Lesson 7:
The Human Person in Society
Society
an organized group of people whose
members interact frequently and have a
common territory and culture
✢ a companionship or friendly association
with others, an alliance, a community, or
a union
✢
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SocialContract
Theory
Thomas Hobbes
✢
Social contract - an
agreement whereindividuals
sacrifice an amount of their
freedom and submit to a
higher authority
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John Locke
✢
Lockeconsidered persons in
their natural state as more
cooperative and reasonable,
and that society is formed
through the consent
individuals that organized
it, consent of thegoverned
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Jean Jacques Rousseau
✢
General will –even if the
peopleare the ones who
organized the society,in
extreme cases, the
government is able to
impose its will on the
people
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JohnRawls
✢
Originalposition
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David Gauthier
✢
Described people’s selfinterestasan important
factor in building and
maintaining societies
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When more than one person desires and works
to achieve the same good then it can be said that
the common good exists among them
Refers to social conditions which enable
persons and groups to fulfill their goalsand
achievewell-being.
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Different Formsof
Societies
Hunting and Gathering Society
✢
✢
✢
✢
Earliest &simplest form of society
Small sized and composed mainly of families
Are nomadic
Members are treated equally and decisions are
usually arrived through a consensus, becauseof
this, roles of its members and division of labor
is not very clearly defined
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Pastoral Society
✢
✢
✢
Domestication of animals for a more stable
food supply
Have larger populations than hunting and
gathering societies and remain longerin one
place
Often produce surplus food and resources,
which they trade with other societies
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Horticultural Society
✢
✢
✢
Primarily engagesin the small-scale cultivation
of plants, fruits, and vegetables and the
domestication ofanimals
Semi-nomadic
Roles and responsibilities are more clearly
defined with many tasks assignedaccording to
gender
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Agrarian / AgriculturalSociety
✢
✢
✢
✢
Afurther evolution of the pastoral and
horticultural societies
Involveslarge-scaleand long-term cultivation
of crops and domestication of animals
Improved technology and the use of tools to aid
in farming
Givingrise to a growingpopulation in
agricultural societies
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Feudal Society
✢
✢
✢
Basedon the ownership of land
Rulers grant their followers or vassalsthe right
to manage parcelsof land
Members of societyare organized basedon
status
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Industrial Society
✢
✢
Useof specialized machinery in the production
of goods and services
Resulted in the Industrial Revolution, which in
turn gave in rise to new production and
industrial methods, as well as innovations in
transportation andcommunication
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Post-Industrial Society
✢
✢
✢
Marked by the establishment of societies based
on knowledge, information , and the sale of
services
Members have higher education, better training
and specializedroles
Virtual Society, where people organized
themselves through communication technology
and the Internet, is a product of a post-industrial
society
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How does society influence
our development aspersons?
Theperson and the societyhave
a very dynamic relationship in
whichone cannot exist without
the other.
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How does society influence our
development aspersons?
✢
Societyinfluences our development as persons
in variousways:
•
•
•
Norms–set of traits that society considers
acceptable
Laws–more formal norms that establish and
define acceptable behavior of citizens
Folkways–lessformal norms that arise form
tradition and do not result in punishment
when violated
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How does society influence our
development aspersons?
✢
Norms, laws, and other rules that regulate
human interactions giverise to a social system,
which is an organized or patterned set of
relationships among individuals and groups
that compose a society
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Social System
•
•
•
Socialrole–actions and behaviors expected of a
certain individual
Social groups/social classes –individuals who
perform similar roles are grouped together
Socialinstitutions –certain groups that perform
vital functions in society
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Society alsotransforms human
relations, which leads to the
transformation of its members.
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How does society influence our
development aspersons?
✢
Societyinfluences our development aspersons
in variousways:
•
Socialvalues–actions or ideals that are
considered important bysociety
-cooperation, obedience to the
law, concern and respect for others are
considered vital to maintaining an orderly
society
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Howdoes society enable me to
become a better person?
How does society enable meto become
a better person?
✢
Society recognizes the capability of
the person to develop, and provide
its members with opportunities to
better themselves
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How does society enable meto become
a better person?
✢
Persons can also undertake to
contribute to societythrough their
decisions andactions
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How does society enable meto become
a better person?
✢
Social movement –a large-scale action
done by various groups and
organizations in pursuit of a common
goal to bring about change
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