Social progress and regress. Controversy of progress

So, society develops progressively from the lower forms of its organization to higher and more perfect ones. However, progress never appears in its pure form. On the contrary, it is always associated with certain losses, retreats, backward movement in the opposite direction. J.-J. Rousseau was the first to draw attention to the inconsistency of historical progress, which, in his opinion, has the most negative impact on the morals of people and on the life of society as a whole. The development of science and art, according to Rousseau, together with the luxury they generate, leads to the corruption of morals, to the loss of virtue, courage and, ultimately, to the death of peoples and states. He draws attention to the fact that during historical development progress in some areas is accompanied by regression in others. A blatant gap is revealed between the development of society, the successes of culture and civilization, on the one hand, Rousseau believes, and the position of the people, who support the whole society with their labor, and receive the least, on the other. Rousseau's position is contradictory. The thinker and the moralist collide in him. As a thinker, he draws forward movement in a number of important areas of life: in industry, agriculture, science, and so on. As a moralist, he experiences the poverty of the people and their lack of rights, rooting for them with all his heart. As a result - the condemnation of civilization, reaching the denial of progress in the history of mankind.

Society is a complex social organism that has different spheres (economic, social, political, spiritual), each of which has specific laws of functioning and development. Within each sphere, various processes take place, various human activity. All these processes and all activities are interconnected and at the same time may not coincide in their development. Moreover, under certain conditions, the development of certain processes and activities can become a brake on the development of other activities.

Thus, over the centuries there has been a progress in technology: from stone tools to iron tools, from hand tools to machines, complex mechanisms, automobiles, aircraft, space rockets, powerful computers and complex technologies. But the progress of technology and technology has led to the destruction of nature, creating a real threat to the existence of man as a species. The development of nuclear physics not only made it possible to use a new source of energy and create nuclear power plants, but also a powerful nuclear weapon capable of destroying all life on earth. The use of computers, on the one hand, expanded the possibilities of creative work, accelerated the solution of the most complex theoretical problems, and, on the other hand, created a real threat to the health of people engaged in long-term work at displays.

And yet, it is safe to say that society is ultimately moving along the path of progress. This is evidenced by the most general indicators of the social movement. First of all, it should be noted that from epoch to epoch there is an increase in labor productivity based on the improvement of the means of production, the development the latest technologies and improvement of labor organization. There is a constant improvement in the quality of the labor force due to the expansion of scientific knowledge and production skills acquired by a person in the process of socialization and vocational training. Along with the development of productive strength is coming growth in the volume of scientific information.

Science is becoming a productive force and is increasingly involved in the creation of material values. Science is included in the production process in several directions: 1) through technique, technology and the subject conditions of production; 2) through the development of creative abilities of production participants; 3) through the principles of organization and management of production and society as a whole.

Under the influence of the progressive development of social production, social needs and methods of satisfying them are being improved and expanded. As a result of the development of productive forces, production relations are being improved, which create the necessary and sufficient conditions for meeting the needs and interests of all sections of modern society.

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So, society develops progressively from the lower forms of its organization to higher and more perfect ones. However, progress never appears in its pure form. On the contrary, it is always associated with certain losses, retreats, backward movement in the opposite direction. J.-J. Rousseau was the first to draw attention to the inconsistency of historical progress, which, in his opinion, has the most negative impact on the morals of people and on the life of society as a whole. The development of science and art, according to Rousseau, together with the luxury they generate, leads to the corruption of morals, to the loss of virtue, courage and, ultimately, to the death of peoples and states. He draws attention to the fact that in the course of historical development progress in some areas is accompanied by regression in others. A blatant gap is revealed between the development of society, the successes of culture and civilization, on the one hand, Rousseau believes, and the position of the people, who support the whole society with their labor, and receive the least, on the other. Rousseau's position is contradictory. The thinker and the moralist collide in him. As a thinker, he draws forward movement in a number of important areas of life: in industry, agriculture, science, and so on. As a moralist, he experiences the poverty of the people and their lack of rights, rooting for them with all his heart. As a result - the condemnation of civilization, reaching the denial of progress in the history of mankind.

