Social p. The universal criterion for determining progress is the degree of humaneness of society, the ability to provide maximum conditions for development to each person. Criteria of social progress: history
The contradictory nature of its content. Criteria of social progress. Humanism and culture.
Progress in a general sense is the development from the lowest to the highest, from the less perfect to the more perfect, from the simple to the complex.
Social progress is a gradual cultural and social development humanity.
The idea of the progress of human society began to take shape in philosophy from ancient times and was based on the facts of man's mental movement forward, which was expressed in the constant acquisition and accumulation of new knowledge by man, allowing him to increasingly reduce his dependence on nature.
Thus, the idea of social progress originated in philosophy on the basis of objective observations of the socio-cultural transformations of human society.
Since philosophy considers the world as a whole, adding ethical aspects to the objective facts of socio-cultural progress, it came to the conclusion that the development and improvement of human morality is not the same unambiguous and indisputable fact as the development of knowledge, general culture, science, medicine. , social guarantees of society, etc.
However, accepting, in general and as a whole, the idea of social progress, that is, the idea that humanity, nevertheless, goes forward in its development in all the main components of its being, and in the moral sense too, philosophy, thereby, expresses its position of historical optimism and faith in man.
However, at the same time, there is no unified theory of social progress in philosophy, since various philosophical currents differently understand the content of progress, and its causal mechanism, and in general the criteria for progress, as a fact of history. The main groups of social progress theories can be classified as follows:
1. Theories of natural progress. This group of theories claims the natural progress of mankind, which occurs by itself according to natural circumstances.
The main factor of progress here is the natural ability of the human mind to increase and accumulate the amount of knowledge about nature and society. In these teachings, the human mind is endowed with unlimited power and, accordingly, progress is considered a historically endless and unceasing phenomenon.
2. Dialectical concepts of social progress. These teachings consider progress to be an internally natural phenomenon for society, inherent in it organically. In them, progress is the form and purpose of the very existence of human society, and the dialectical concepts themselves are divided into idealistic and materialistic:
-idealistic dialectical concepts of social progress are approaching theories about the natural course of progress in that they connect the principle of progress with the principle of thinking (Absolute, Higher Reason, Absolute Idea, etc.).
-materialistic concepts of social progress (Marxism) link progress with the internal laws of socio-economic processes in society.
3. Evolutionary theories of social progress.
These theories have evolved in an attempt to give the idea of progress a strictly scientific basis. The initial principle of these theories is the idea of the evolutionary nature of progress, that is, the presence in human history of certain constant facts of the complication of cultural and social reality, which should be considered strictly as scientific facts - only from the outside of their undeniably observable phenomena, without giving any positive or negative ratings.
The ideal of the evolutionary approach is a system of natural scientific knowledge, where scientific facts are collected, but no ethical or emotional assessments are provided for them.
As a result of such a natural-science method of analyzing social progress, evolutionary theories distinguish two sides of the historical development of society as scientific facts:
-gradual and
-the presence of a natural causal pattern in the processes.
Thus, the evolutionary approach to the idea of progress
recognizes the existence of certain laws of the development of society, which, however, do not determine anything except the process of spontaneous and inexorable complication of the forms of social relations, which is accompanied by the effects of intensification, differentiation, integration, expansion of the set of functions, etc.
The whole variety of philosophical teachings about progress is generated by their differences in explaining the main question - why the development of society takes place precisely in a progressive direction, and not in all other possibilities: circular motion, lack of development, cyclic "progress-regression" development, flat development without qualitative growth, regressive movement, etc.?
All these development options are equally possible for human society, along with a progressive type of development, and so far there are common reasons explaining the presence in human history of precisely progressive development, philosophy is not put forward.
In addition, the very concept of progress, if applied not to the external indicators of human society, but to the internal state of a person, becomes even more controversial, since it is impossible to assert with historical certainty that a person at more developed socio-cultural stages of society becomes happier on a personal level. . In this sense, it is impossible to talk about progress as a factor that improves a person's life in general. This also applies to past history(it cannot be argued that the ancient Hellenes were less happy than the inhabitants of Europe in the Modern Age, or that the population of Sumer was less satisfied with the course of their personal lives than the current Americans, etc.), and is inherent with particular force in the modern stage of development of human society .
