definitions of society

8/13/2019 Definitions of Society

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Definitions of Society

August Comte the father of sociology saw society as a social organism possessing a harmony of

structure and function.Emile Durkheim the founding father of the modern sociology treated society as a

reality in its own right. According to Talcott Parsons Society is a total complex of human relationshipsin so far as they grow out of the action in terms of means-end relationship intrinsic or symolic.!."

#ead concei$ed society as an exchange of gestures which in$ol$es the use of symols. #orris !insergdefines society as a collection of indi$iduals united y certain relations or mode of eha$ior which markthem off from others who do not enter into these relations or who differ from them in eha$ior. Cole

sees Society as the complex of organi%ed associations and institutions with a community. According to

#acl$er and Page society is a system of usages and procedures of authority and mutual aid of many

groupings and di$isions& of controls of human eha$ior and lierties. This e$er changing complexsystem which is called society is a we of social relationship

Community

The term community is one of the most elusi$e and $ague in sociology and is y now largely withoutspecific meaning. At the minimum it refers to a collection of people in a geographical area. Three other

elements may also e present in any usage. '() Communities may e thought of as collections of people

with a particular social structure* there are& therefore& collections which are not communities. Such a

notion often e+uates community with rural or pre-industrial society and may& in addition& treat uran orindustrial society as positi$ely destructi$e. ',) A sense of elonging or community spirit. ') All the

daily acti$ities of a community& work and non work& take place within the geographical area& which is

self contained. Different accounts of community will contain any or all of these additional elements.

e can list out the characteristics of a community as follows/

(. Territory

,. Close and informal relationships

. #utuality0. Common $alues and eliefs

1. 2rgani%ed interaction

3. Strong group feeling4. Cultural similarity

Talcott Parsons defined community as collecti$ity the memers of which share a common territorial areaas their ase of operation for daily acti$ities. According to Tonnies community is defined as an organic

natural kind of social group whose memers are ound together y the sense of elonging& created out ofe$eryday contacts co$ering the whole range of human acti$ities. "e has presented ideal-typical pictures

of the forms of social associations contrasting the solidarity nature of the social relations in the

community with the large scale and impersonal relations thought to characteri%e industriali%ingsocieties.


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5ingsley Da$is defined it as the smallest territorial group that can emrace all aspects of social life. 6or5arl #annheim community is any circle of people who li$e together and elong together in such a way

that they do not share this or that particular interest only ut a whole set of interests.

Cultural Relativism

This is a method wherey different societies or cultures are analy%ed o7ecti$ely without using the

$alues of one culture to 7udge the worth of another. e cannot possily understand the actions of other

groups if we analy%e them in terms of our moti$es and $alues. e must interpret their eha$ior in thelight of their moti$es& haits and $alues if we are to understand them. Cultural relati$ism means that the

function and meaning of a trait are relati$e to its cultural setting. A trait is neither good nor ad in itself.

8t is good or ad only with reference to the culture in which it is to function. 6ur clothing is good in theArctic ut not in the tropics. 8n some hunting societies which occasionally face long periods of hunger to

e fat is good* it has real sur$i$al $alue and fat people are admired. 8n our society to e fat is not only

unnecessary ut is known to e unhealthful and fat people are not admired.

The concept of cultural relati$ism does not mean that all customs are e+ually $aluale& nor does it implythat no customs are harmful. Some patterns of eha$ior may e in7urious e$erywhere& ut e$en such

patterns ser$e some purpose in the culture and the society will suffer unless a sustitute is pro$ided. The

central point in cultural relati$ism is that in a particular cultural setting certain traits are right ecausethey work well in that setting while other traits are wrong ecause they would clash painfully with parts

of that culture.

Culture

As "omo sapiens& e$ol$ed& se$eral iological characteristics particularly fa$orale to the de$elopmentof culture appeared in the species. These included erect posture* a fa$orale rain structure* stereoscopic

$ision* the structure of the hand& a flexile shoulder* and year round sexual recepti$ity on the part of thefemale. 9one of these iological characteristics alone& of course& accounts for the de$elopment ofculture. E$en in comination& all they guarantee is that human eings would e the most gifted memers

of the animal kingdom.

The distincti$e human way of life that we call culture did not ha$e a single definite eginning in time

any more than human eings suddenly appearing on earth. Culture e$ol$ed slowly 7ust as someanthropoids gradually took on more human form. :nmistakaly& tools existed half a million years ago

and might e consideraly older. 8f& for con$enience& we say that culture is 1;;&;;; years old& it is still

difficult day has appeared $ery recently.