Society is a complex social organism that has different spheres (economic, social, political, spiritual), each of which has specific laws of functioning and development. Within each sphere, various processes take place, various human activities take place. All these processes and all activities are interconnected and at the same time may not coincide in their development. Moreover, under certain conditions, the development of certain processes and activities can become a brake on the development of other activities.

And yet, it is safe to say that society is ultimately moving along the path of progress. This is evidenced by the most general indicators of the social movement. First of all, it should be noted that from epoch to epoch there is an increase in labor productivity based on the improvement of the means of production, the development of new technologies and the improvement of the organization of labor. There is a constant improvement in the quality of the labor force due to the expansion of scientific knowledge and production skills acquired by a person in the process of socialization and professional training. Simultaneously with the development of productive forces, there is an increase in the volume of scientific information.

The relativity of social progress - the concept of social progress is not applicable to some areas of social life. The process of the historical development of society is contradictory: both progressive and regressive changes can be found in it.

Let us recall the facts from the history of the 19th-20th centuries: revolutions were often followed by counter-revolutions, reforms by counter-reforms, fundamental changes in political structure- restoration of the old orders. (Think about what examples from domestic or world history can illustrate this point.)
If we tried to depict the progress of mankind graphically, then we would get not an ascending line, but a broken line, reflecting ups and downs, ebb and flow in the struggle of social forces, accelerated forward movement and giant leaps back. In history different countries there were periods when reaction triumphed, when the progressive forces of society were persecuted, when the mind was suppressed by the forces of obscurantism. You already know, for example, what disasters fascism brought to Europe: the death of millions, the enslavement of many peoples, the destruction of cultural centers, bonfires from the books of the greatest thinkers and artists, the planting of misanthropic morality, the cult of brute force. The progress of science and technology has had mixed consequences. The growth of large cities, the complication of production, the acceleration of the rhythm of life - all this increased the burden on the human body, gave rise to stress and, as a result, pathologies. nervous system, vascular diseases. Along with greatest achievements human spirit in the world there is an erosion of cultural and spiritual values, drug addiction, alcoholism, and crime are spreading.

1. Progress in one area of public life is not necessarily complemented by progress in other areas.

2. What is considered progressive today may turn out to be a disaster tomorrow.

3. Progress in the life of one country does not necessarily entail progress in other countries and regions.

4. What is progressive for one person may not be progressive for another.

Consider examples.

Controversy of social progress	Examples
1. Progress in one area is not progress in another.	The growth of production progressively affects the material well-being of people → a negative impact on the ecology of nature.
Technical devices that facilitate the work and life of a person → an adverse effect on human health.
2. Progress today can turn into a disaster.	Discoveries in the field of nuclear physics (X-rays, fission of the uranium nucleus) → weapons of mass destruction - nuclear weapons
3. Progress in one country does not entail progress in another.	Tamerlane contributed to the development of his country → robbery and devastation of foreign lands.
The colonization of Asia and Africa by Europeans contributed to the growth of wealth and the level of development of the peoples of Europe → the ruin and stagnation of public life in the devastated countries of the East.

Globalization- the process of integration of states and peoples in different fields of activity.

Reasons for globalization:

transition from an industrial society to an information one.

transition from an alternative choice to a variety of choices.

use of new communication technologies.

Main directions:

activities of transnational corporations (TNCs) with their branches around the world.

globalization of financial markets.

international economic integration within individual regions.

creation of international organizations in the economic and financial spheres.

Factors of globalization:

change in means of communication - connection into a single information flow of all regions of the planet.

change of transport - the speed and availability of movement from one part of the world to another.

the nature of modern technology - the unpredictable consequences of progress and scientific and technological revolution are becoming a threat to all mankind.

economy - economic integration (production, markets, etc.).

global problems - the solution is possible only through the joint efforts of the entire world community.