The current social progress has given rise to many factors that, on the contrary, complicate the life of a person, suppress him mentally and even threaten his existence. Many achievements of modern civilization are starting to fit worse and worse into the psycho-physiological capabilities of a person. From this arise such factors of modern human life, as an overabundance of stressful situations, neuropsychic traumatism, fear of life, loneliness, apathy towards spirituality, oversaturation with unnecessary information, a shift in life values to primitivism, pessimism, moral indifference, a general anguish of the physical and psychological state, an unprecedented level of alcoholism, drug addiction and spiritual people's oppression.
The paradox of modern civilization has arisen:
in Everyday life for millennia, people did not at all set their conscious goal to ensure some kind of social progress, they simply tried to satisfy their urgent needs, both physiological and social. Each goal along the way was constantly pushed back, since each new level of satisfaction of needs was immediately assessed as insufficient, and replaced by a new goal. Thus, progress has always been largely predetermined by the biological and social nature of man, and according to the meaning of this process, it should bring the moment when the surrounding life becomes optimal for man from the point of view of his biological and social nature. But instead, a moment came when the level of development of society revealed the psychophysical underdevelopment of a person for life in the circumstances that he himself created for himself.
A person has ceased to meet the requirements in terms of his psychophysical abilities modern life, and human progress, at its current stage, has already caused a global psychophysical trauma to humanity and continues to develop along the same main lines.
In addition, the current scientific and technological progress has given rise to an ecological crisis in the modern world, the nature of which allows us to speak of a threat to the very existence of man on the planet. If the current growth trends continue in the conditions of a finite planet in terms of its resources, the next generations of mankind will reach the limits of the demographic and economic bar, beyond which the collapse of human civilization will come.
The current situation with ecology and with human neuropsychic traumatism stimulated the discussion of the problem of both progress itself and the problem of its criteria. At present, as a result of understanding these problems, a concept of a new understanding of culture arises, which requires understanding it not as a simple sum of human achievements in all areas of life, but as a phenomenon designed to purposefully serve a person and favor all aspects of his life.
Thus, the issue of the need to humanize culture is being resolved, that is, the priority of a person and his life in all assessments of the cultural state of society.
In the outline of these discussions, the problem of criteria for social progress naturally arises, since, as historical practice has shown, consideration of social progress simply by the fact of improvement and complication of the socio-cultural circumstances of life does nothing to resolve the main question - is the current situation positive or not in its outcome for humanity? the process of its social development?
To date, the following are recognized as positive criteria for social progress:
1. Economic criterion.
The development of society from the economic side should be accompanied by an increase in the standard of living of a person, the elimination of poverty, the elimination of hunger, mass epidemics, high social guarantees for old age, illness, disability, etc.
2. The level of humanization of society.
Society should grow:
the degree of various freedoms, the general security of a person, the level of access to education, to material goods, the ability to satisfy spiritual needs, the observance of his rights, opportunities for recreation, etc.,
and go down:
the influence of life circumstances on the psychophysical health of a person, the degree of subordination of a person to the rhythm of industrial life.
The general indicator of these social factors is the average life expectancy of a person.
3. Progress in the moral and spiritual development of the individual.
Society must become more and more moral, moral norms must be strengthened and improved, and each person must receive more and more time and opportunities for the development of his abilities, for self-education, for creative activity and spiritual work.
Thus, the main criteria for progress have now shifted from production-economic, scientific-technical, socio-political factors towards humanism, that is, towards the priority of man and his social destiny.
Hence,
the main meaning of culture and the main criterion of progress is the humanism of the processes and results of social development.
Basic terms
HUMANISM - a system of views that expresses the principle of recognizing the personality of a person as the main value of being.
CULTURE (in a broad sense) - the level of material and spiritual development of society.
