Society in a broad sense as the most important philosophical and political category

It is both easy and difficult to talk about society at the same time. On the one hand, every person is familiar with this concept practically since childhood, on the other - to understand for himself what this complex system is, how it functions and what tasks it solves, is very difficult. To begin with, it should be remembered that scientists share the concepts of society in a broad sense and in a narrow sense.

With the second definition, the situation is quite simple. In this case, society is understood as a dynamically developing system, the main elements of which are people, social groups and social institutions that connect them . It is with this notion that sociologists mainly work.

Society in a broad sense is a category, first of all, a philosophical one. To her people began to address even in ancient times, when philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle declared for the first time that it is the ability to self-organize into society that is the most important sign of the difference between a person and an animal.

However, in a broader sense, a truly politico-philosophical problem occurred in the Enlightenment. It was during this period that it began to be viewed as a definite intermediary mechanism between an individual and the state, as the most important social institution that directs the overall development of each individual. Moreover, it was in France of the 18th century that the idea was first voiced that society in a broad sense is all humanity as a whole, which is a special part of the material world.

A significant contribution to the study of this problem was made by domestic scientists. First of all, it concerns such philosophers as N. Berdyaev, V. Soloviev, S. Frank. In their works, they focused on the spiritual essence of man, his constantly emerging desire to find himself in this world and self-improvement.

Each philosophical direction somehow raised the problem of society, sought to interpret it in line with its own concept. At the same time, the more, the more the deterministic tendency began to slip: some scientists placed the economic essence of this mechanism at the forefront, others - the spiritual one. At the present time, society in a broad sense is seen as, on the one hand, the driving force behind the development of human civilization, and on the other, as the inevitable result of this process. With this approach, the dynamic character of this system is involuntarily emphasized, which does not remain unchanged, but develops together with the development of man.

Considering society in a broad sense, scientists recognize that its direct impact on each individual is much less noticeable than, for example, in the case of a social group, and the connections inside it are much less strong. At the same time, it is at the level of the whole of mankind that those necessary spiritual and material components that allow themselves to realize themselves to each particular person, allow them to feel themselves that part of the surrounding world that this world can noticeably change and use in their own interests.