Человеческое общество

6. Социальный прогресс

Прогресс (от лат. progressus –  движение вперед) есть такое направление  развития, которое характеризуется  переходом от низшего к высшему, от менее совершенного к более  совершенному.

Заслуга выдвижения идеи и  разработки теории общественного прогресса  принадлежит, прежде всего, философам  второй половины ХVIII в., а социально—экономической  базой для самого возникновения  идеи прогресса послужило становление  капитализма. В качестве критериев  прогресса выступали уровень  материального благосостояния членов общества, степень социальной справедливости и равенства, индивидуальной свободы  и нравственности, развития науки  и техники, солидарности членов общества и др.

Классические представления  о прогрессе рассматривают его  как движение человечества к более  развитому состоянию, причем движение неуклонное, которое продолжается, несмотря на отклонения и случайности.

Представления о прогрессе  долго основывались на понимании  необратимости линейного времени, линейного типа развития, когда прогресс определяется логикой предшествующего  развития и оценивается как положительная  разница между прошлым и настоящим  или настоящим и будущим.

Однако после первой Мировой  войны появились сомнения в прогрессивности  развития и особенно сомнения в нравственном прогрессе. Стало наглядным и  бесспорным, что прогресс в одной  области может приводить к  регрессу в другой. Оптимистическая  идея линейно—поступательного развития человечества стала подвергаться критике.

Но можно ли утверждать, что идея прогресса исчерпала  свое предназначение? Современные ученые не отказывают идее прогресса в существовании. Но есть ученые, считающие, что необходимо отказаться от традиционного понимания  понятия «прогресс», так как оно  предполагает постоянную направленность изменений, в то время как история  доказывает, что изменения порой  не только замедляются, но останавливаются  и даже поворачивают вспять. Линейной тенденции – вверх, вниз, вперед – не существует, линия нелинейна  и неопределенна, нельзя предугадать  направление развития. Ученые также  считают, что следует убрать из теории прогресса ценностный аспект, потому что он носит относительный характер (в самом деле, весьма проблематично  считать более поздние стадии развития человечества лучшими по сравнению  с предыдущими.) На современном этапе  большое внимание уделяется «человеческому измерению» любых изменений, новаций. Современная оценка тенденций развития строится не на признании роли небывалого развития науки и техники, а на признании приоритетного влияния  гуманитарного знания.

HUMAN SOCIETY

1. Concept of a society and its essence

The concept of a society means reasonably organized joint life and activity of the big groups of people. These groups unite on the basis of a generality of interests, requirements, unity of language, sights, foundations, traditions, an origin, ideology, religion.

It is necessary to notice that the society is present at the word a root «общ.», expressing a unification. From this it follows that the concept a society in the initial sense meant a generality, the union, cooperation, association.

The society shows the basic condition more or less normal life and development of people for one person given, is powerless. Therefore an important element of formation of a society is the unity, solidary communication of people. The society is a universal way of the organization of social communications, interactions and relations of people.

These communications, interactions and relations of people, are formed on the general basis in which quality "interests", "requirements", "motives", "installations", "values" and etc. are usually considered

The society is non-uniform and includes the various phenomena and processes. Society components are people, social institutes and the organizations, social groups and a generality. Each of these elements is in a close connection with others and plays a part in society functioning as whole.

Social a generality are created, as a rule, on the basis of joint life of people. Social groups basically are formed depending on the place in system of a social production and social hierarchy.

Thanks to the structure the society qualitatively differs from any chaotic congestion of people. Social structure of public life gives it steady character, generates the new integrated system quality which is not reduced to the sum of separate people. Thereof the society gets certain independence in relation to elements making it, rather independent way of development.

The society structure is considered in various foreshortenings. Such spheres of ability to live of a society as is material-industrial, social, politiko-administrative and spiritual are usually allocated.

Other approach to society structurization is connected with allocation in public life of processes of functioning and development.

Society functioning is expressed in such social phenomena as socialization, formation of social institutes, social stratification and mobility, the social organization and social control.

Development finds the expression in changes by evolution or revolution.

2. A society and the nature

The society as a social organism cooperates with environment surrounding it. A basis of this interaction is the metabolism with environment, consumption of natural products, influence on the nature. The nature also influences a society, giving it favorable or adverse conditions for functioning and development.

