The sociological concept of Herbert Spencer. Social doctrine of G. Spencer. Spencer's Organic Control Theory

G. Spencer shared Comte's point of view, according to which sociology, adjacent to biology, forms with it the physics of organized bodies and considers society as a kind of organism. But Spencer places psychology between biology and sociology, but this did not have a noticeable effect on his idea of ​​society. Spencer did not agree with Comte's idea that the entire social mechanism rests on opinions and that ideas rule the world, bring upheavals in the world. Spencer believed that “the world is governed and changed by means of feeling, for which ideas serve only as guides. The social organism rests, after all, not on opinions, but almost entirely on characters.

So, Spencer explains the "social mechanism" through psychology, although this is not connected with his analogy of society with a biological organism. An attempt to explain the phenomena occurring in public life, drawing biological analogies with the living world is largely associated with Darwin's theory. Appearing in the middle of the 19th century, it had a strong influence on sociology, giving rise to various biologizing sociological concepts, including social Darwinist ones. These concepts consisted in creating a universal model of the evolutionary process by transferring to society and bringing to its logical conclusion the principles of natural selection and the struggle for existence.

Especially valuable for understanding the origin of many social institutions, the study of society was the use of evolutionary theory. The evolutionary approach to society is important because each event is studied in its development. The revolution brought about in biology by Darwin's evolutionary theory and adopted by many sociologists has greatly strengthened the historical-comparative way of studying cultural and social forms of life.

Spencer's first sociological work, "Social Statics", was published in 1850. Then, in the 60-90s, the following were written: "Basic Principles", "Foundations of Psychology", "Fundamentals of Biology", "Fundamentals of Sociology", "Fundamentals of Ethics", The Foundations of Sociology was preceded by an independent book, Sociology as a Subject of Study. At this time, Spencer, creating a system of synthetic philosophy, tried to bring together all the theoretical sciences of that time.

Spencer did not formally define sociology and its relationship to other social sciences. In general, he saw in sociology the science of "supraorganic" development, which simultaneously describes this process and formulates its laws. Moreover, he absolutely does not doubt the need for sociology as an independent science - a science free from various, including class, prejudices.

Spencer, like Comte, derived his sociological principles from philosophical principles, excluding the impossible, using deduction. Despite the fact that Spencer was extremely critical of Comte, he still believed that the French philosopher in understanding social phenomena was far superior to all previous approaches and called his philosophy “an idea full of greatness.

Home hallmark social structures, according to Spencer, is the help of people in achieving a common goal, voluntary or forced. It divides society into two types: "military", where help is forced to achieve a common goal, and "industrial", where this happens voluntarily.

Spencer paid much attention to the refinement and development of the conceptual apparatus of sociology. So he analyzes the principles of society, social growth, social structure, social functions. various systems and organs of public life. We can say that he laid the foundation for the formation of the conceptual system of sociology, as well as the structural-functional method. To a large extent, this was facilitated by the analogy of human society with a biological organism, which he carried out. Naturally, he made a distinction between the biological organism and the processes of social life. Spencer saw the main significance of the difference in the fact that in a living organism individuals exist for the sake of the whole, while in society it is vice versa. Therefore, he wrote: "Society exists for the good of its members, and non-members exist for the good of society."

On the basis of a huge ethnographic material, the English philosopher gradually considers the evolution family relations: primitive sexual relations, family forms, attitude towards women and children; the evolution of ritual institutions and customs, political institutions: the state, representative institutions, courts, etc. Spencer paid special attention to religious institutions, industry and its structure. Thus, Spencer's sociology acts as a comprehensive science, including a general theory of historical development (evolution).

His work "Foundations of Sociology" (1877) was one of the first in terms of building a coherent sociological system on ethnographic material. He tries to speculatively transform the physical, intellectual and especially religious life of primitive man, to establish the source of his basic ideas and ideas.

Basically, the first part of his "Foundations of Sociology" is devoted mainly to the study of primitive man, and for the most part to the analysis of his spiritual side, including feelings and beliefs, to which he attached great sociological importance in determining the nature of social life. That is, the book is practically about the description primitive culture humanity, a primitive outlook, where, as in other parts of his work, he used only the comparative historical method, and which had nothing to do with the question of whether society is an organism, or something different from it.

