THE

CONCEPT OF
SOCIETY
PREPARED BY: Kier Nelson C.
Opalla
Lezandra Sumalinog
TOPIC OUTLINE
Today's Discussion about Society

#1 Meaning

#2 Nature

#3 Characteristics

#4 Major
Functions
#5 Types
#6 Dissolution
 MEANING
AND NATURE
OF SOCIETY
Definition of Society has 2 Types;
• Functional Point of View- society is defined as a
complex of groups in reciprocal relationships,
interacting upon one another, enabling human
organisms to carry on their life-activities and
helping each person to fulfill his wishes and
accomplish his interests in association with his
fellows.
Definition of Society has 2 Types;
• Structural Point of View- society is the total
social heritage of folkways, mores and
institutions; of habits, sentiments and ideals. The
important aspect of society is the system of
relationships, the pattern of the norms of
interaction by which the members of the society
maintain themselves.
The following are reasons
people live Together as a
society (Ariola, 2012):
a. For Survival
No man is an island. No man can live alone.
From birth to death, man always dependsn
upon his parents and from others. The care,
support, and protection given by them are
importnt factors for survival.
b. Feeling of gregariousness
This is the desire of people to be with other
people, esecially of their own culture. People
flock together for emotional warmth and
belongingness. the need for approval,
sympathy and understanding to which the
individual belongs is a psychosocial need.
c. Specialization
Teachers, businessmen, students, physicians,
nurses, lawyers, pharmacists, and other
professionals organize themselves into
societies or associations to promote and
protect their own professions.
CHARACTERI
STICS OF
SOCIETY
 1. It is a social system.
A social system consists of individuals
interacting with rach other. A system
consists of sub-parts whereby a change in
one part affects the other parts. Thus, a
change in one group of individuals will
affect the stability of the other parts of
the system.
 2. It is relatively large.
The people must be socialy integrated to
be considered relatively large than if the
people are individually scattered. Thus,
the people in a family, clan, tribe,
neighborhood, community are socially
integrated to be relatively large in scope.
 3. It socializes its members
and from those from without.
Since most of society's members are born to it,
they are taught the basic norms and
expectations. Those who come from other
societies, before being accepted as functioning
members, are socialized and taught the basic
norms and expectations of the society.
 4. It endures, produces and
sustains its members for
generations.
For society to survive, it must have the ability to
produce, endure and sustain its new members for
at least several generations. For instance, if a
society cannot assist its members during their
extreme conditions of hunger and poverty, that
society will not survive long.
 5. It holds its members
through a common culture.

The individuals in a society are held

together because that society has
symbols, norms, values, patterns of
interaction, vision and mission that are
commonly shared by the members of
such society.
 6. It has clearly-defined
geographical territory.