PUBLIC PROGRESS - the gradual cultural and social development of mankind.
PROGRESS - ascending development from the lowest to the highest, from the less perfect to the more perfect, from the simple to the more complex.
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Social Progress- this is the direction of development of human society, which is characterized by its irreversible changes in all aspects of life, resulting in a transition from a lower to a higher, to a more perfect state of society.
The desire of the bulk of people for progress is due to the nature of material production and the laws of social development determined by it.
Criteria of social progress. Determining the basis of social progress makes it possible to solve scientifically the question of the criterion of social progress. Since economic relations form the foundation of any form of social structure (society) and ultimately determine all aspects of social life, it means that the general criterion of progress must be sought primarily in the sphere of material production. The development and change in the modes of production as a unity of productive forces and production relations made it possible to consider the entire history of society as a process of natural history and thereby reveal the laws of social progress.
What is the progress in the development of productive forces? First of all, in the continuous modification and improvement of the technology of means of labor, which ensures a constant and steady increase in its productivity. The improvement of the means of labor and production processes entails the improvement of the main element of the productive forces - the labor force. New means of labor give rise to new production skills and constantly revolutionize the existing social division of labor and lead to an increase in social wealth.
Along with the progress of technology, the improvement of technology and the organization of production, science is developing as the spiritual potentiality of production. This, in turn, increases the human impact on nature. Finally, the growth of labor productivity means an increase in the amount of surplus product. At the same time, the nature of consumption, lifestyle, culture and way of life inevitably change.
This means that we are seeing undoubted progress not only in material production, but also in social relations.
We see the same dialectic in the sphere of spiritual life, which is a reflection of real social relations. Certain social relations give rise to certain forms of culture, art, ideology, which cannot be arbitrarily replaced by others and evaluated according to modern laws.
The progressive development of society is determined not only by the development of the mode of production, but also by the development of man himself.
The mode of production and the social structure conditioned by it constitute the basis and criterion of social progress. This criterion is objective, because it is based on a real natural process of development and change of socio-economic formations. It includes:
a) the level of development of the productive forces of society;
b) the type of production relations that have developed on the basis of the database of productive forces;
c) the social structure that determines the political structure of society;
d) stage and level of development of individual freedom.
None of these signs, taken separately, can be an unconditional criterion of social progress. Only their unity, embodied in a given formation, can be such a criterion. At the same time, it is necessary to keep in mind the fact that there is no complete correspondence in the development of different aspects of social life.
The irreversibility of social progress- regularity of the real historical process.
Another pattern of social progress is the acceleration of its pace.
Social progress is closely related to the so-called global problems. Global problems are understood as a complex of universal human problems of our time, affecting both the world as a whole and its individual regions or states. These include: 1) the prevention of a world thermonuclear war; 2) social development and economic growth in the world; 3) elimination on Earth of flagrant manifestations of social injustice - hunger and poverty, epidemics, illiteracy, racism, etc.; 4) rational and integrated use of nature (environmental problem).
The formation of the above problems as global, which are of a worldwide nature, is associated with the internationalization of production, of all social life.
Progress is the progressive movement of mankind towards one higher rational goal, towards the ideal of the good, worthy of universal desire. And although sometimes, as Leibniz said, there is a backward movement like lines with inversions, nevertheless, in the end, progress will prevail and triumph. Hegel defines world history as a progress in the consciousness of freedom - a progress that we can know in its necessity. The development process involves the accumulation of qualitative new formations that irreversibly lead the system away from its initial state in the direction of either increasing the level of organization of the system, or lowering it, or maintaining the same level in general with some modifications. Such forms of development are expressed in the categories of progress, regression and one-plane development. The path from the primitive herd to modern social, information and technical systems is long. It is estimated that over 6,000 years of human history, there have been more than 20,000 wars on Earth that have claimed the lives of much more people than is now living. Of the 3600 years, only 292 years of peace. In history, powerful states arose and died right there. Reflections on social progress lead to controversial questions: is humanity becoming physically and spiritually healthier and happier or not? What brought people modern technology- this idol of mankind? Progress in its purely logical sense is only an abstraction. The development of art proves this well. Compare masterpieces, distant centuries, which one is more artistic. Some authors argue that biologically, intellectually and morally people degenerate, proving this by the fact that cancer patients, neuropsychiatric, mentally retarded, AIDS, drug addiction, and alcoholism are increasing. Each new source of energy is a new discovery, contributing to the progress of the productive forces. But this can also contribute to a threat to humans. Once Rousseau put forward the thesis that the progress of science and art has brought people incalculable harm. As attractive as the idea of reversing everything is, it is not feasible, it is an attempt to get away from the problem, not to solve it. Modern criticism of technological progress is more sophisticated. She has several sides. 1. The boundaries of the growth of human civilization are recognized, at least on Earth. 2. The approach of a new era, there is a search for an opportunity to apply the fruits of technological progress itself to its elimination.
