Generally everyone often concept of society as an aggregation or collection of individuals. But in sociology and anthropology, the term is used in a different sense. The term “society” refers not just to a group of people but to a complex pattern of norms of interaction that exist among them. In sociology and anthropology it refers to an intangible entity. It is a mental construct, which we realise in every day life but cannot see it. 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.
Meaning and Concept of Society
Morris Ginsberg defines “society as a collection of individuals united by certain relations or mode of behaviour which mark them off from others who do not enter into these relations or who differ from them in behaviour”.
- Cole defined ” Society as the complex of organised associations and institutions with in a community”.
- MacIver and Page found it was a system of usages and procedures of authority and mutual aid of many groupings and divisions, of controls of human behaviour and liberties; a web of social relationship.
A society is generally conceived of as a human group which is relatively large, relatively independent or self perpetuating in demographic terms, and which is relatively autonomous in its organisation of social relations. But it is the relativity of each society’s autonomy, independence and self-perpetuating nature which is the crucial factor, and the distinction of one society from another is often arbitrary. It is important in anthropology not to allow these arbitrary divisions to distort our vision of systems of local, regional, national and international social relations.
In sum up the definitions of society into two types – the functional definition and the structural definition. From the 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. McIver, Parsons, Lapiere, Cooley and Leacock have given functional definition of society. From the structural point of view, society is the total social heritage of folkways, mores and institutions; of habits, sentiments and ideals. Ginsberg, Giddings, Cole and Cuber take a structural view of society.
The concept of society has undergone little variation from the standpoint of classical and modern scholars. For our understanding we can simply define society as a group of people who share a common culture, occupy a particular territorial area and feel themselves to constitute a unified and distinct entity. It is the mutual interactions and interrelations of individuals and groups. Concept of society, Society is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations in terms of social status, roles and social networks. By extension, society denotes the people of a region or country, sometimes even the world, taken as a whole. ( concept of society )Used in the sense of an association, a society is a body of individuals outlined by the bounds of functional interdependence, possibly comprising characteristics such as national or cultural identity, social solidarity, language or hierarchical organisation.
Characteristics of Society
According to McIver “society is a web of social relationships”, which may be of several types. To formulate a catalogue of social relationships would be an uphill task. The family alone is said to have as many relationships based on age, sex, gender, and generation. Outside the family there is no limit to the number of possible relationships.
- McIver says “society means likeness”. Therefore, likeness is an essential prerequisite of society. The sense of likeness was focused in early society on kinship that is, real or supposed blood relationships. In modern societies the conditions of social likeness have broadened out in the principle of nationality of one world. “Comradeship, intimacy, association of any kind or degree would be impossible without some understanding of each by the other, and that understanding depends on the likeness which each apprehends in the other.
- Society also implies difference A society based exclusively on likeness and uniformity is bound to be loose in socialites. All our social systems involve relationships in which differences complement one another, for e.g., family rests upon the biological difference between sexes. Besides the difference in sex there are other natural differences of aptitude, of interest of capacity. While difference is necessary to society, difference by itself does not create society,
- Difference subordinate to likeness. It has been argued that likeness is necessarily prior to the differentiation of social organisation. As McIver observed, – primary likeness and secondary difference create the greatest of all social institutions-the division of labour.
In addition to likeness, - interdependence is another essential element to constitute society. Family, one of the important units of society with which we all are closely associated, is based on the biological inter-dependence of the sexes. None of the two sexes is complete by itself and therefore each seeks fulfillment by the aid of the other. The Social organisation diversifies the work of each, making each more dependent on others, in order that by the surrender of self sufficiency he may receive back thousand fold in fullness of life. This interdependence is both extensive as well as intensive.
- Lastly, cooperation is also essential to constitute society. Without cooperation no society can exist. Unless people cooperate with each other, they cannot live a happy life. All social institutions rest on cooperation. The members in social institutions cooperate with one another to live happily and joyfully. Cooperation avoids mutual destructiveness and results in economy. Without of cooperation the entire fabric of society may collapse.
Thus likeness, interdependence and cooperation are the essential elements to constitute society. Besides these elements, McIver has also mentioned some other elements of society; it is a system of usages and procedures, authority and mutual aid, of many groupings and divisions; it controls human behaviour and liberties.
This view brings in several other elements of society
Firstly, in every society there are some usages concerned with marriage, education, religion, food, and speech etc., which differ from society to society its a concept of society
- Secondly, there are procedures i.e., the modes of action in every society which maintain its unity and organisation.
- Thirdly, the presence of an authority is necessary to maintain order in society.
- Fourthly, no society can be stable unless there is a feeling of mutual aid among its members.
- Fifthly, in a society there are several groupings and divisions such as family, city and village etc.
- sixthly, liberty and control go together in a society. Without liberty man cannot develop his personality. Control upon an individual’s behaviour is not meant to destroy his liberty but to promote and protect it.