The concept of culture was rigorously defined y E.s theme that culture is a result of human collecti$ity has een

accepted y most anthropologists. Tylarian idea can e discerned in a modern definition of culture -culture is the man-made part of en$ironment '#.?. "ersko$its).

6rom this& it follows that culture and society are separale only at the analytical le$el/ at the actual

existential le$el& they can e understood as the two sides of the same coin.


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Culture& on one hand& is an outcome of society and& on the other hand& society is ale to sur$i$e andperpetuate itself ecause of the existence of culture. Culture is an ally of man in the sense that it

enhances man>s adaptaility to nature. 8t is ecause of the adapti$e $alue of culture that "ersko$its states

that culture is a screen etween man and nature. Culture is an instrument y which man exploits theen$ironment and shapes it accordingly.

8n showing affection& the #aori ru noses* the Australians ru faces* the Chinese place nose to cheeks*

the esterners kiss* some groups practice spitting on the elo$ed. 2r& consider this* American men are

permitted to laugh in pulic ut not to cry* 8ro+uois men are permitted to do neither in pulic* 8talianmen are permitted to do oth. Since this is true& physiological factors ha$e little to do with when men

laugh and cry and when they do not do either. The $ariaility of the human experience simply cannot e

explained y making reference to human iology& or to the climate and geography. 8nstead& we mustconsider culture as the faric of human society.

Culture can e concei$ed as a continuous& cumulati$e reser$oir containing oth material and non-

material elements that are socially transmitted from generation to generation. Culture is continuous

ecause cultural patterns transcend years& reappearing in successi$e generations. Culture is cumulati$eecause each generation contriutes to the reser$oir.

An inherent paradox exists within the social heritage where culture tends to e oth static and dynamic.

"umans& once ha$ing internali%ed culture& attach positi$e $alue 7udgments to it and are more or less

reluctant to change their estalished ways of life. Through most of recorded history men ha$e apparentlyconsidered that change per say is undesirale and that the ideal condition is staility. The prospect of

change can seem threatening& yet e$ery human culture is su7ect to and does experience change. Those

who speak of a generation gap portray two generations at odds with each other. According to this $iew&the parent generation emodied the dynamic dimension. e contend that if& in fact& a generation gap

does exist in modern societies& and the differences are of degree and not of sustance. Part of the social

heritage of almost e$ery modern society is the high $alue placed on progress. Parents encourage youngpeople to seek progress& and progress is a form of social change. Deates etween generations in modern

societies are seldom aout whether any change should occur. The deates are usually aout how suchchange should occur& how fast it should occur& and which methods should e used for ringing aout

change.

Development of Culture

The distincti$e human way of life that we call culture did not ha$e a single definite eginning. This is to

say that human eings did not suddenly appear on earth. Culture e$ol$ed slowly 7ust as anthropoids

gradually took on more human form. The earliest tools cannot e dated precisely. Australopithecus mayha$e used stones as weapons as long as fi$e million years ago. Stones that ha$e een used as weapon do

not differ systematically from other stones& howe$er& and there is no way to tell for sure. The first stonesthat show reliale e$idence of ha$ing een shaped as tools trace ack some 1;;&;;; to 3;;&;;; years.The use of fire can e dated from ,;;&;;; to ;;&;;; years ago. Tools of one had come into existence

y (;;&;;;


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Cultural Relativism

This is a method wherey different societies or cultures are analy%ed o7ecti$ely without using the

$alues of one culture to 7udge the worth of another. e cannot possily understand the actions of other

groups if we analy%e them in terms of our moti$es and $alues. e must interpret their eha$ior in thelight of their moti$es& haits and $alues if we are to understand them. Cultural relati$ism means that the

function and meaning of a trait are relati$e to its cultural setting. A trait is neither good nor ad in itself.8t is good or ad only with reference to the culture in which it is to function. 6ur clothing is good in theArctic ut not in the tropics. 8n some hunting societies which occasionally face long periods of hunger to

e fat is good* it has real sur$i$al $alue and fat people are admired. 8n our society to e fat is not only

unnecessary ut is known to e unhealthful and fat people are not admired.

The concept of cultural relati$ism does not mean that all customs are e+ually $aluale& nor does it implythat no customs are harmful. Some patterns of eha$ior may e in7urious e$erywhere& ut e$en such

patterns ser$e some purpose in the culture and the society will suffer unless a sustitute is pro$ided. The

central point in cultural relati$ism is that in a particular cultural setting certain traits are right ecausethey work well in that setting while other traits are wrong ecause they would clash painfully with parts

of that culture.

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