Theories of Society

Society has been "explained" by different paradigms based in part on underlying ideas about how human beings interact with one another, what they seek in the social setting, and what they have to give up in order to be in a social setting. Three such theories of society can be found with reference to the basis of society: a society based on order and love as exemplified by Plato; a society based on social contract and rights as seen in the writings of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau; and a society based on conflict and economics as seen in Marx.

Plato expresses his views on society at greatest length in The Republic in which Socrates speaks of the relationship between the individual human soul and the society of which the individual is a part. The dialogue in this instance is designed to make a moral statement about the nature of the state and its relationship to the individual. Socrates says at the outset:

. . .we are bound to admit that the elements and traits that belong to a state must also exist in the individuals that compose it. There is nowhere else for them to come from (Lee, 1987, 209).

Socrates has already noted that the state has three natural constituents, wisdom, courage, and self-discipline, and he wants to show that these same three forces are to be found in the human soul:

. . . we shall expect to find that the individual has the same three elements in his personality and to be justified in using the same language of him because he is affected by the s

Related Essays

THEORIES OF EMILE DURKHEIM .... The authors of the scholarly treatise, Theories of Society: Foundations of Modern Sociological Theory, also agree that Durkheim was influenced by the works of .... (2731 11 )

Social Theories and AIDS .... Marx and Max Weber, to manipulate the evidence of history and society in such a way as to make initial theories "fit" into preconceived notions of society. .... (2190 9 )

Current Relevance of Areas of Marx's Theories .... However, Marx's theories, especially regarding the class characteristics of society, were very broad and thus neglected some very important variations within .... (2007 8 )

Sociological Theories .... writings of Max Weber, to manipulate the evidence of history in such a way as to make initial theories "fit" into a preconceived notion of society (Mills, 1959 .... (2896 12 )

Theories of Career Development .... the individual's career is a principal method of defining his or her place in society and in life--there are certain features of these theories that expose .... (2187 9 )

ate of grace and instead sees men as seeking their own advantage over others through coercion and force. For Rousseau, self-preservation is the first and the most important function of the human being, a function he calls the first law of human nature. Locke saw the social contract as having as its paramount purpose the protection of property, property which individuals made valuable through their effort: God gave the World to Men in common; but since he gave it to them for their benefit, and the greatest Conveniences of Life they were capable to draw from it, it cannot be supposed he meant it should always remain common and uncultivated (Laslett, 1988, 291) Rousseau adds the idea of the general will: the general will alone can direct the forces of the state in accordance with the purpose for which it was created, namely, the common good. For if the opposition of private interests made the establishment of societies necessary, it is the agreement of those same interests that made it possible (Rousseau, 1986, 25). Marx explained society in terms of economics, and he presented ideas about history as a struggle between economic forces, a struggle that was evolutionary in that it implied development over time. Marx explained the

Category: Philosophy - T