Parallels with the living world are used by Spencer when he considers political institutions, which, in fact, are for him a true social organism.

A study of Spencer's "Foundations of Sociology" shows that he periodically connects, in an exclusively external way, beliefs inspired by organic analogy with the results of comparative study, ethnographic and historical data, which are considered from an evolutionary point of view. This gives grounds for stating that, in reality, Spencer's sociology, its essence and meaning, are characterized not so much by organic analogy as by the application of the comparative method to the study of social phenomena. It is he who is Spencer's initial basis for the development of his sociological concept.

Gryaznov V.S. Spencer's Evolutionism and Problems of the Development of Science// Positivism and Science. Critical essay. M., 1975

Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) - English philosopher and sociologist, founder of organicist direction in sociology, which considered society by analogy with a living, biological organism. The position of society as an organism and the idea of ​​social evolution represent the two main principles of Spencerian sociology. Society, like a biological organism, grows in the process of its development, increases in volume (for example, the transformation of small states into empires). Like the evolution of organisms, the evolution of societies goes from simple forms to more complex ones (from a horde to a tribe, from a tribe to an alliance of tribes, nations). The process of development begins with a simple quantitative growth and diversity of the units that make up the social system, which begin to perform specialized functions. G. Spencer defines functions as dissimilar actions of dissimilar parts of a particular organism.

As society grows, its structure becomes more complex in the same way that the structure of an organism becomes more complex in the process of biological evolution. Essence of evolution he saw in the transition from homogeneity(homogeneity) to heterogeneity(heterogeneity) due to the continuous interaction of two processes: differentiation(the growing variety of structures within any systems) and integration(combining divergent parts into new wholes). By analogy with a living organism, society has three organ systems. Supply system(economic sectors) ensures the production of the necessary products, distribution(ways of communication) - the connection of various parts of the social organism on the basis of the division of labor, and regulatory- subordination of constituent parts to the whole (state, church). The specific parts, "organs" of society are social institutions. G. Spencer highlights six types of social institutions: kinship, education, political, ecclesiastical, professional and industrial. During the industrial revolution, societies became more complex as a result of a deepening division of labor and the development of specialized institutions such as factories, banks, stock exchanges, and so on. The increasing complexity of the structure of society necessarily requires new forms of coordination and organization.

The two poles of the evolution of society Mr. Spencer recognized military and industrial types of social organization. Moreover, evolution goes in the direction from the first to the second. At military type of society, joint actions of people, their cooperation is carried out forcibly, the will of a citizen in all types of activity, both public and private, is guided by the will of the government. IN industrial In society, social organization becomes more flexible, political freedom appears, power is seen as an expression of the will of individuals, and the cooperation of individuals becomes voluntary. Military and industrial societies also differ in the types of struggle for existence. The military type of society is characterized by military conflicts, extermination or enslavement of the defeated by the winner. With an industrial type of society, industrial competition prevails, where the “strongest” wins in terms of abilities, talents, that is, in the field of intellectual and moral qualities. This kind of struggle is good for the whole society, and not just for the winner, because as a result, the intellectual and moral level of society as a whole, the amount of social wealth, grows.

Mr. Spencer was a convinced individualist and liberal and believed that the dissolution of the individual in the social organism is unacceptable. Drawing numerous analogies between society and a living organism, the scientist also pointed out significant differences between them. Thus, society is characterized by a lesser dependence of a part (individual) on society. In an organism, a part exists for the sake of the whole, but in society, on the contrary, it exists for the benefit of its individuals. He believed that a social organization is the higher in its level, the more successfully it serves the well-being of people. The condition for successful social development G. Spencer considered the principles of "equal freedom" of individuals, limited only by the freedom of other individuals; equal influence of all individuals and social strata on political decision-making; free competition.