Often person and society are opposed to the nature. The relation to the nature as to lower, than everything that is created by the person, put the person in a position of the subjugator of the nature.

Today indissoluble communication of the nature and a society which has mutual character is realized. The person and a society occur from the nature and can't develop out of the nature, in a separation from it. But at the same time the person is the higher step of development of wildlife, qualitatively new, special phenomenon – the social properties growing from interaction of people with each other is inherent in it also.

Hence, it is impossible to identify concepts "nature" and "society", absolutely to break off and oppose them.

The nature and society are two forms of display of a uniform reality to which in human knowledge there correspond two basic areas natural sciences and social science.

Scientific differentiation of the specified concepts allows to understand correctly two-uniform – a prirodno-social, biosocial basis of the person and a society, without supposing as ignoring of the natural beginnings in the person and a society, and negations of the leader, a main role social in this unity.

Historical experience testifies that any attempts to build social and economic projects without taking into account and the more so contrary to natural, natural requirements of people and societies invariably came to an end with failure. On the other hand, attempts of mechanistic transferring on a society of laws of the nature led to not less negative consequences in practice.

Speaking about society isolation by nature usually mean its qualitative specificity, but not isolation by nature and processes of its natural development. It is impossible to analyze a society, not in view of its interaction with the nature as it lives in the nature. But owing to increase of degree of influence of a society on the nature there is an expansion of frameworks of a native habitat and acceleration of some natural processes: the new properties more and more postponing it from a virgin condition collect. If to deprive habitat of its properties created by work of many generations, and to put a modern society in an initial environment it can't exist.

3. A society as system

The society represents difficult system. A word the system of the Greek origin, means "whole", "set". The system includes cooperating части6 subsystems and elements. The principal value is got by communications and relations between parts. In system there are various changes, development, arise new and die off old parts and communications between them.

Character of association of elements of a society in a single whole, in system is caused by objective social laws. Character of development of system is influenced by the natural factor, but much depends and on the subjective factor – will, interests and conscious activity of separate people and the whole social groups.

In society development by a leading component the technology of maintenance of vital needs of the person is. It developed from appropriating and consuming type of managing to the making. The making type of managing expressed in creation of productive forces of a society which are regulated, satisfying human wants in the conditions of certain development of productive relations, has generated fundamental basis of a society – its production of goods.

New forms of maintenance of the ability to live have found expression in corresponding types of the organization of a society, formation of its culture.

The human society exists and develops, constantly reproducing the system, structural and functional relations. Each new stage of social development is characterized by that uses all previous achievements. It is connected with transfer material, administrative, technological and spiritually-cultural heritage. Industrial and technological forms of activity are transferred in the form of material products, the information, knowledge, skills.

The human society in various forms of the ability to live is represented, first of all, in the form of interaction not only material, but also spiritual components.

The material aspect of this interaction creates initial conditions for ability to live of people. Transformation of materials of the nature is carried out in concrete historical forms of labor activity according to social requirements of people. The spiritual sphere provides comprehension of this process. Both these parties are in indissoluble unity, providing ability to live and society self-development. The tendency to a survival, characteristic for any biological formation, is inherent also in a society. Only in a society it – not a natural instinct, and the conscious purpose.

4. A social development orientation

There are different lines of thought to the social development analysis. From one condition to another scientists try to explain process of transition of a society within the limits of linear, cyclic or nonlinear type of changes.

The linear type of social dynamics considers all history as the movement directed forward in time and space.

Linear dynamics assumes progress (advance) and recourse, i.e. can be reproduced as a descending line in society change.

Linear progress and recourse represent inconsistent unity of the contrasts one of which plays a dominating role a certain stage. In the general historical plan linear progress and recourse replace each other when growth potentialities on own basis are settled. Certain influence on limits of linear dynamics renders character of interaction of a society with the natural and social environment. Thus limits of linear progress of a society can be expanded at the expense of overcoming of historical backlog at the expense of mastering of social experience of the countries which are going in advance.

In public life widespread cyclic processes.

Usually cycles are understood as some set of the phenomena, the processes which sequence represents a certain circulation during some time interval. The final point of a cycle as though repeats initial, but only in other conditions or at other level. Cyclic social changes occur according to seasons, but can cover the periods in some years and even some centuries. As a bright example of cyclic character of social dynamics alternation of generations of people serves.

