reproduction (i.e., replacement of generations without an increase in the number of people) in Latin America no earlier than 2035, in South Asia - no earlier than 2060, in Africa - no earlier than 2070 Meanwhile, it is necessary to solve the demographic problem now, because the current population is hardly feasible for the planet, which is not able to provide such a number of people with the food necessary for survival.

Some demographic scientists also point to such an aspect of the demographic problem as the change in the structure of the world population that occurs as a result of the population explosion in the second half of the 20th century. In this structure, the number of residents and immigrants from developing countries is growing - people who are poorly educated, unsettled, who do not have positive life guidelines and the habit of observing the norms of civilized behavior.

Closely intertwined with the demographic problem is the problem of reducing the gap in the level of economic development between the developed countries of the West and the developing countries of the "third world" (the so-called "North-South" problem).

The essence of this problem lies in the fact that most of those who were released in the second half of the 20th century. from the colonial dependence of countries, embarking on the path of catching up economic development, they could not, despite relative success, catch up with the developed countries in terms of basic economic indicators (primarily in terms of GNP per capita). This was largely due to the demographic situation: population growth in these countries actually leveled the successes achieved in the economy.

And finally, another global problem, which for a long time was considered the most important, is the problem of preventing a new - third world war.

The search for ways to prevent world conflicts began almost immediately after the end of the World War of 1939-1945. It was then that the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition decided to create the UN - a universal international organization, the main purpose of which was to develop interstate cooperation and, in the event of a conflict between countries, to assist the opposing parties in resolving disputes peacefully. However, the final division of the world into two systems, capitalist and socialist, which soon took place, as well as the beginning of the Cold War and a new arms race, more than once brought the world to the brink of nuclear catastrophe. A particularly real threat of the start of a third world war was during the so-called Caribbean crisis of 1962 caused by the deployment of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba.

But thanks to the reasonable position of the leaders of the USSR and the USA, the crisis was resolved peacefully. In subsequent decades, a number of agreements on the limitation of nuclear weapons were signed by the world's leading nuclear powers, and some of the nuclear powers assumed obligations to stop nuclear tests. In many ways, the decision of governments to accept such obligations was influenced by the public movement for peace, as well as such an authoritative interstate association of scientists who advocated general and complete disarmament as the Pugwash Movement. It was scientists who, using scientific models, convincingly proved that the main consequence of a nuclear war would be an environmental catastrophe, which would result in climate change on Earth. The latter can lead to genetic changes in human nature and, possibly, to the complete extinction of mankind.

Today we can state the fact that the likelihood of conflict between the leading powers of the world is much less than before. However, there is a possibility of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of authoritarian regimes (Iraq) or individual terrorists. On the other hand, recent events related to the activities of the UN Commission in Iraq, the new aggravation of the Middle East crisis once again prove that, despite the end of the Cold War, the threat of a third world war still exists.

In connection with the end of the "cold war" in the mid-1980s. there was a global problem of conversion. Conversion is the gradual transfer of excess resources (capital, labor force technologies, etc.), which were previously employed in the military sphere, into the civil sphere. The conversion is in the interest of most people, since it greatly reduces the threat of military clashes.

All global problems are interconnected. It is impossible to solve each of them separately: humanity must solve them together in order to save life on the planet.

Conclusion

Social life, as we have already seen, is complex and multifaceted, therefore it is studied by many sciences, called social history, philosophy, sociology, political science, jurisprudence, ethics, aesthetics, etc. Each of them considers a certain area of social 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.

Do objective, i.e. independent of the consciousness of people, the laws of development? Is it possible to study social life, abstracting from the diversity of views, interests, intentions of people? If not, is it possible to recognize social science as a science that provides accurate and objective knowledge about the world?

These questions have long been faced by researchers of social life. And the answers to them were given and given different. For example, some philosophers believe that social phenomena obey the laws common to all reality, and in their knowledge one can use the exact methods of social research, and sociology as a science must be free from ties with ideology, which requires the separation of real facts from their subjective assessments in the course of a specific study. Within the framework of another philosophical direction, an attempt was made to eliminate the confrontation between objective phenomena and the person who knows them. Proponents of this direction seek to comprehend the social world in relation to the goals, ideas and motives of really acting people. Thus, the “experiencing” person himself and his perception of the world through the prism of the individual’s attitude towards him are at the center of the study.

List of used literature

1. Blinnikov, L.V. Great Philosophers: A Dictionary-Reference. 2nd ed. revised and additional M., 2008.

2. Koneva, L. A. Philosophy Vl. Solovyov as a phenomenon of symbolism // Philosophy of culture: Izd. Samara University, 2009, pp. 116--126.

