Being of society: bases of philosophical analysis

1. Construction of theoretical model of society: naturalism,

technocracy, economism, idealism, dialectical materialism.

2. Problem of history necessity and freedom for conscious activity of people.

I-0. Therefore the theoretical model of society is needed, its ADVANTAGES (why it is used) are following: 1) It works with basic characteristics [abstracted from great number of objects – i.e. from societies of people], and, thus, theoretical model brings to light a necessity in a pure kind, theoretical model looks aside from chances.

2) It represents society as integral organism, as a system: i.e. it is specifies on leading, determining and – on inferior, guided; on what is primary and – what is derivative, on mutual influence and dependence of sides.

3) It fixes the explored object in the maximum developed form with the expressly functioning laws of its existence.

So, models are created preliminary, and knowledge of them, the results of study of them are carried on living society.

I-1. the character of model depends on that is laid in its basis. The 1 group of models is Naturalism (lat. Natura - nature). Natural laws and society are identical, the social is explained by action of exceptionally natural conformity to the law. Variants, directions of naturalism are: geographical determinism, demographic determinism.

I-1-1. First ancient direction/ position, is named, we WRITE: geographical determinism. It is the variant of naturalistic approach. It gives advantage to nature. Different elements of environment come determining for a movement and development of society: relief, flora, fauna, riches of earthly bowels of the earth, natural ways of communication. Sh.L. Montesque considered that climate determined the character of political and social life. Love to freedom as property of psyche and democracy as a form of rule are born in severe climate, but hot climate forms a faint-heartedness, propensity of people to despotism, to the monarchist mode. (XVIII c. his work «About the spirit of laws»).

In the XIX c. Bocl put life of society in direct dependence on influencing of climate, soil, meal, territory. Bocl got the reasons of social inequality of people in nature. In Europe he looks after the reduction of influencing of physical laws and strengthening of influencing of mental laws of .

E. Reclu (XIX c.) in the book «Earth and People» explained the basic facts of history by geographical conditions.

H/T: What is noosphere at V. Vernadsky and at P. Teiyar de Sharden?

I-1-2. The second naturalistic position, i. e., standing on the side of nature, - is the demographic determinism. It is a brother of geographical determinism: it does a rate on «naturalness» of society. And what is, so to speak, «naturally», what is «natural» in society? – a population, its physical-psychical aspects (racial belonging of people; biogenetic skeleton of any ethnos, not only of race, is original: a physical kind and temperament is saved: Slavs and gypsies...)

I-1-2. A scientist W. Petty, for example, considered that if nation is numeral more, than it is better developed.

In the XVIII c. Maltus, an English priest, in the book «Experience about the law of population» asserted that it grew in geometrical progression, and means of subsistence - in arithmetic progression. And exactly to the present period of history they will be correlated as 256 : 9 (p : m/s).

K.E. Tsiolkovsky noticed: «humanity will not remain on the Earth always…, but conquer to ourselves all space round the sun».

So, the laws of change of population are not determining in relation to society as a social system. By what and haw is growth of population regulated? Is it possible to manage demographic processes?

H/T: How to explain such paradox: reduction of birth-rate to the extent of growth of material prosperity.

Minuses, defects of geographical and demographic determinism: 1. Mechanism (reduction of higher forms of being to lower forms). People become like the social atoms, and society – becomes like mechanical aggregate of individuals. 2. Humiliation of activity of people, their active freedom.

I-2 a) II. Sub. Idealism has credo: “opinions rule by world”; opinions and

thoughts are whose, of what subject? – of rulers, of prominent personalities

(the whims of madam de Pompadour) move history, are the last reasons of

events. Minus, defect of this position is in that all changes in society

connect with consciousness and will of the authority or government but deep determinants and sources of ideals, do not open up.

I-2 b). II b) direction. Therefore objective idealism – is better, it goes deeper and farther - it searches the objective grounds of history, an internal logic of events /societies.

Hegel expressly put the problem of objective bases of history process: interests, will, desire, actions of people, as a rule have different directions; but chaos of casual – is only external picture of history, behind which internal logic of history process hides, his objective conformity to the law hides. It is needed to go not from subjective

intentions of participants of history process although and most

prominent people, but from internal, objective bases, which makes

history by single, in itself well-organized process and determines the

character of individual aims and subjective wills.

