society, association, institution, social organization, values etc. in our study of society. These are not merely words, they are concepts. Every science has its own terms or concepts. These terms help the student to understand it more clearly. The term “ society” is the most fundamental one in Sociology. The term "society" came from the Latin word societas, which in turn was derived from the noun socius ("comrade, friend, ally"; adjectival form socialis) used to describe a bond or interaction between parties that are friendly, or at least civil. Without an article, the term can refer to the entirety of humanity (also: "society in general", "society at large", etc.), although those who are unfriendly or uncivil to the remainder of society in this sense may be deemed to be "antisocial". Adam Smith wrote that a society "may subsist among different men, as among different merchants, from a sense of its utility without any mutual love or affection, if only they refrain from doing injury to each other.“
Society, in general, addresses the fact that an
individual has rather limited means as an autonomous unit. The great apes have always been more (Bonobo, Homo, Pan) or less (Gorilla, Pongo) social animals, so Robinson Crusoe-like situations are either fictions or unusual corner cases to the ubiquity of social context for humans, who fall between presocial and eusocial in the spectrum of animal ethology. Elman Service, an integration theorist, who have produced a system of classification for societies in all human cultures based on the evolution of social inequality and the role of the state. This system of classification contains four categories: Hunter-gatherer bands (categorization of duties and responsibilities). Tribal societies in which there are some limited instances of social rank and prestige. Stratified structures led by chieftains. Civilizations, with complex social hierarchies and organized, institutional governments. Societies are social groups that differ according to subsistence strategies, the ways that humans use technology to provide needs for themselves. Although humans have established many types of societies throughout history, anthropologists tend to classify different societies according to the degree to which different groups within a society have unequal access to advantages such as resources, prestige, or power. Sociologists place societies in three broad categories: pre-industrial, industrial, and postindustrial. In a pre-industrial society, food production, which is carried out through the use of human and animal labor, is the main economic activity. These societies can be subdivided according to their level of technology and their method of producing food. These subdivisions are hunting and gathering, pastoral, horticultural, agricultural, and feudal. The main form of food production in such societies is the daily collection of wild plants and the hunting of wild animals. Hunter- gatherers move around constantly in search of food. As a result, they do not build permanent villages or create a wide variety of artifacts, and usually only form small groups such as bands and tribes. However, some hunting and gathering societies in areas with abundant resources (such as the Tlingit) lived in larger groups and formed complex hierarchical social structures such as chiefdoms. The need for mobility also limits the size of these societies. Pastoralism is a slightly more efficient form of subsistence. Rather than searching for food on a daily basis, members of a pastoral society rely on domesticated herd animals to meet their food needs. Pastoralists live a nomadic life, moving their herds from one pasture to another. Because their food supply is far more reliable, pastoral societies can support larger populations. Since there are food surpluses, fewer people are needed to produce food. As a result, the division of labor (the specialization by individuals or groups in the performance of specific economic activities) becomes more complex. Fruits and vegetables grown in garden plots that have been cleared from the jungle or forest provide the main source of food in a horticultural society. These societies have a level of technology and complexity similar to pastoral societies. Some horticultural groups use the slash-and-burn method to raise crops. The wild vegetation is cut and burned, and ashes are used as fertilizers. Horticulturists use human labor and simple tools to cultivate the land for one or more seasons. When the land becomes barren, horticulturists clear a new plot and leave the old plot to revert to its natural state. Agrarian societies use agricultural technological advances to cultivate crops over a large area. Sociologists use the phrase Agricultural Revolution to refer to the technological changes that occurred as long as 8,500 years ago that led to cultivating crops and raising farm animals. Increases in food supplies then led to larger populations than in earlier communities. This meant a greater surplus, which resulted in towns that became centers of trade supporting various rulers, educators, craftspeople, merchants, and religious leaders who did not have to worry about locating nourishment. Society consists of people
Mutual Interaction and Mutual Awareness
Society depends on Likeness
Society rests on Differences
Co-operation and Division of Labor
Society Implies Interdependence also
Society is Dynamic
Social Control
Culture
Gregarious Instinct DEFINITION :
Not only is the concept of a community a "construct"
(model), it is a "sociological construct." It is a set of interactions, human behaviour that have meaning and expectations between its members. Not just action, but actions based on shared expectations, values, beliefs and meanings between individuals. To understand how a community operates, and how it changes, it is necessary to learn a little bit about sociology the science. The mobilizer is an applied scientist; social scientist. While a pure scientist is interested in how things work, the applied scientist is interested in taking that knowledge and getting useful results. (i) LOCALITY :
A community is a territorial group. It
always occupies some geographic area. Locality is the physical basis of community. Even the wandering tribe or a nomad community, for example, has a locality , though changing habitation. Locality alone can’t make a group, a community. Sometimes, people residing in the same area may not have any contacts and communications. For example, people living in different extensions of a city may lack sufficient social contacts. STABILITY :
A community has not only community
and locality sentiment, but also has stability. It is not a temporary group like a crowd or a mob. It is relatively stable. It includes a permanent group life in a definite place. NATURALNESS :
Communities normally become
established in a natural way. They are not deliberately created. They are not made or created by an act of will or by planned efforts. Individuals become its members by birth itself. SIZE OF THE COMMUNITY : Community involves the idea of size. A community may be big or small. A small community may be included in a wider community. A city and a village may be included in a wider community called the district. REGULATION OF RELATIONS : Every community develops in course of time, a system of traditions, customs, morals, practices, a bundle of rules and regulations to regulate the relations of its members. The sense of what they have in common memories and traditions , customs and institutions shapes and defines the general need of man to live together. DEFINITION :
An association is “an organization
deliberately formed for the collective pursuit of some interest , or a set of interests which its members share.” --- R. M. MacIver Association – a Human Group Common interest or interests Co-operative spirit Organization Regulation of Relations Association as Agencies Durability of Associations DEFINITION :
According to Ginsberg, institutions “ may
be described as recognized and established usages governing the relations between individuals and groups.” Social in Nature Universality Institutions are standardized norms Institutions as means of satisfying needs Institutions are the controlling mechanisms Relatively permanent Abstract in nature Oral and written traditions Institutions Cater to the satisfaction of needs Institutions control human behavior Institutions simply actions for the individual Assign roles and statuses Unity and Uniformity Manifest functions of institutions Negative functions