3. Rashkovsky, E. B. Losev and Solovyov // Questions of Philosophy. 2007. No. 4. S. 141--150.

4. Afanasiev V.G. Society, consistency, knowledge and management. M., 2004 pp. 125-136.

5. Public practice and public relations. M., 2007 pp. 85-96.

6. Modern western philosophy/ Dictionary. M., 2006 S. 256.

7. Askin Ya.F. Philosophical determinism and scientific knowledge, 2006. S. 205.

8. Akulov V.L. Philosophy, its subject, structure and place in the system of sciences. Krasnodar. 2007. Introduction to Philosophy Art. 307.

8. S.E. Krapivensky Social Philosophy: Proc. for stud. humanit.-social. specialist. institutions of higher education. 4th ed., Theor. M.: Humanit. ed. center VLADOS, 2003. 416 p.

9. Sokolov S.V. Social Philosophy: Proc. allowance for universities. M.: UNITI-DANA, 2003. 440 p.

10. Philosophy: Textbook Ed. V.D. Gubina, T.Yu. Sidorina. 3rd ed., revised. and additional M.: Gardariki, 2005. 828 p.

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When it is required to emphasize some essential features of a society, one speaks of its types. According to the technological basis, pre-industrial, industrial and post-industrial societies are distinguished. According to the religious basis: Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Confucian. On a national basis: German, French, etc. Each of them, although it differs from the others in its specific features, is subject to general laws.

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o age (youth, pensioners);

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Most often, public relations are divided into spheres of public life. In any society - regardless of language, dominant religion, history, orientation of the economy - there are four types of activities that must be reproduced in order to preserve and continue it. They form the basis for the formation of four main areas of public life and, accordingly, four types of public relations. Thus, allocate

economic relations (relations in the process of material production);

social relations (system-forming relations between the subjects of public life); political relations (regarding the functioning of power in society);

Spiritual-intellectual relations (concerning moral, religious, aesthetic values).

Public relations are influenced by the regulating activity of a person and society as a whole. At the same time, the position and well-being of each person, as well as the direction and pace of social development, depend on the nature of the relations established in a given society. The economic, social, political and spiritual relations of people in each historically defined society exist objectively, largely independently of the desire of the individual. But the system of social relations develops only on the basis of the creative efforts of many people whose practical activity gives rise to new social relations.

In order to understand the phenomenon of society, it is necessary to understand the contradictions of a person as a social “atom”, and then to understand the nature of the patterns that unite people into a kind of single whole, into a social “organism”. In principle, there are three main approaches to explaining these connections and regularities.

The first can be labeled as naturalistic. Its essence is that human society is seen as a natural continuation of the laws of nature, the animal world and, ultimately, the Cosmos. From these positions, the type of social structure and the course of history are determined by the rhythms of solar activity and cosmic radiation, the characteristics of the geographical and climatic environment, the specifics of man as a natural being, his genetic, racial and gender characteristics. Society appears as a kind of epiphenomenon of nature, its highest, but far from being the most “successful” and sustainable formation. This "experiment" of nature, in view of the obvious imperfection of man and the severity of imperfect global problems, can lead to the suicide of mankind. Within the framework of this direction, it is also assumed that society can change the form of its existence, "go" into space, and there begin a new round of its evolution.

Another approach can be called "idealistic". Here, the essence of the connections that unite people into a single whole is seen in the complex of certain ideas, beliefs, myths. History has known many examples of the existence of theocratic states, where unity is ensured by one faith, which thereby becomes state religion. Many totalitarian regimes were based on a single state ideology, which in this sense served as the skeleton of the social structure. The mouthpiece of these ideas was usually a religious leader or "leader" of the nation and people, and certain historical actions (wars, reforms, etc.) depended on the will of this person, which was based on a given ideological or religious system.

The third approach to explaining the social structure is associated with a philosophical analysis of interhuman connections and relationships that arise in appropriate natural conditions and in the presence of certain beliefs, but have a self-sufficient, defining character. Society appears as a whole, a certain system, structured in a special way into parts, to which it is not completely reduced. With this understanding, a person realizes himself depending on the place he occupies in society and participation in the general process. The relations of people are determined not by an agreement or contract, but by the consent of the members of society (consensus), which takes into account the objective laws of historical development.

Throughout history, people have tried to understand and explain the causes of the emergence of society, the direction of its development. Initially, such explanations were given in mythological form, in tales about gods and heroes, whose wishes and actions determined human destinies (for example, Homer's Iliad and Odyssey).