Many social institutes, a generality and even the whole societies change under the cyclic scheme – occurrence, growth, blossoming, crisis and withering, occurrence of the new phenomenon. Many structures in a society – social, economic, political, spiritual are subject to such scheme of changes.

Cyclic changes represent circulation, they repeat past tendencies. Each of cyclic processes possesses similarity and repeating conditions. Cyclic processes promote reproduction of social system, are way of existence and society preservation.

But the society can change in the unpredictable image, i.e. on nonlinear or cyclic type. Casual character of developments is investigated by synergetrics. Transition of a society from one condition to another can be unpredictable.

5. Revolutionary and evolutionary changes

Concepts "evolution" and "revolution" help to understand character of social changes. Often given concepts are considered as opposite. Evolutionary processes are identified with gradual changes, revolutions – with sweeping changes in development of natural phenomena and societies.

But absolute sides between revolution and evolution doesn't exist. Revolutions contain considerable evolutionary impregnations, in many cases are made in the evolutionary form. In turn evolution isn't reduced only to gradual changes, it includes also quantum leaps. Hence, in a society gradual quantitative and qualitative changes are взаимообусловленные and interpenetrating links of the same development.

Social revolutions as transition to qualitatively new step of development have natural character. They represent not any, even qualitative, and basic changes of all sphere of a society.

Social revolutions play a progressive role: resolve the numerous contradictions collecting in evolutionary development of a society; lift social development on new degree, reject all become outdated. But in ХХ century the relation to revolutionary processes is reconsidered. The position of the English historian and philosopher A.Tojnbi which, recognizing objectivity of revolution is most indicative in this respect, nevertheless estimates it as progress braking. Toynbee considers that revolution destroying out-of-date usages, at the same time makes so enormous destructions that they cross out the positive moments of revolution. Therefore a modern science, without denying the revolutionary form of development, transfers the center of gravity in the analysis of social changes on the evolutionary, reformist form.

In this plan the theory of modernization considering process of transition of a traditional society to the modern is of interest. Modernization long was understood as "westernisation", i.e. copying of the western foundations in all areas of life. Modernization was described as the form of "catching up" development at which it was supposed that achievement of certain level of the income per capita automatically will cause changes in other areas of life. But such sight hasn't sustained validity check.

At the present stage aren't absolutized neither reform, nor revolutions. In social life are known both great revolutions, and great reforms. For example, reforms of antique governor Solona and many other things. Nowadays admits that revolutionary explosions –  result of inability of power structures to carry out ripened radical reforms.

6. Social progress

Progress (from an armor. progressus – advance) is such direction of development which is characterized by transition from the lowest to the higher, from less perfect to more perfect.

The merit of promotion of idea and working out of the theory of public progress belongs, first of all, to philosophers of second half ХVIII century, and as social and economic base for the occurrence of idea of progress capitalism formation has served. As criteria of progress level of material well-being of members of a society, degree of social justice and equality, individual freedom and morals, development of a science and technics, solidarity of members of a society acted, etc.

Classical representations about progress consider it as mankind movement to more developed condition, and movement steady which proceeds, despite deviations and accidents.

Representations about progress long were based on understanding of irreversibility of linear time, linear type of development when progress is defined by logic of previous development and is estimated as a positive difference between the past and the present or the present and future.

However after the First World War there were doubts in progressiveness of development and especially doubt in moral progress. Became evident and indisputable that progress in one area can lead to recourse in another. The optimistic idea of linearly-forward development of mankind began to be exposed to criticism.

Whether but it is possible to assert, what the idea of progress has settled the mission? Modern scientists don't refuse to idea of progress existence. But there are the scientists considering that is necessary to refuse traditional understanding of concept "progress" as it assumes a constant orientation of changes while the history proves that changes by time not only are slowed down, but stop and even turn back. The linear tendency – upwards, downwards, forward –  doesn't exist, a line нелинейна and неопределенна, it is impossible to foresee a development direction. Scientists also consider that it is necessary to clean valuable aspect because it has relative character (really from the progress theory, is rather problematic to consider later stages of development of mankind as the best in comparison with previous.) At the present stage the great attention is given to «human measurement» any changes, innovations. The modern estimation of tendencies of development is under construction not on a recognition of a role of unknown development of a science and technics, and on a recognition of priority influence of humanitarian knowledge.