Society Its Elements Characteristics Importance Origin and Evolution
Society means to live together. Aristotle said, “ man is a social animal”. That is, because of living in society, he is a human being. And outside of society he is a beast. In other words, the society takes the human being out of beastliness and brings it into humanity. This process is done through training.
Shah
Waliullah said that social life comes into being for the protection of one's
life and body and for the survival of one's generation.
Imam
Ghazali has described group life as
indispensable for man and said that man is created in such a way that he cannot
live alone but is in constant need of others. He wishes that a person like him
will always be with him.
Auguste Comte said that society came into being
because humans felt the need to live together.
So man is social by nature and social life is inherent in
his nature. That is why he settles , villages, towns and cities by taking up
residence close to each other. And all these together make a society.
Literal
meaning
The English word society is derived from the Latin word
societal or societatem which means association or group.
Definition:
Some definitions of society in their own style and words are
as follows.
According to Maciver:
The system of social structure in which and on the basis of
which we live is called society.
According to Young and Mack:
Society is the largest social group or group of individuals
that has common creative numbers and that includes all the basic institutions.
"
Giddings says:
"Society is a group of individuals who cooperate with
each other for a common interest."
Elements or Essentials of Society:
In the light of the above definitions, the elements of
society are as follows.
1.
There should be large group of people.
2.
There should be a geographical boundaries in which people live.
3.
The presence of social life among individuals in which they meet their
needs together.
4.
Primarily, there must be a cooperation among members of society.
5.
Existence of a political system.
Characteristics of Society
Some important features of society are as follows.
A Geographical boundary.
A society is
established within a particular geographical boundary. Just as the boundaries
of Pakistani society are defined, so are the geographical boundaries of every
society.
Communal Life:
In every society many people live communally together. Which
is based on mutual cooperation.
The basic
institutions are society:
There are at least five basic institutions which include
family, politics, religion, economy and education. There are many additional
institutions among them. which meet the needs of people. For example, recreational
institutions, health institutions etc.
Law enforcement:
Law enforcement is a political institution that runs the
system of government to establish social order in society. Makes constitution.
The law enforces institution promulgate laws and gives punishment for its violation.
Satisfying
Economic Needs:
The economic needs of people are fulfilled through business,
agriculture, trade, employment, labour, technical and semi-technical works etc.
Training institutions:
There are educational
institutions for training in society, including religious and formal education
institutions, schools, colleges, universities, etc.
Existence of
Culture:
A society has a culture by which people live their social
life. This culture is different for every society. Like Pakistani culture,
Indian culture, Iranian culture , UK culture, USA culture etc.
System of routines:
A system of routines
is found in a society which is a collection of customs and traditions. These
routines are the guardians of our values. And their training is given to
individuals in different institutions.
System of values:
There is also a
system of values in society, Which are
the destination of individuals. Individuals do their best to achieving these
values and avoid acting against these values.
Social Change:
Society is changing. The higher the industrial development
in a society, the faster it changes, whereas those who are industrially and
educationally backward change very slowly, but there is no society that is
static.
Social Groups:
Society is made up of
different groups. And the groups together form the society.
These groups include religious groups, political groups,
economic groups, etc.
Importance of Society
Aristotle called man a social animal and Imam Ghazali said group life for man inevitable. He said that man was created from a group and he cannot live alone but needs others. Man needs society from his birth, that is, the birth of man is the proof of group life. From birth to all other stages of life he lives within society and spends his entire life with individuals. Even at the time of death, even for the burial of a person, members of the society are needed who bathe him and perform other necessary religious rituals and bury him. That is, human life passes in the cage of society from which he does not imagine separation and separation from society is the end of human life.
If the mother leaves the child alone as soon as it is born,
the parents throw their children out of the house, then their life becomes impossible.
Cities, towns and villages become empty and the wheel of life comes to a
screeching halt. Society becomes a means of satisfying all legitimate social,
cultural, economic and emotional desires and needs of individuals and fulfills
them. So society has great importance in human life. It is as important to
human life as social interaction and social action.
The origin and evolution of society:
Many experts have
stated their own ideas about the beginning and evolution of society.
Thomas Hobbes writes that:
man used to live completely isolated in the beginning. He was always afraid of other humans lest he
be killed by others. But after the passage of thousands of years they learned
to live together . This is how a society
came into being.
" On the contrary, John Locke said that:
Man was peaceful from the beginning. This is how human
society was established from the beginning.
According to Montesquieu:
Man always found himself helpless in front of natural
forces. Therefore, he adopted group life in front of natural difficulties and
owed to this group life. And society came into being."
Comte, who is called the founder of sociology, says that:
Man felt the need to live together with each other, which
gave rise to society and progress in society is inevitable.
According to Spencer :
Society is like a human body whose parts are connected to each other. Just as
the parts of the body depend on each other, the institutions and groups of the
society cannot survive without each other. He said that Evolution in society is
a natural process."
Elements of Evolution of Society:
It is evident from
the above that all thinkers recognize that society is evolving. And there is
evolution in it. That is, society keeps changing. Evolution refers to the
spontaneous change in the conditions of society in any direction.
It is a natural process and its elements are as follows.
Having a large
population in a society:
The more the population in a society, the faster that
society will progress.
Industrial and
craft development:
The development of industry and craft also accelerates
social evolution.
Education:
The higher the number of formal education institutions the
evolution will be faster.
Means of communication:
The more common and
faster the communication system will be, including wire and postal system, telephone,
Fax, internet, airplane, rail, etc. so the evolution will be faster.
Health standard should be established:
The health standard should be established among the
individuals, so that they can perform their duties in a pleasant manner. And
move rapidly towards evolution.
Social Interaction:
Acceleration of the
speed of social interaction in society accelerates social evolution. The speed
of interaction in modern societies is fast. As a result, the growth rate is
also faster.
Stability
of Institutions:
A society whose institutions are strong and independent will
have political stability, that society will be ahead in the pace of
development. These institutions include institutions of daily living.
Social
freedom:
If the members of the
society have freedom in their social life, i.e. they can perform their role
with freedom in their daily life, express their opinion on political, economic
and other social issues, then the social evolution will be faster.
Social Resources:
Better agricultural land, hard workers, healthy people,
industrial and arts experts, presence of minerals, establishment of industrial development,
these resources are also necessary for evolution.
Finding
of development trends:
The more people are progressive, the more social change and
development will occur.
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