por What is social thought?
He social thought It is a type of reflection that analyzes different elements of the society in which a person lives. Through it, people ask questions about why things are the way they are, and seek ways to improve them.
On the other hand, it also implies all those thoughts that a person has due to the fact of belonging to a specific society. Thus, social thought is studied by several different disciplines; among them are social psychology, sociology, history and philosophy.
According to some sociologists, social thought arises due to the need of the upper classes to justify their dominance over the lower ones. It was recorded for the first time in Ancient Greece, in works such as those of Plato or Aristotle; in them, these philosophers sought to design an ideal society or reflect on that of their time.
In this article we will examine some of the most predominant ideas of social thought, as well as their evolution throughout history.
Origin of social thought
early thinkers
Social thought as such had its origin in the works of some of the first great Western philosophers. One of those who dedicated the most effort to studying how society worked and how to improve it was Plato (427-347 BC), with writings such as the Republic.
In this work, the philosopher analyzed the different sectors that made up the society in which he lived. Later, he tried to design a system in which all of them were seamlessly integrated; Thus, he wanted to achieve maximum efficiency for his country, through a rational analysis.
Later, Plato’s most important disciple, Aristotle (384-322 BC), decided to resume his teacher’s work on the structure of society. However, instead of trying to design a perfect system, he was only concerned with researching more about the one that existed at the time.
Thus was born his Policy. In this work, Aristotle analyzed Greek society taking as a point of analysis the different existing classes and the interaction between them. In this way, he tried to understand why things were a certain way, in addition to justifying, To some extent, the established order.
Middle Ages and Modern Age
In the centuries following the fall of the Roman Empire, the focus of scholars of social thought went through a series of distinct stages. The first had to do with the attempt to justify estate and feudal societies from a religious perspective.
In this way, thinkers such as Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) or Augustine of Hippo (354-430) tried to elucidate what type of society God wanted to exist; and in their theoretical works they tried to develop a system by which this ideal could be achieved.
Centuries later, already in the Enlightenment, philosophers and thinkers began to worry about other issues. One of the most central to the ideas of this time was that of the social contract: the reason why the first societies arose and the way in which they did so.
At this time authors such as Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) or John Locke (1632-1704) stand out. These three philosophers differed completely in their ideas about the original nature of the human being, about the raison d’être of modern societies and about whether it was necessary to maintain them or not.
Finally, at the end of the Modern Age, several currents arose that studied all the failures of societies and tried to justify that it was necessary to destroy them or leave them behind. Among them, the most famous were undoubtedly Karl Marx (1818-1883) and Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900).
The ideas of both greatly influenced several of the great tragedies of the 20th century, such as the Russian Revolution or World War II. However, they laid the foundations for critical thinking about society and subsequent attempts to improve or transcend it.
What is social thought?
Social thought has dealt throughout history with several central themes. Even today they remain pretty much the same. Next we will see which are the most important.
ideal society
One of the main concerns of scholars in this discipline is what the ideal model of a society would be, and how we can achieve it. Depending on the beliefs, views and political ideas of each one, there are many opinions in this regard.
Thus, some thinkers believe that the best thing would be to live in a society in which all humans were totally free. Others, on the contrary, believe that strict control by some type of institutional authority is necessary to guarantee the well-being of the population.
Appearance of companies
Another issue that worries social thinkers is why the first organized societies arose. Again, there are many opposing views on this point.
On the one hand, philosophers like Augustine of Hippo saw societies as an extension of God’s will. Others, like John Locke, were more pragmatic and thought that it was a way to secure private property.
Marx, for his part, believed that societies arose so that a few could control the means of production.
Other contemporary scholars, such as the Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari, have observed that the appearance of cities, and consequently, of societies, was due to the confluence of several factors: the invention of agriculture, the creation of founding myths that became religions and writing.
And in the fact that the Homo sapiensUnlike the other hominids, and according to Harari, he is the only one capable of believing in fictitious entities, such as the concept of nation, religion, money or rights.
Influence of society on people
Mainly, starting with postmodernism, social thinkers have begun to worry about how the society in which we live influences our way of thinking. This is the work of disciplines such as social psychology and sociology.
Examples of Social Thought
Below we will see contrasting examples of analysis of society by two of the most famous authors of social thought: Rousseau and Hobbes.
Rousseau thought that, in their natural state, humans are good and innocent. At first we lived happily in nature.
However, the advent of private property made us mistrust each other and we saw the need to create a government to defend our possessions. Therefore, Rousseau saw modern societies as a mistake.
Hobbes, for his part, believed that humans are evil by nature. According to his theory, before societies we were all at constant war with each other.
Thus, society emerged as a way to control and protect us. In this way, he believed that it was something necessary to be able to enjoy a certain well-being.
Another example of social thought can be the reflections on the problem of the displaced and refugees, both due to wars and disastrous economic situations, and why people decide, or are forced, to leave everything behind and settle in an unknown society and often hostile.
References
“Social Thought Processes. Perspectives. systemic. Critic” in: Pure Tasks. Retrieved on: July 06, 2018 from Puras Tareas: purastareas.com.
«Sociology» in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: July 06, 2018 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.
«Social thought through history and an approach to the definition of sociology» in: Monographs. Retrieved on: July 06, 2018 from Monographs: monografias.com.
«Social Philosophy» in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: July 06, 2018 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.
«Thought» in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: July 06, 2018 from Wikipedia: es.wikipedia.org.