Even at the beginning of the 20th century. progress was used in specific terms, the progress of the national economy, and the modern reflects a tendency to operate with separate concepts, symbols. An interesting statement by Schelling: the idea of unceasing progress is the idea of aimless progress, and that which has no purpose has no meaning.
If progress is the goal, then who are we working for? The question of historical progress has long been treated as a path to perfection. This is development from the lowest to the highest. But the question arises whether the modern type of society can be considered higher than the previous one. If we take technology, of course there is progress, but if the state of morality is very debatable. Humanity faced the problem of harmonious development of all spheres to the highest. Man is at the center of all kinds of social progress. Human problems are considered central. The highest and universal objective criterion of progress is the development of productive forces, including the development of man himself. Varieties of progress: NTP - i.e. with the development of science and technology, production improves and develops, it is automated; Social progress is a gradual improvement in the material conditions of a person's life, an increase in living standards, etc.; Spiritual progress is the development of human spirituality, i.e. man improves himself.
Progress and regress
- opposite forms of development of society as a whole or its individual parts, meaning either the progressive development of society in an ascending line, flourishing, or a return to the old, stagnation. The criterion is the degree of development of the productive forces, the economic system, science, culture and development of the individual. The basis for the development of yavl. development of the mode of production.
From a general point of view, progress from simple to complex, increasing the complexity of the organization of systems, can serve as a measure of progress. In natural, as a general improvement of the system, an increase in capabilities further development. In the economy, it is necessary to proceed not only from the levels and pace of development of production, but from the standard of living of workers and the growth of people's well-being, the quality of life.
An essential measure of historical progress is the increase in freedom in its rational use, as well as in the increase in human needs for scientific, philosophical, aesthetic knowledge of the world.
We single out three spheres of material reality: inorganic, organic, social, in each of which the criteria of progress are manifested.
For inorganic, the criterion is the degree of complexity of the structure of the system (for example, molecular relative to atomic).
The process in relation to living nature is defined as such an increase in the degree of systemic organization of an object, which allows the new system to perform functions that are inaccessible to the old system.
Speaking of social progress, this is an increase in happiness and goodness in society. And the criteria for EP are: 1) the growth rate of production, labor productivity, leading to an increase in human freedom in relation to nature; 2) the degree of freedom of production workers from exploitation; 3) the level of democratization of public life; 4) the level of real opportunities for the comprehensive development of individuals; 5) an increase in human happiness and goodness.
Man-Nature Relationship in its significance begins to overlap our economic, political, social, and other concerns. Because of the threat of ecological catastrophe. When We kill the last beast and poison the last stream, then We will understand that it is impossible to live on money.
The essence of ES is to break the natural cycles of reproduction of biological resources, self-purification of soil, water, atmosphere.
The difference between the current situation and previous eras is that changes in the living environment adversely affect the nature of the person himself, his initial needs, biological and spiritual state.
Overcoming global threats:
1. Deployment of the information computer, biotechnological revolution as a technical and technical basis for a possible way out of the situation of survival, overcoming obstacles to the unification of mankind. Creation on its basis of a new Civilization. It is important to emphasize that it is this information revolution that creates an objective substantive basis that will make it possible to avert thermonuclear and environmental threats. Rethinking the world.
