The Human Person in Society

What is Society?

• A society is a large number of people and the way they live, talking
together, working with each other and making rules and ways to live.
• A society can be a town, country or more than one country together,
with many people living the same ways.
• A society may be defined as the permanent union of men who are
united by modes of behavior that are demanded by some common
end, value or interest.
 Importance of Social

It is understood that a person is inherently a social person and thus needs

to interact with others. This, in turn helps shape his identity, at the same
time, form the environment he is in.
the main goal of social interaction and being part of the social system in
one’s community is social order. This social order is not a one-way street, as
this protects the person.
An example is the creation of the government, which is social concept
meant to the government the behavior of the people to ensure the peace
and stability of the community a person is in.
 Theories on “the Ideal Society

• Karl Marx – “das kapital”

– Das Kapital is essentially a description of
how the capitalist system works and how,
Marx claims, it will destroy itself.
• Plato –”The Republic”
- is a Socratic dialogue concerning justice
in the context of examining the character
of the just man and the order of a just
polity
.
• Emile Durkheim – “The Division
of Labour in Society”
– This is defined as a combination of
the concentration of people and the
amount of socialization of a group
or society.
 5 Basic Social Institutions
• Religion – is to provide structure to the
spiritual /supernatural beliefs to the society.
• Government - is to regulate the behavior of
the citizens by providing laws that address
the community.
• Education – knowledge,
in all forms must be
transferred to preserve
our cultural identity.
(cultural traits and
values within
communities)
• Economics – is to
distribute
resources within
the community.
• Family – is the basic unit of society.
 DIFFERENT TYPES OF SOCIETY
• Hunting and Gathering Society
– This type of society is recognized as the earliest and the simplest; basically small and
composed mostly of families. They generally composed of fewer than 60 people and rarely
exceed to 100. they are nomadic meaning, they kept on transferring from one place to another
to look for food, thus, they do not have permanent houses. The main form of food production
in such societies is the daily collection of wild plants and wild animals. Men are tasked in the
collection of vegetables and other crops.
• Pastoral Society

– This type of society is characterized by the raising (alaga) of animals to

supply their food. Rather than SEARCHING FOR FOOD ON A DAILY
BASIS, MEMBERS OF A PASTORAL SOCIETY RELY ON DOMESTICATED
HERD ANIMALS TO MEET THEIR FOOD NEEDS. THESE FAMILIES OFTEN
GAIN POWER THROUGH THEIR INCREASED WEALTH.
• Horticultural Society

– This type of society engages in the

growing of plants, fruits and
vegetables. In this society, there is
enough food supply. Horticulturist use
human labor and simple tools to
cultivate the land for one or more
seasons. Some members of the
society also engage in making crafts,
buying and selling of goods.
• Agricultural society

– This type of society grows rice and other

crops and they use agricultural
technological advantages to cultivate
crops over a large area. They also began
to farm and raise animals for food. They
lived permanently and improved the
technology for farming. Money became a
form of exchange for goods and services.
• Feudal Society

– Feudalism was a form of society

based on ownership of land. It is a
type of society in which the ruler
or lord owned all the land while
the farmers or laborers farmed it.
• Industrial Society

– This type of society used

machineries in the production of
goods and services. Industrial
societies rely heavily on machines
powered by fuels for the production
of goods. Through innovation and
technological advances, daily
activities become easier and the
lives of the people become better.
Post-Industrial Societies

• are societies also known as

the virtual computer
society, dominated by
information, services, and
high technology more than
the production of goods.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF
SOCIETY
– LIKENESS

• pre-requisite of society. The sense of likeness in an early society was focused on kinship while in modern societies it is
focused on the principle of nationality.
– ABSTRACT

• SOCIETY EMBODIES THE SOCIAL relationship among the individuals. It means that it is not something which can be
seen, observed, touched or scented but an abstract feeling which cement the fellow human beings with one another.
It is an abstract organization which prevails wherever there is existence of social relationships.

– PERMANENT ORGANIZATION

• Society is entirely different from the temporary gatherings of people or crowd. It is a coherent permanent
organization. It is not born with any temporary objective to achieve but its exists and will continue to exist as long as
human beings inhabit this planet
 What is Social Norms?

• Unwritten behavior that are considered acceptable in a group or

society.
• Function to provide order and predictability in society.
• Can change according to the environment, situation and culture in
which they are found and people’s behavior will also change
accordingly. Social norms may also change or be modified over time.
• Has four types; folkways, mores, taboos and laws.
Types of Social Norms