Mr. Spencer viewed evolution as a contradictory, but mostly gradual process that does not allow conscious outside interference. Social revolutions were considered by him as a disease of society, and socialist reorganization - as contrary to the organic unity of the social system and evolutionary progress, based on the survival of the most adapted and gifted.

G. Spencer was one of the first to introduce into scientific circulation such concepts as "social system", "social institution", "social differentiation and integration", which are widely used in sociology and still retain their significance. Highlighting the study of the structure of society and its functions structural elements, he thereby anticipated many provisions of the structural-functional trend in sociology, which later received scientific development in the works of E. Durkheim, T. Parsons and others.

English philosopher and positivist sociologist Herbert Spencer(1820-1903) is the founder organic school in sociology. Spencer's main sociological work is the three-volume work Foundations of Sociology, which gives a holistic view of the methodological principles of the scientist and his views on society.

The essence of Spencer's organic theory is to understand society as a social organism, similar to a biological one and developing according to the same laws. Consistently drawing an analogy between social and biological organisms. Spencer highlights the following common features:

• all organisms grow, increasing in volume;
• they have their own internal structure;
• this structure becomes more complex as it grows;
• the complication of the structure is accompanied by an increase in the differentiation of the functions of its constituent parts;
• this leads to the development of interaction between the individual parts.

In support of these provisions, Spencer cited a number of specific analogies: the role of the brain in society is played by the government, blood circulation - trade, the vascular system - transport, nutrition - industry and agriculture, etc. At the same time, Spencer also noted the difference between society and biological organisms: 1) in it, the individual is less dependent on the social whole; 2) in biological organisms, elements exist for the sake of the whole, and a society consisting of separate individuals serves the good of its members.

Spencer's theory of general evolution is closely connected with the organic theory of society, which was formed largely under the influence of Charles Darwin's ideas. Spencer considered evolution as the highest law of everything that exists, as the source of any natural and social phenomenon. Its main points are the transitions from simple to complex (integration), from homogeneous to heterogeneous (differentiation), from indefinite to definite (increase in order).

Social evolution, according to Spencer, is part of the "general process of evolution." Society develops from the simplest forms to more complex ones according to natural laws, which are of an objective nature.

In the course of social evolution, there is an improvement in the institutions of society, the complication of their functions. Spencer saw the main direction of social evolution in the growing internal differentiation of society (complication of political organization, social stratification, the emergence of new institutions, etc.). Any highly organized society consists of three main systems: "productive", "distributive" and "regulatory". Each of these systems includes social institutions, by which Spencer meant "sustainable structures of social action." For example, within the framework of the "regulatory system" he singled out the institutions of social control, where he included the state, the church, the family, rituals and traditions ("ceremonial institutions"). The entire system of social control, according to Spencer, rests on fear: "fear of the living" is supported by the state, and "fear of the dead" is supported by the church.

The degree of strictness of social control and centralization of management Spencer considered one of the main criteria for classifying societies. Thus, he distinguished between "military" and "industrial" types of society. The first is characterized by strong centralized control and a hierarchical order of power. All life here is subject to discipline, and the cooperation of people in achieving common goals is coercive. In societies of the "industrial" type, the control system becomes more flexible, coercive cooperation gives way to voluntary cooperation, and power is seen as an expression of the general will of free citizens.

The "military" type of society reflects, according to Spencer, a lower level community development compared to the "industrial" type of society. He considered the transition from the first to the second as social progress. Over time, Spencer's concept of "unilinear" progress, i.e. continuous progressive movement of society, is modified into a theory of complicated "multi-linear" evolution, suggesting in some cases even the possibility of social degradation.

Spencer highly appreciated competition as a mechanism for improving society, attributing to it the role of "natural selection". By rewarding the most skillful and diligent workers, competition contributes not only to raising the intellectual and moral level of society, but also to increasing the amount of social wealth. Spencer believed that it was necessary to get rid of unadapted members of society and the state should not interfere in this process.

Spencer, like Comte, was opposed to revolutionary change, believing that any interference in the natural course of society's development could lead to unpredictable consequences. He also did not share socialist ideals, believing that their implementation would lead to the suppression of the individual, the imposition of equalization ("encouraging the worst at the expense of the best"), the growth of the bureaucracy in charge of the distribution and redistribution of public goods.