2. Democratic consent in foreign and domestic politics in group and interpersonal relationships.
3. Unifying processes of spiritual life in both religious and secular versions. An attempt at ideological convergence.
4. Interethnic and intercultural integration while maintaining the autonomy and uniqueness of each ethnic group and each culture.
5. Intelligent search.
Are you already familiar with the concept of social dynamics? Society does not stand still, constantly changing the direction of its development. Is society really increasing the pace of its development, what is its direction? How to answer it correctly, we will analyze in task 25 after the topic.
"Progress is a movement in a circle, but faster and faster"
So thought the American writer Leonard Levinson.
To begin with, remember that we already know the concept and it and also worked out the topic
Recall that one of the signs is development, movement. The society is constantly in the process of change, the institutions it needs are developing, complicating Unclaimed institutions are dying off. We have already traced the development of the Institute
Let's look at other important institutions - we will present their development and social demand in them in the form of a table:
Social dynamics is expressed in various directions of development of society.
Progress- the progressive development of society, expressed in the complication of the social structure.
Regression– degradation of the social structure and social relations (reverse PROGRESS term, its antonym).
The concepts of PROGRESS and REGRESS are very conditional, characteristic for the development of one society cannot be acceptable for another. Recall that in ancient Sparta, weak newborn boys were simply thrown off a cliff, because they could not become warriors. Today this custom looks barbaric to us.
Evolution- the gradual development of society (reverse REVOLUTION term, its antonym). One of its forms is reform- a change emanating from and changing relations in one of the areas (For example, agrarian reform P.A. Stolypin). REVOLUTION in the sense comes from
Social dynamics is the subject of study of one of the sciences about SOCIETY - social. There are two main approaches to the study of society.
According to Marx, every society must go through all stages of development and come to (linear development). The civilizational approach provides for the alternative ways of each, the parallel existence of societies with different levels of development, which is more in line with modern realities. It is this approach that is most in demand in the context of USE assignments.
Let's try to compare the three types of companies in terms of various important parameters in the form of a table:
And we conclude that in historical development There are three main types of society:
Traditional society - historical type of civilization based on both the predominance and
industrial society - historical type of civilization, based on the introduction of the liquidation of the monarchical political system middle ages.
Post-industrial (information) society - a modern type of civilization based on domination (computers in production, Result of the 20th century.
Thus, today we have worked on the following important topics from
- The concept of social progress;
- Multivariance of social development (types of societies).
And now WORKSHOP! REINFORCING THE KNOWLEDGE GAINED TODAY!
We carry out
exercise 25. What is the meaning of social scientists in the concept of "criterion of progress"? Drawing on the knowledge of the social science course, make two sentences: one sentence revealing the features of progress, and one sentence containing information about the criteria (s) for determining progress.
To begin with, do not make the most common mistake associated with this task. We are required not two sentences, but a CONCEPT and 2 SENTENCES (three in total!). So, we remembered the concept of progress - the progressive development of society, its movement forward. Let's choose a synonym for the word criterion - measure, yardstick. Respectively:
"The criterion of progress" is a measure by which the degree of development of a society is judged.
1. A feature of progress is its inconsistency, all criteria for progress are subjective.
And, remember that although the degree of development of society can be measured in different ways (there are many approaches - the level of development of science, technology and technology, the degree of democracy, a generally accepted single criterion - the humanity of society). So:
2. The universal criterion for determining progress is the degree of humanity of society, the ability to provide maximum conditions for the development of each person.
So here's what our answer looks like:
25. "The criterion of progress" is a measure by which the degree of development of a society is judged.
- A feature of progress is its inconsistency, all criteria of progress are subjective.
- The universal criterion for determining progress is the degree of humanity of society, the ability to provide the maximum conditions for the development of each person.