Philosophical doctrines of society originated in ancient world when for the first time attempts were made to justify the view of society as a specific form of being that has its own laws. For example, Aristotle defined society as a collection of human individuals who came together to satisfy social instincts. In the Middle Ages, philosophical explanations of social life were based on religious dogmas. Aurelius Augustine and Thomas Aquinas understood human society as being of a special kind, as a type of human life activity, the meaning of which is predetermined by God, and which develops in accordance with the will of God.

During the Modern Age, the idea that society arose and developed naturally on the basis of an agreement between people became widespread. Representatives of the contractual theory (T. Hobbes, D. Locke, J.-J. Rousseau) substantiated the position on the "natural rights" of each person, which he receives from birth.

The concept of civil society in its most complete form was developed by the German philosopher G. Hegel, who defined it as communication, communication of people through the coordination of needs, division of labor, mutual maintenance of order.

In the 19th century, along with philosophy, a specific science of society began to take shape - sociology. This concept was introduced by the French philosopher O. Comte. The subject of study of this science was social progress, the decisive factor of which, according to O. Kont, is the spiritual and mental development of mankind.

A certain stage in the development of social problems was the theory of Marxism, according to which the development of society appears as a natural-historical process. Human society, according to Marx, goes through five socio-economic formations in its development: primitive communal, slave-owning, feudal, capitalist and communist. Reproaches against Marxism are connected with the fact that in the diversity of historical processes economic factors are brought to the fore, and the influence of human, socio-spiritual elements is given a secondary role.

At the end of the 19th century, the "philosophy of life" gained popularity. Its representative, F. Nietzsche, called for a reassessment of all values from the standpoint of individualism, intellectual and moral aristocracy. O. Spengler considered history not as a whole, but as a set of closed cycles, each of which represents the history of the culture of a separate people. O. Spengler believed that European society had entered a period of final decline.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the works of the greatest philosopher M. Weber, who considered the problems of social action, became widespread. K. Popper's works are devoted to the analysis of possible types of social organization, the confrontation between totalitarianism and democracy, the responsibility of a person for the choice of the society in which he will live.

In the second half of the 20th century, the philosophical knowledge of social life was supplemented by technological concepts. R. Aron, D. Bell, W. Rostow, Z. Brzezinski, A. Toffler put forward a number of theories that explained the processes taking place in society by changes in technology and technology. They identified three main stages in the development of society:

pre-industrial (agrarian),

Industrial (industrialized),

Post-industrial (high-tech, aimed at the individual needs of each person).

Since the beginning of the 20th century, numerous attempts have been made to explain social reality by means of the natural sciences: geography, biology, psychology, cybernetics, and, more recently, synergetics (G. Spencer, M. Kovalevsky, Z. Freud, J. Piaget, I. Prigogine). This trend itself is very indicative from the standpoint of the convergence of natural science and social theories.

Thus, the history of philosophical thought shows, on the one hand, the growing power scientific knowledge in the sphere of social relations, and, on the other hand, demonstrates the increasing complexity of developing social systems. A way out of such a contradiction is possible on the path of understanding the general laws governing the existence and development of society.

The presence of stable ties between all components of society, their unity has never caused doubts among philosophers. However, there have been and still are different approaches to understanding the nature of the integrity of society. The "atomistic" theory of society, the theory of "social groups", the theory of social institutions and organizations, the theory of "society as an organism" are known in the history of philosophy. Today, many philosophers (P. Alekseev, V. Kokhanovsky, A. Bogolyubova, P. Grechko and others) use the theory of society as a system. This system has special qualities:

Integrity (the system as a whole is higher than its individual elements);

functionality (the role of each element depends on its place within the system);

Structurality (relative stability of connections and relationships between elements of the system);

Interdependence with the external environment (each system is an element of a larger system and, on the one hand, depends on the impulses of this large system, and on the other, it itself affects the external environment).

All of these signs correspond to human society.

Society is a self-reproducing, self-organizing, self-regulating, dynamic system that is in the process of continuous change. The main source of the development of society is the creative energy embodied in the behavior of people, which does not always fit into the framework of established regulations. Such energy is also called innovative. This energy causes changes in the cultural and institutional systems of society, which are carried out due to the mechanisms of internal self-regulation and control.

The development of society, as a rule, is aimed at creating more and more complex system elements. The dynamics of the development of society is associated with the alternation of periods of acceleration of life processes and their slowdown, partial collapse of social structures, with a partial return to the old.

Of course, each individual person is born in a certain society and in a certain historical era. He finds the existing system of social relations, which cannot be ignored. But he must determine his place and role in this system. The power of the objective laws of society is not something fatal. As noted by V. Kokhanovsky, V. Yakovlev, L. Zharov and T. Matyash, "the whole history is the movement of mankind towards freedom and humanism in social relations." Today, humanity is experiencing a moral and cultural crisis associated with the inability to establish harmonious relations between society and man, between peoples, nations, states.

