Human Society | 41 is based. One of the most important definitions of a society has been given by Mac Iver, who defined as a web of social relationships, giving importance to the society as the reciprocal relationships that exist among its people. Without such relationships, there will be no commonality or ‘we’ feeling among the people. These relationships also become the basis of social structure, and results in the formation of institutions, groups and communities. Characteristics of Society ‘There are certain distinguishing features of any society, which are as follows: Territory: A specific society is generally associated with a political territory. In this sense, Indian society refers to the society found in the state of India. However, the term ‘society’ goes far beyond the political boundaries and includes the sociologi- cal factors that keep a group together or unite it. Likeness: In every society, there are certain factors, which keep the group together. There are some common elements that bind the people together—these can be called likeness, common bonds or the ‘we’ feeling that instills in people a feeling of belonging to a group. This feeling is seen in certain symbols such as a common national anthem and a common flag. Differences: Despite having a number of common factors, society is based on differences also. These differences take the form of differences in sex, age, capa- bilities and capacities, and so on. The differences result in the division of labour ina society and ensure distribution of work, since it is virtually impossible for any one individual to do everything by himself.42 | Chopter2 ing and coordinati * Organized: Society is based on an organized system of sructanne an oe tones various parts that ensures its smooth functioning. it identi Common culture: Members of a society share a common culture that identifies the society. Nature of Human Society Ther i J] as animals. Animals also group i form of society among humans, as well as als also. t eeu: and move ae ‘But there are certain features that distinguish the hhaman from the animal society. Those are discussed as follows + An important distinction between humans and animals is the capacity of human beings to think. Humans have the mental capacity to reason out and act, whereas animal behaviour is purely instinctive. The human mind is significantly more developed than the animal mind. This characteristic differentiates the human societies from animal societies. Human societies have an advanced and developed system of communica- tion. Animal societies do have some system of communication, but it is not advanced. Because of the uniqueness of human system of communication, human beings are able to transmit their culture from one generation to another. No such system exists among animals. Awareness of the existence of other societies is there among human societies and not among animal societies. Culture is a phenomenon that exists in human societies. This concept has no societies,HumanSocety | 48 others and the forces of nature managed to live. This ensured the existence of the healthiest and most fit human beings. This was the beginning of some form of social selection of the human race. Over a period of time, there emerged a kind of genetic selection, and the process of evolution began. In the state of nature, man was continuously fighting with other men. This was done because man lived only in small groups and his movement was restricted, and there were limited sources of food. Since only the strongest survived, man found that his numbers slowly started dwindling. Over a period of time, man came to realize that if the continuity of the human species had to be ensured, the killing of fellow human beings had to stop. ‘The strong and the fittest would anyway survive; the weak also had to be given a chance for survival. This called for some sort of an understanding between men, both strong and weak. This process resulted in the birth of some kind of structured living, whereby the concept of ‘live and let live’ probably came into practice. Herein lies the origin of society. It is said that societies evolved along with the biological and physical evolution of man. According to Charles Darwin in his book The Origin of Species published in 1859, human evolution is the result of a process of natural selection, wherein nature itself selects those who are able to adapt best to their natural surroundings. These surviving humans are either stronger, or more intelligent; they live longer and are able to. breed, passing their characteristics to the next generation. The whole process of evolution is guided by the biological mechanism of mutation, which brings about changes in the biological make-up of species, changes that are both positive and negative. TYPES OF SOCIETIES Throughout the history of the existence of mankind, man has lived : society. The earliest societies are the hunting and food-g ‘Human Society | 45 differentiation on the basis of wealth and power, and were generally ruled by kings or emperors. These societies are called civilizations, and were characterized by the use of writing, development in science and technology and the arts. They also had forms of govern- ment that were relatively better developed and more coordinated, and hence are also called traditional states. These are also called empires, as they were large in size, and were involved in wars and conquests. The civilizations of China, Rome, the Indus Valley ci zation and the Mayan civilization are the examples of such societies. These societies were characterized by the division of labour based on age and sex, as