At Hegel an absolute idea thanks to activity, through activity creates the subject world of culture - moral, law /justice, art, philosophy and etc. History of society is, on him, necessary process of development of absolute idea as a «gradual ascent to freedom».

I-3-1. The III Materialistic model was folded at first in the channel f idealistic model as statement of the separate material phenomena by the substantial condition of human history. So, Herder considered that human living forces and capabilities - here is the source of movement of history, the basic law of which is interaction of human acts and environmental conditions. The activity of people, directed on satisfaction of their necessities, is the main stimulus of social development (L.: 3). Russo formulated and grounded thought about that private property is the reason of social inequality, antagonisms and origin of the state. Social inequality generates degradation of public morals and manners (L.: 4, P.60). Helvetsy explained social and mental development of humanity by his material needs (L.: 1, P.23). French historian Hysou, Minie, Tierry came to conviction, that the “civil way of life”,"privity" make main basis of all social structure.

I-3-2. Marxism gave dialectics-materialistic explanation of society. Essence of it is shown in the F. Engel’s speech on the K. Marx’s funerals and consisted in that «production of direct material livelihood, and the same every given extent of economic development of people or epoch, form a basis, from which state establishments develop, legal looks develop, art and even religious images of the given people develop and from which they because must be explained, - instead of wrong way, as it was done until now» (V. 19. P. 350-351). Farther: on the enormous actual material K. Marx divided the variety of social relations on 2 big types – material relations and spiritual, ideological relations, marking here the determining role of the first in relation to the second.

I-3-3. The development of S.B. at K. Marks we find in labors «To criticism of Hegel’s philosophy of law», «German ideology», «Poverty of philosophy», «To criticism of political economy. Preface» and etc. The primitive formulation of S.B., given in 1845-1846 in the book «German ideology» common with F. Engels, speaks that being of people is the «real process of their life» (W. V. 3. P. 25)... Complete and finished formulation is contained in «Preface to criticism of political economy», written in 1859, we WRITE: «method of production of material life, - K. Marx speaks in this work, - stipulates social, political and spiritual processes of life in general. Not consciousness of people determines their being, and, opposite, their social being determines their consciousness» (W. V. 13. P. 7).

This position serves as a key to the decision of problem about that, where thoughts and ideas are from, what stands before them.

II-1. In the second half of the XIX c. the row of schools appears, denying the objective conformity to the law in history. In Germany there were V. Windelband, Rickert, M. Weber, E. Mayer, in England - B. Russell ...A. Toinby, in America - D. Dui, Becker-Chase. In obedience to Arnold Toynby, history laws are «hypotheses which until now were confirmed» (Study of History. Oxford. Univ. press. Vol. 12. 1961. P. 237).

II-2. Separate everybody, according to A. Smith, wants to satisfy his own interests, to achieve his own aims. Ordinary he does not think about public benefit here and does not understand, as far as he is instrumental in it. But «in this case, as well as in many other, he heads by invisible hand for a purpose which was not nearly included in his intentions... Pursuing the own interests, he often serves as more effective mode to interests of society, than then, when consciously aims to do it». «Invisible hand» is this elemental action of objective laws of life of society. These laws act in spite of will of separate people and quite often against their will. For spontaneity of history development there is characteristic that people do not understand the objectively formed public consequences of their activity.

I-3. I.e. there in society take place objective necessity, causal conditionality and repetition. But unlike nature the conformities to the law in society «work» specifically, in a special way. * Common at social laws with natural laws is that these and those, are objective (unlike nature, in the social life not only the thing-material phenomena but also super structural (spiritual-practical) phenomena are objective. Clearly, that is out of the question about what laws of spiritual activity in nature).* As society is simultaneously and object and subject, social laws are the laws of human activity. * !!! Conformities to the law of society, social laws are carried out by means of human activity. And wherein people are not present or they are, but behave passively («sitting on their hands»), ANY SOCIAL LAWS CAN not be REALIZED .

People are simultaneously and authors and actors of world-history drama, named history.

Date: 2015-04-20; view: 1004