The origin of society
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- The chapter will facilitate an understanding of the origin of society.
- To inculcate and develop a critical understanding of the theories which explain the origin of society.
Content Outline
- Introduction to the origin of society
- Theory of divine Origin
- Force theory
- Patriarchal and Matriarchal Theories
- Theory of Social Contract
- Organic Theory of Society
- Modern Theory about
Origin of Society
Understanding society is a very complex phenomenon. As many explained that society is the collection of groups of individuals characterized by common interest with a distinctive culture. Since society is the basis of social system, a very pertinent question that arises is as to how society came into being. So far no acceptable theory has been put forth about the origin of the society. There is number of theories that have developed to understand the origin of society. There are different thoughts and theories about this, some of which may briefly be described below.
1- Theory of Divine Origin: Those who believe in the Divine origin of the society make us believe that society is the handy work of God and it was given to the human being of God. But this theory has obvious defects and both sociologically as well as historically it is difficult to believe that society is the
2- Force Theory: There are also some sociologists who believe that force brought the society into being. They opine that in society, there were few powerful and strong people who exercised their authority over others. They brought the people together and made them live together. Gradually these people began to live together and appreciate each other's problems with the result that they began to feel the necessity of living in society and thus, according to them, force brought society. But this theory does not have much historical evidence and support.
3- Patriarchal and Matriarchal Theories: Sir Henry Maine and Jenks believed the institution of the
4- Theory of Social Contract: Three famous social contract philosophers namely Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau make us believe that like state, society is also the result of a contract. According to Hobbes, early man was nasty and brutish and did not know about society. It was to end this uncertain life and to pass-happy days that the people decided to live in society and thus the society originated. According to him, the society was the result of a social contract. Then came Locke, who too believe that in the society he was leading a peaceful life. There were also certain social laws which the people had made for themselves and which they were willing to obey as well. But the people had no recognized system of justice with the result that they entered into an agreement to sacrifice their liberty and became members of regular society. It was with this agreement that society originated. Rousseau, another political thinker said that the need and necessity of society was
5- Organic Theory of Society: This theory was expounded by Herbert
But this theory too has not found much
6- Group Mind Theory: This theory is opposed to the
Bosanquet was another philosopher who contributed to this idea and said that society was a
But the theory of Group Mind has been severely criticized. It is said the theory of Group Mind cannot be a reality because no such thing can exist in actual life. It is merely a hypothetical rather than a real conception. It is also said that Group Mind Theory subordinates individual to that of the society which again is not correct because individuals and society are separated from each other. They must work in close
7- Modern Theory about
Study Reference
- Berger, P. L. 1966. Invitation to Sociology. Great Britain: Penguin Books.
- Bilton, T. et al. 2002. Introductory Sociology. New York: Palgrave.
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