Spencer paid much attention to the development of the conceptual apparatus of sociology. He was the first to widely use such sociological categories as "social system", "social institution", " social function"and others. He also has priority in substantiating the relationship between changes in the social structure and differentiation of the functions of its constituent elements, the need to coordinate this process within the framework of a special regulatory system.

Bringing to the fore the study of the structure of society and the functions of its elements, G. Spencer laid the foundations of the structural-functional method, which later became widespread in sociology. This is precisely what determines, first of all, his merit in the development of sociological thought.

English sociologist Herbert Spencer is considered the founder of two areas of sociology: organicism and evolutionism. One of the central ideas of his theory was the general theory of evolution, which was interpreted as a transition from incoherence to coherence, from uncertainty to certainty, from homogeneity to heterogeneity; it is a universal process, covering all forms of being, including society, which was thought to be its highest manifestation. As development progresses, the structure of society becomes more complex, its constituent parts become more and more dissimilar to each other, and, consequently, more and more interdependent. The unsuccessful actions of one part of society can no longer be compensated for by the actions of another, which means that complex societies are more vulnerable and fragile. This vulnerability requires the creation of some kind of regulatory system that would control the actions constituent parts and their regulation. According to the nature of this system, Spencer divided societies into two types: "militant", regulated by strict coercion, and "industrial", where control and centralization are weaker. Coordination of actions in society, according to Spencer, is similar to coordination in a living organism.

As for the individual and his position in society, Spencer considered him in two ways. Although the individual is a part of the whole, it is not an ordinary part, but one that is characterized by many features of the whole and has relative freedom within the social organism. Society differs from an organism in that in it the whole (ie, society) exists for the sake of parts (ie, individuals).

Spencer's first sociological work, Social Statics, was published in 1850. In the 1860s and 1990s, Spencer, creating a system of synthetic philosophy, tried to combine all the theoretical sciences of that time. During these years, the following were written: “Basic Principles”, “Foundations of Psychology”, “Foundations of Biology”, “Foundations of Sociology”, “Foundations of Ethics”, “Foundations of Sociology” were preceded by an independent book “Sociology as a Subject of Study”.

Spencer, like Comte, derived his sociological views by deduction from philosophical principles. Although Spencer was very critical of Comte, he still believed that the French thinker in understanding social phenomena was significantly superior to all previous approaches and called his philosophy “an idea full of greatness.

Spencer believed that the same mechanisms of natural selection operate in society as in nature. Therefore, any outside interference like charity, state control, social assistance interferes with the normal course of natural selection, which means that this should not be done.

Spencer's sociological theory is considered the forerunner of structural functionalism. Spencer was the first to apply in sociology the concepts of structure and function, system, institution. In his works, he devoted a large place to the problem of the objectivity of sociological knowledge.

Conclusion: Thus, Spencer stands for a psychological explanation of the "social mechanism", although this is not associated with his analogy of society with a biological organism.

Let us single out the following general features of G. Spencer's sociology:

1. this is an extensive introduction of the historical-comparative method in the study and substantiation of one's own sociological views;

2. the interpretation of society as an organism, under which he tried to bring certain logical foundations;

3. the idea of ​​the natural evolution of public life. According to this idea, the process of social changes takes place according to natural laws, regardless of the desires of people.