The members in a society must live in a

certain specific habitat or place and have
a common belongingness and sense of
purpose.
 MAJOR
FUNCTIONS
1. It provides a system of
socialization.
Knowledge and skills, dominant patterns of
behavior, moral and social values, and aspects of
personality are transmitted to each members,
especially to the young. the family, the peer group,
the school, the church and other government and
nongovernment organizations play a role in the
individual's development.
2. It provides the basic needs
of its members.
Food, clothing, shelter, medicine, education,
transportations and communication facilities,
among others must be provided by society to
satisfy the basic needds of its members.
3. It regulates and controls
people's behavior.
Conformity to the prevailing norms of
conduct ensures social control. The
police, armed forces, law enforcement
agencies and even the church and other
government and non- government
organizations exist as means of social
control.
Peace and order are created through a
system of norms and formal
organizations.
4. It provides the means of
social participation.
Through social participation, the individuals
in a society learn to interact with each other,
present and discuss their concerns and solve
their own problems or renew their
commitment and values.
The people are give the opportunities to
contribute to their knowledge and skills for the
betterment of their family, neighborhood and
community, religious organizations, civic
organizations, people's organizations (PO) and
non-government organizations (NGOs) do their
part in community developement.
5. It provides mutual support
to the members.
Mutual support is provided to the members
of society in the form of relief in any form
and solution to problems met by them. This
form of assistance may come from the
family, neighbors, clans, government and
non-government agencies, civic and
religious organizations.
TYPES OF
SOCIETY
Societies exist in particular places and times, and they
change over time. Societies are organized in particular
patterns, patterns that are shaped by a range of factors,
including the way people procure food, the availability of
resources, contact with other societies, and cultural
beliefs.
Sociologists and anthropologists (experts who study early
and tribal cultures) identified different types and
classification of societies. Next are the different types of
societies as mentioned by Ariola (2012) in his book
Sociology and Anthropology with Family Planning:
ACCORDING TO ECONOMIC AND
MATERIAL SYSTEM
1. Pre-class Societies–
They are characterized by
communal ownership of property
and division of labor. Examples of
these societies are earliest clans and
tribes.
ACCORDING TO ECONOMIC AND
MATERIAL SYSTEM
2. Asiatic Societies–
The people are economically self-
sufficient but their leaders are
despotic and powerful.
ACCORDING TO ECONOMIC AND
MATERIAL SYSTEM
3. Ancient Societies–
These are characterized by private land
ownership. The rich (those who haves) a
big tract of private properties, while the
poor (those who have nots) worked as
laborers. Thus, wealth is limited to a few
people.
ACCORDING TO ECONOMIC AND
MATERIAL SYSTEM
4. Feudal Societies
The aristocrats (feudal lords) owned the wealth of
the country due to their ownership of big tracts of
lands. The peasants worked on the lands of the
feudal lords with only few benefits received by
them. However, these types of societies collapsed
due to the rise of cities and metropolis as a result of
the rise of trades and industries.
ACCORDING TO ECONOMIC AND
MATERIAL SYSTEM
5. Capitalists Societies–
These societies existed in societies where classes of
two people appeared. The bourgeoise (property
owners) who owned the capital and the means of
production and the ploretariat (the laborers or
workers) who are compelled to work for the
capitalists or sell their small properties to the
capitalists.
ACCORDING TO ECONOMIC AND
MATERIAL SYSTEM
6. Democratic Societies–
These characterized by free enterprise where
people are free to engage in any lawful
business for profit or gain. People had to
work on their own livelihood accoeding to
what the law mandates.
ACCORDING TO EVOLUTIONARY
VIEW
1. Simple Societies–
These were predominantly small, nomadic
and leadership is unstable/The people had по
specialization of skills, thus they lived in a
simple life.
ACCORDING TO EVOLUTIONARY
VIEW
2. Compound Societies–
Two more ог simple societies merged to form
a new and bigger society These societies
tended to be predominantly settled
agriicultural societies and tended to be
characterized by a division of four or five
social classes.
ACCORDING TO EVOLUTIONARY
VIEW
3. Doubly Compound–
These are completely integrated, more
definite in political and religious structure
and more complex division of labor.
Considerable progress in infrastructure
and knowledge in arts had taken place.
ACCORDING TO EVOLUTIONARY
VIEW
4. Militant Societies–
These are characterized by S the
following: (a) the existence of military
organization and military rank; (b)
individual lives and private possessions
are at the disposal of the State;
and (c) individual activities frecreation,
such as movements, satisfaction of
biological needs, and production of goods
are totally regulated by the State. In other
words, individuals exist to serve the State.
ACCORDING TO EVOLUTIONARY
VIEW
5.Industrial Societies –
These socities are characterized by the
following: (a) people elect their
representatives to protect their individual
initiatives; (b) freedom of belief, religion,
production of industrial goods exist;
(c) disputes and grievances are settled
through peaceful arbitration; and (d)
business organizations appear where
cooperative efforts between management
and labor are based on contractual
agreement. In other words, freedom,
individual rights and initiatives are being
protected.
ACCORDING TO EVOLUTIONARY
VIEW
6. Post-Industrial Societies–
These are characterizzed by: (a) spread of
computer machines and existence of
information and communication;
(b) inventions and discoveries in
medicines, agriculture, business,
whether in physical and natural sciences
emerged; and (c) pollutions, diseases,
calamities are prevalent as a result of the
use of advanced technology.
ACCORDING TO PEOPLE'S
SUBSTINENCE
1. Food Gathering Societies–
(more than 16, 000 years ago)-The people
survived from day to day through hunting
larger animals, collecting shellfish and
vegetable gathering. Their tools were
made of stones, wood and bones.
ACCORDING TO PEOPLE'S
SUBSTINENCE
2. Horticultural Societies–
(12, 000 to 15, 000 years ago)-The people
planted seeds as a means of production for
subsistence.
ACCORDING TO PEOPLE'S
SUBSTINENCE
3. Pastoral Societies–
Most of the people are nomadic who
follow their herds in quest of animals for
food and clothing to satisfy their needs.
they raised animals to provide milk, fur
and blood for protein.
These societies typically are relatively
small, wandering communities organized
along male-centered kinship groups.
ACCORDING TO PEOPLE'S
SUBSTINENCE
4. Agricultural Societies –
In the early socieities, people used plow
than hoe in food production. By the use of
plow, it turns the topsoil deeper allowing
for better aerating and dertilizing thus
improving better yield when harvested.
Irrigation farming was introduced which
resulted to a larger yield of production
that can even feed large number of
people who did not know how to
produce food by themselves.
ACCORDING TO PEOPLE'S
SUBSTINENCE
5. Industrial Societies–
These societies began in the 18th century
during the Industrial Revolution and gained
momentum by the turn of the 19th century.
This period is characterized by the use of
machines as means of food production.
 Mass production of guns, invention of
locomotives and steam large production
of steel, and well-coordinated labor
force took place. Thus, to the people
began by highly skilled and a highly
diversiifieed in their occupation.
ACCORDING TO PEOPLE'S
SUBSTINENCE
6. Post-Industrial Societies/
Information Societies–
Information communication and technology
is the hallmark of these modern socieities.
These are characterized by the spread of
computer technology, advances in this
technology are made by highly-trained
computer specialists who work to
increase the capabilities of computers
and internet.
The use of modern technology gave rise
to several technological problems such
as pollution, lung illness, skin problems
and other.
DISSOLUTION OF
A SOCIETY
There are several ways by which
a society is dissolved:
(1) when the people kill each other
through civil revolution;

(2) when an outside force

exterminates the members of the
society;
There are several ways by which
a society is dissolved:
(3) when the members become
apathetic among themselves or have
no more sense of belongingness;
There are several ways by which
a society is dissolved:
(4) when a small society is absorbed
by a stronger and larger society by
means of conquest or territorial
absorption;
There are several ways by which
a society is dissolved:
(5) when an existing society is submerged in
water killing all the people and other living
things in it; or (60 when the people living in
such a society voluntarily attach themselves
to another existing society.
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