The social structure of society involves considering society as an integral system with internal differentiation, and the various parts of this system are in close relationship with each other. Various social communities of people in real life constantly interact with each other, interpenetrate each other. The relations of classes, for example, have a great influence on the relations of nations, and the relations of nations, in turn, have a certain influence on the relations of classes.

The whole complex set of social communities that exists in modern conditions is not just a certain set of parallel coexisting social forces, but an organic social system, a qualitatively defined social integrity. This is the complexity of the existence and functioning of the social structure of society, that in it various social communities, interpenetrating, intertwining, interacting with each other, at the same time remain as qualitatively stable social formations.

The social structure is considered in the broad and narrow sense of the word. The social structure in the broad sense of the word includes various types of structures and is an objective division of society according to various, vital signs. The most important sections of this structure in the broadest sense of the word are social-class, socio-professional, socio-demographic, ethnic, settlement, etc.

Social structure in the narrow sense of the word is a social class structure, a set of classes, social strata and groups that are in unity and interaction. Historically, the social structure of society in the broad sense of the word appeared much earlier than the social class structure. So, in particular, ethnic communities appeared long before the formation of classes, in the conditions of primitive society. The social class structure began to develop with the advent of classes and the state. But one way or another, throughout history, there has been a close relationship between the various elements of the social structure. Moreover, in certain epochs, various social communities (classes, nations, or other communities of people) began to play a leading role in historical events.

The social structure of society has a concrete historical character. Each socio-economic formation has its own social structure, both in the broad and narrow sense of the word, in each of them certain social communities play a decisive role. Thus, it is well known what a great role the bourgeoisie played in the development of the economy, trade, science and culture during the Renaissance in the countries of Western Europe. No less important was the role of the Russian intelligentsia in the development of social life in Russia in the nineteenth century.

In this regard, it is necessary to dwell separately on the role of the social class structure and the role of classes and class relations in the social structure of society. Quite a lot of historical facts are known that testify to the fact that it was classes and their relations that left a big imprint on the social life of society, because it is in the class community that the most important economic interests of people are embodied. Therefore, the social class structure of society plays a leading role in the social life of society. However, no less important, especially in modern conditions, belongs to other social communities of people (ethnic, professional, socio-demographic, etc.).

Speaking about the structure of modern society, it should be said about its social class character. Philosophy and sociology (as a science of society) today proceed from the fact that social groups are relatively stable collections of people who have common values, interests and norms of behavior. Large social groups are: social classes; social strata; professional groups; ethnic communities (nation, nationality, tribe); age groups (youth, pensioners). Small social groups, a specific feature of which is the direct contacts of its members, are: a family, a production team, a school class, neighboring communities, and friendly companies. A social class is a large social group distinguished by its attitude to the means of production and property. The class character of the structure of society has objective roots, since associated with the place of the given class in production. However, today to consider classes and the class struggle as the main engine of history (as the founders of Marxism-Leninism did), in my opinion, is completely wrong. Scientific and technological revolution, social progress lead mankind to the gradual erasure of the differences between mental and physical labor, as well as people of different classes of society.

In our time, very important changes are taking place in the social class structure of society. Two factors play an important role here. First, more than half of the population of our planet has moved to an urban (urban) lifestyle. In almost all countries of the world, education is today considered the most important area of social development. Man, his consciousness, thinking and creativity come to the fore in the life of modern society. Secondly, for almost fifty years now there has been a gradual transition to the information model of human development, where the line between production and consumption is blurred, where human activity is primarily associated with information and knowledge as the main resource for development.

In addition to the social class structure of society, each person is included in the professional structure. The professional structure of society is the composition of the population employed in the economy by occupation (in a particular industry) and professions (taking into account qualifications and education).

Any individual is also included in the cultural environment, settlement structure (city, village), family, etc. Thus, we see that a complex interweaving of the social structure of society is being created. It is also very important to note here that a person can change his class affiliation and profession during his life. Only gender, ethnic and cultural characteristics are stable elements of the modern structure of society.

Understanding the essence, content, patterns of development of society is the most important, initial in the entire system philosophical studies human life and humanity as a whole. This is natural, since the forms of people's existence, their material well-being, spirituality, happiness or adversity largely depend on the society in which they were born, formed as a person, showed their abilities, gained social status, significance for the family, nation , states, all mankind, finally.

So, society is a set of historically established forms of joint activity of people; in a narrower sense, society is a historically specific type of social system, a certain form of social relations.

Public relations are diverse connections between social groups, nations, religious communities, as well as within them, in the process of their economic, social, political and cultural activities.