The most prominent representative of the naturalistic orientation in sociology was Herbert Spencer (1820-1903), whose doctrine was called "social Darwinism".
Evolution is a universal process that equally explains all changes in both the natural universality and the most particular social and personal phenomena. Spencer is a supporter of the so-called organismic approach to social facts and considers society by analogy with a single biological organism. He equates society with an organism. In such an organism as society, Spencer discovers subsystems that stand out, which in turn are further subdivided: internal system performs the task of preserving the body by adapting to the conditions of "food"; the external system performs the functions of regulation and control between subsystems and in relation to the environment surrounding the system; the intermediate system is responsible for distribution, transportation and communication. Spencer believed that the evolution of any organism:
1) is closely related to its adaptation to the environment, i.e. in the case of society, to nature;
2) involves, first of all, the differentiation of its organs and functions, and, consequently, its constant complication.
The change in society, its gradual differentiation is a manifestation of social dynamics, and dynamics is understood broadly, as it includes not only a state of imbalance and development, but also a state of relative stability, when development processes slow down. The natural structure of society for Spencer is one in which church, political, professional, family, industrial institutions of society stand out.
The concept of "evolution" in Spencer's sociological theory plays an important role in explaining not only changes in society as a whole, but also individual, particular, personal phenomena.
Spencer identified two types of society:
1) military, i.e. based on coercion and strict social control;
2) industrial, representing more freedom to its members due to the weakening of centralization and control.
In contrast to the military society, the industrial society is characterized by greater heterogeneity, which ensures progress. Rigid control and centralized management are unfavorable for society, as they impede its development and limit the freedom of its constituent individuals.
Despite the fact that Spencer's theory borrowed some ideas from Darwin's concept of evolution, he did not believe that the life of society is governed by the principle "survival of the fittest." This principle, the scientist believed, acted only at the primitive stages of the development of society. Industrial society is more characterized by the spirit of harmony, cooperation and altruism. Goals at this stage of social life are achieved by the power of persuasion, and not by aggression.
In the second half of the XX century. interest in Spencer's concept was revived in connection with the emergence of such areas of sociology as systems analysis and structural functionalism

9) Sociological theory of K. Marx
The Marxist understanding of the essence of man and human society arose within the framework of a holistic Marxist worldview developed by K. Marx and F. Engels. Marxism is a collection of theories relating to many areas of objective reality. These are, in particular, philosophical, sociological, economic and other teachings. All these theories are closely interconnected and represent a single whole.
K. Marx is a prominent politician, philosopher, social theorist and economist. The most famous feature of Marx's ideas is the idea of ​​the connection between the social and economic life of society. The economy (basis) includes three mandatory elements:
1) means of production (tools and materials);
2) an employee;
3) the one who appropriates the product of production. These elements are present in any economy, the differences are reduced to the ratio in which they are;
4) the worker may or may not own the means of production (ownership relations);
5) the appropriation of the product of production can be determined by the fact that the non-working class has ownership either of the means of production, or of labor, or of both at the same time (property relations).
The basis of Marx's class theory was the division of workers into those who live by their labor and those who have the right to appropriate the products of labor. Based on this distinction, he described the relations of production. Production relations reflect the existing division of labor determined by the level of development of tools. All the formations described by Marx are actually built on the opposition of two classes. But this does not mean that the structure of society is binary, often the structure of a real society includes classes that are vestiges of pre-existing forms of society.
The superstructure is the social forms that are determined by the basis. Marx attributed them to the family, the state, ideology. It is argued that Marx's entire social life is determined by economic processes. In fact, the relationship between the economy and society in Marx's theory is not so rigid. For example, he believed that social institutions such as the family and the state are not only relatively independent of the economy, but can influence it. The determination of the superstructure by the basis basically boils down to the fact that its character largely depends on the economic interests of the ruling social class.
Marx was the first to give a sociological meaning to the concept of "alienation", by which he understood the alienation of labor and its product from a person who performs his work under external compulsion. The concept of "alienation" for Marx had two sides:
1) it is a structural part of capitalist society;
2) it is the psychological state experienced by the producing class under the conditions of capitalist production.
K. Marx developed the concept of social change, according to which the engine of history is the class struggle. This means that the transformations of the economic structure alone are not capable of causing social changes: this requires the active intervention of people, more precisely, the oppressed class.