well as some forms of specialized activities, such as traders, soldiers, government officials and so on. There was also a large-scale differentiation between different classes, such as the ruler classes and the masses. In most of these societies, slavery also existed. Modern Industrial Societies ‘The Industrial Revolution that started in England in the 17th and 18th centuries had far- reaching effects in Europe and the rest of the world, The Industrial Revolution resulted in industrialization—the emergence of machine production and the use of inanimate sources of power in the process of production. Industrialization brought about sweeping changes in the scientific and technological fields that revolutionized the means of earning livelihood. Industrialization resulted in the setting up of factories and industries in differ- ent parts of the world. This led to mechanization or the use of machines to do the work that was till then being done by human beings. These machines were run by inanimate sources of power. One consequence of industrialization was the emergence of division oflabour based on specialization or the use of specific skills and knowledge. It also resulted in large-scale migration and urbanization. It changed the structure of occupations—from agriculture to the industrial sector. It witnessed the emergence and formation of nation states—political communities demarcated from each other by clearly defined boundaries. Nation states have all encompassing powers over their citizen's lives. Table2.1 Types of human societies Type Period of existence Hunting and | 50,000 nce to the present food-gathering | (now on the verge of societies complete disappearan Pastoral societiesHumanSociety | 47 development of individuals in isolation, In fact, many studies have shown that physical, emotional and social developments are severely impaired when man lives in isolation. Petmitive societies also show evidence of group activity—for ‘example, hunting expeditions in most primitive tribal societies involve group formation, rules to be followed, some kind of division of labour and so on. It has been pointed out that society could not have come into existence unless the capacity of human being to live in societies was not already present among them. It can be concluded that the potentiality or the capacity of man to live in some form ofa society ‘was present right from the beginning of human life on this earth, ‘The psychological development and development of social consciousness of human beings cannot take place in isolation—it takes place within the folds of a society. It is within the society that individuality and sociality develop together. It is only within the social structure that individual personality develops and is moulded. The family, the school, the friend’s circle and the peer group are important agents in the process of socialization of a child. These also have an important influence upon the development of individual personality. ‘There are a number of opinions regarding the relationship between individuals and society. There are some intellectuals who are of the opinion that without individuals, there can be no society. One of the basic requirements of the formation of a society is the existence of members. Without members, there can be no society. Because of this con- dition, individuals are given primary importance in the formation and existence of a society. aoe is another diametrically opposing viewpoint, which regards individuals as important only to the extent that they form a society and are its members. It is the society that gains importance over the individuals, as it is within the society that any can live and survive. Individuals do not have any importance in a society per are important as they form the basis of a society—without i exist, Society has a life and existence that goes much b each individual; once it is formed, it starts « Pendent oft ol hein ia Society’Human Society — | “” | human beings, by which he conferred this power and rights to the community, and not the government. He reserved the rights of life, liberty and property with himself, and empowered the community with the right to exercise the power of freedom and social control. Thus, though man was born free and equal in the state of nature, he established a social contract with other men for the social conveniences of order and Protection. Jean Jaques Rousseau called man in the state of nature a ‘noble savage, who lived a simple, unsophisticated and uncomplicated life. Gradually, as the population of groups increased, there was an increase in conflicts and quarrels among them. This compelled | man to enter into a contract with other fellow humans in order to ensure a conflict-free, peaceful life, and one that would ensure the same kind of freedom and uncomplicated life he enjoyed earlier. The result of this contract was the emergence of a general will, | which was the aggregate of all the individual wills, but is sovereign, or superior to the individual will, All individuals and individual wills were to follow and submit to the | general will, or be compelled to leave the group and withdraw from the contract. This sovereign, superior will, later took the shape of the state or the society. ‘These theories imply that the society is an artificial construct, or an artificial device, created for the protection of individuals. This theory assumes that human beings are, or could become, human being outside of, or apart from the society. It implies that men are individuals even before they form a society, and social order is established in order to protect the lives of the