Progress - this is an upward development associated with the improvement of the content and forms of organizing the social life of people, the growth of their material and spiritual well-being. Progress is most often thought of as progressive movement towards a specific goal. If there is progress, then in the society there is a noun: a directed movement towards the realization of the goal, there is an accumulation of innovations, continuity is carried out, stability in the development of society is maintained. If there is a return to obsolete forms and structures, stagnation, and even the collapse and degeneration of any significant functions, then we can definitely say that the regression.
Social Progress - this is a transition from less perfect forms of organization of human activity to more perfect ones, this is the progressive development of the entire world history.
Types of social progress:
1) antagonistic: the progress of one part of society is largely due to the exploitation, oppression and suppression of its other part, advancement in some areas - due to losses in others;
2) non-antagonistic, characteristic of a socialist society, where progress will be carried out for the benefit of the whole society, by the efforts of all social groups, without the exploitation of man by man.
2) Revolution - this is a complete or complex change in all or most aspects of public life, affecting the foundations of the existing social order
Reform - it is a transformation, reorganization, a change in any aspect of social life that does not destroy the foundations of the existing social structure, leaving power in the hands of the former ruling class. Understood in this sense, the path of gradual transformation of existing relations is opposed to revolutionary explosions that sweep away the old order to its foundations.
Marxism: the evolutionary process is too painful for the people + if the reforms are always carried out "from above" by forces that already have power and do not want to part with it, then the result of the reforms is always lower than expected: the transformations are half-hearted and inconsistent.
For determining level of progressiveness of this or that society are used three criteria: A society in which these indicators are quite high is characterized as progressive.
1. Labor productivity level- a criterion that reflects the state of the economic sphere of society. Although today it is necessary to take into account the fundamental changes that are taking place in this area
2. Personal freedom level- has long been considered reflecting the progressiveness of socio-political changes in society.
3. The level of morality in society- an integral criterion that brings together all the diversity of approaches to the problem of progress, reflecting the trend of harmonization of social changes.
Of course, we must not forget that in his real life the process of development itself is contradictory, and the path of its direction is correspondingly contradictory. AT real life Each society can be a breakthrough (progress) in some areas of society and lag or even regress in others.
The search for a general criterion of social progress in philosophy led thinkers to the conclusion that such a meter should express an inextricable link in the development of all spheres, processes of people's social life. As a general criterion of social progress, the following were put forward: the realization of freedom, the state of people's health, the development of morality, the achievement of happiness, etc. All these are undoubtedly important criteria for social progress, but with the help of these indicators it is still difficult to assess the achievements and losses of the modern movement of history.
Currently, the ecological comfort of human life is put forward as the most important criterion for social progress. As regards the general universal criterion of social progress, here the decisive role belongs to the productive forces.
Specific features of social progress:
1. Global, the global nature of modern civilization, its unity and integrity. The world is connected into a single whole: a) by the all-encompassing nature of scientific and technological progress; b) the processes of internationalization of world economic relations in production and exchange; c) the new worldwide role of the media and communication; d) global problems of mankind (the danger of war, environmental catastrophe and the need to prevent them).
2. Multipolarity, segmentation.
Mankind realizes itself in various types of societies, ethnic communities, cultural spaces, religious beliefs, spiritual traditions - all these are poles, segments of world civilization. The integrity of the world does not contradict its multipolarity. There are values that we refer to as universal: morality; a way of life worthy of the humane essence of man; kindness; spiritual beauty, etc. But there are values that belong to certain societies or social communities: classes, individuals, etc.
3. Controversy. Contradictions are built on top of one another: between man and nature, the state and the individual, strong and weak countries. The contradictions of the progress of the modern world give rise to global problems of mankind, i.e. those problems that affect the vital interests of all the peoples of the planet and pose a threat to its survival, and therefore require an urgent solution, moreover, by the efforts of the peoples of all countries. Among the most serious global problems should be called the problems of preventing a world slaughter, an ecological catastrophe, developing and improving education and health care, providing the population of the Earth natural resources eradication of hunger, poverty, etc.
The concept of progress applies only to human society. As far as living and non-living things are concerned, this case should use the concepts of development or evolution ( Live nature) and changes (inanimate nature).