10) Sociological theory of E. Durkheim
Émile Durkheim (1858-1917) - French sociologist of the "classical period", who had a huge impact on the development of sociology as an autonomous science. Major works: "Social Division of Labor", "Method of Sociology", "Suicide", "Elementary Forms of Religious Life".
He believed that sociology could become a science only if it had its own subject and method.
The subject of sociology is social facts that constitute a special social reality, having their own qualities and laws. For him, a social fact is any social phenomenon that imposes certain restrictions on the actions of an individual and at the same time is external, objective in relation to him (not the result of his subjective motivation). Examples of a social fact are law, norm, language, religious beliefs and rites (that which exists before and beyond the individual). It is social facts that govern man.
Durkheim formulated three basic rules of sociology. The first rule is to regard social facts as things. It means that:
1) social facts are external to individuals;
2) social facts can be objects in the sense that they are strictly observable and impersonal;
3) the causalities established between social facts help to formulate the permanent laws of the functioning of society. Rule two is to systematically disassociate yourself from all innate ideas. It means that:
1) sociology must break all its ties with any ideologies and personal predilections;
2) it must also free itself from any prejudices that individuals have in relation to social facts. The third rule consists in recognizing the primacy (primacy) of the whole over its constituent parts. This means recognizing that:
1) the source of social facts is in society, but not in the thinking and behavior of individuals;
2) society is an autonomous system that is governed by its own laws, not reducible to the consciousness or action of the individual.
Thus, in Durkheim's theory, the role of the individual in social reality decreases, and strong pressure is exerted on him from the moment of birth. Durkheim identified two types of social pressure:
1) coercion coming from the outside (from the people around the individual and society as a whole);
2) the pressure of norms transferred inside, which become some kind of internal engines of a person.
He called the loss of values ​​anemia. Anemia is a state when society loses its regulatory function, and a person ceases to believe in social values.
Durkheim did an in-depth study of suicide. He identified four types of suicide:
1) selfish suicide committed for personal reasons;
2) anemic suicide, caused by the fact that the individual feels the absence of norms or their unbearable contradiction;
3) altruistic suicide, which is committed by members of the group for the sake of its other members;
4) fatalistic suicide, which is the result of excessive social pressure and excessive social regulation.

11) Sociological theory of M. Weber
M. Weber (1864–1920) is a German sociologist, the founder of “understanding” sociology and the theory of social action, who applied its principles to economic history, the study of political power, religion, and law. The main idea of ​​Weber's sociology is to substantiate the possibility of the most rational behavior that manifests itself in all spheres of human relationships. This idea of ​​Weber found its further development in various Western sociological schools and led in the 70s. XX century to a kind of "Weberian renaissance".
M. Weber puts as a necessary prerequisite for sociology not society, but an individual meaningfully acting individual. According to Weber, social institutions (state, law, religion, etc.) should be studied by sociology in the form in which they become significant for individual individuals. He denied the idea that society is primary, in contrast to the individuals that make it up, and "demanded" to proceed in sociology from the actions of individuals.
In this regard, we can speak of Weber's methodological individualism.
However, Weber did not stop at extreme individualism. He considers "the orientation of the actor towards another individual or the individuals around him" as an integral moment of social action. In this "orientation towards the other" the "socially common", in particular the "state", "law", "union", etc., also receives its recognition.
Hence "recognition" - "orientation to the other" - becomes one of the central methodological principles of Weber's sociology.
Sociology, according to Weber, is "understanding", because it studies the behavior of an individual who puts a certain meaning into his actions. Human actions acquire the character of social action if there are two moments in it: the subjective motivation of the individual and the orientation towards the other (others).
According to Weber, the subject of sociology should be not so much the direct behavior of the individual as its semantic result, since the nature of the mass movement is largely determined by the semantic attitudes that guide the individuals that make up this mass.
When listing the possible types of social action, Weber identifies four: value-rational; purposeful; affective; traditional.
1. Value-rational action is subject to a conscious belief in the ethical, aesthetic, religious or any other otherwise understood, of course, own intrinsic value of a certain behavior, taken simply as such, regardless of success.
2. Purposeful rational action is characterized by a clear understanding by the agent of what he wants to achieve, which ways and means are most suitable for this. The doer calculates the possible reactions of others, how and to what extent they can be used for their own purposes.
3. Affective action is due to a purely emotional state, carried out in a state of passion.
4. Traditional action is dictated by habits, beliefs, customs. It is carried out on the basis of deeply learned social patterns of behavior.