individuals, their property and so on. ‘The theory does not | acknowledge that man and society are interdependent and cannot be treated as sepa- rate entities, Organismic Theories of Society ‘The organismic theories of the society look at the society as a living organism, having different organs and systems just like an organism. The individuals are equated to the cells in an organism, which are subordinate to the organism in respect of their _ composition and functions within the organism. Herbert Spencer, one of the most5o| | Ghapter2 ivi ains' ire ism, it may result display any activity that goes against the entire organ in ee in any society, individuals who can be called gentuse, or those who become leaders display certain traits or behaviour patterns that are dig, behaviours of the other members in that society; by tinctly different from the traits or this ay of different behaviour is considered to be necessary for the survival and deve), opment of the society: ‘There are deviants in the society, and they may create socia| disorganization, but each society will devise the ways of dealing with deviance in ways that ensure a relative social stability. A i Oswald Spengler claimed that just as an organism. takes birth, matures and dies, ql) societies pass through three broad stages of origin or birth, development or maturity, and disintegration, decay or death, These stages can be seen in the origin, development and end ofa number of civilizations all over the world, In fact, many statements regarding societies, such as a particular society is moving towards development, or a particular self, imply or suggest the identification of a society with a living society is destroying it ‘ organism having mental capacity. ‘Thus, a society passes through the organic processes of birth, youth, maturity, old age and death. ‘Thus, many a time analogies are made between a community or a society and an organism, in order to bring out certain similar aspects such as interdependence of individuals or cells, and the functional aspects of different parts of the society or organism. The organismic theories have been criticized for not giving due importance to individuals within a society, When the social system is equated to an organism, it fails to do justice to the individuality of the social being. The theory implies that the society lives and breathes in its individuals; in fact, it is because of the individuals that the society actually lives. It is because the individuals are real that the society exists and has a meaning. group of cells some form of a disease. However, Group-mind Theories of Society The group-mind theories of society emphasize on the importance of the mental processes of individuals in the formation of a society. This idea was advocated by a set of intel- Jectuals and philosophers, who opined that a society emerged mainly because the members will abide by it. A society is equated to an all-inclusi min ‘on to all its members. The main adyoc i 1 and Mac Dougall among o' the views of some of thHuman Society | 51 through the first test, but failed the second, became warriors. Those who passed all the three tests were the philosopher rulers. Thus, Plato compared the body politic with the human mind, Hegel considered Society to be manifested in the state. Society is compared with an organism, and is represented in the historical world process or the Absolute. The state may be made up of individuals, but it is the state, not the individual, that is real. The state has a will that is a manifestation of perfect rationality, a synthesis of individual and universal freedom. For Hegel, the state has a divine origin—in fact, the state is the Divine Idea on earth. The individual has no status per se; he/she is important only because he/she is a member of the state. In fact, the individual is a reality only because he/she makes the state and is its member. There is perfection in life only if it is lived according to the will of the Absolute. Bosanquet believed that each individual does thi gs voluntarily, on his/her own accord, and these constitute his/her volitional dispositions. These dispositions make up his/her true character, or what Bosanquet calls the individual’s ‘standing will. This implies that there exists a real will, which reflects the true self. ‘This real will is different from the actual character or inclinations of the individual and is an ideal will that is based on the ideas of what is best for the man. This ideal will is social in nature, that is., it develops out of the social context, and is present in all indi- viduals. This ideal will of all individuals is embodied in the state, as a general will. Emile Durkheim made a distinction between the individual minds and the social minds, though it is all the individual minds put together that make the social mind. In fact, the two cannot be treated as separate entities. However, the social mind is superior to. the individual minds: it has been termed ‘collective consciousness; and is a higher form of psychic life. It absorbs the richness of content and kind from the individual minds. Otto Gierke was of the opinion that within all individuals, there is an ego that develops out of internal experiences. These internal experiences also make individ- uals realize that they are part of a larger whole; this whole cannot be distinguished through the conscious mind. However, there are times when the spirit of the com- munity becomes a part of an individual life, and it influences itt extent that one is no longer conscious of one’s individual existence. This happ internalized into the individual con to su ‘