Positive consequences of the process of globalization:

stimulating effect on the economy.

convergence of states.

stimulating the consideration of the interests of states and warning them against extreme actions in politics.

the emergence of socio-cultural unity of mankind.

Negative Consequences of the Globalization Process:

imposition of a single standard of consumption.

creation of obstacles for the development of domestic production.

ignoring the economic and cultural-historical specifics of the development of different countries.

the imposition of a certain way of life, often contrary to the traditions of a given society.

development of the idea of rivalry.

loss of some specific features of national cultures.

Formational and civilizational approaches

3.2.1. Socio-economic formation- a historically defined type of society that arises on the basis of a certain mode of production of material goods

Marxism: change of formations primitive - communal, feudal, capitalist, communist (1930 socialism, communism)

Features and concepts of the formational approach

– basis ( production relations that develop between people in the process of production, distribution, exchange and consumption of material goods). Based on property relations

- superstructure - a set of legal, political, ideological, religious, cultural and other institutions and relations.

- production relations and productive forces ( people, tools) = mode of production

- social revolution- with the development of productive forces and the aging of the mode of production

Principles of the approach: universality, regularity in the change of socio-economic formations

3.2.2 Civilization- the level, stage of development of society, material and spiritual culture, following barbarism and savagery. Civilizations differ from each other: in a specific way of life, a system of values, ways of interconnection with the outside world.

Today, scientists distinguish: Western and Eastern civilizations.

Comparison of Western and Eastern civilization

Progress

3.3.1 Progress (moving forward) - the transition from the lower to the higher, from the simple to the complex, from the imperfect to the more perfect.

social progress - this is a world-historical process, which is characterized by the ascent of mankind from primitiveness (savagery) to civilization, which is based on the achievements scientific and technical, political and legal, moral and ethical.

Regression (moving backwards) - transition from higher to lower, degradation.

3.3.2..Types of social progress

Progress of science and technology (NTP, NTR)

Progress in the development of productive forces (industrial revolution)

Political progress (transition from totalitarianism to democracy)

Progress in the field of culture (recognition of a person as the highest value)

3.3.3. Criteria of social progress:

Criterion– indicator by which something can be evaluated

§ development of the human mind

§ development of science and technology

§ development of productive forces

§ increase in the standard of living, degree of social protection

§ improvement of people's morality (humanism)

§ the degree of freedom of the individual in society

Controversy of social progress

3.3.5. Indicators of the progressive development of society:

● average human life expectancy

● infant mortality

● state of health

● level and quality of education

● level of cultural development

● feeling of satisfaction with life

● degree of respect for human rights

● attitude to nature

Mankind as a whole has never regressed, but stopped in development for a while - stagnation

In the history of social science, two approaches to solving the problem of the direction of human history have developed: pessimistic and optimistic.

Pessimistic approach. Representatives of the pessimistic approach argue that history is dominated by regression , that is, a type of development that is characterized by a transition from higher to lower, a process of degradation, a decrease in the level of organization, a return to obsolete forms and structures.

The idea of the regressive development of society originated in antiquity. ancient greek poet Hesiod divided history into five ages: golden, silver, copper, bronze and iron. By Hesiod, the golden age was distinguished by high morality, but from century to century people are corrupted, due to which each subsequent century turns out to be worse than the previous one. The worst, the most terrible - the iron - age, modern Hesiod, demonstrates the complete collapse of morality.

IN 20th century. many pessimistic theories of human history have appeared, in which the ideas of the “end of history”, global environmental, energy and nuclear disasters are being developed. As a rule, the ideas of public refess are developed during deep social crises and upheavals.

optimistic approach. Representatives of the optimistic approach proceed from the fact that history is dominated by progress , that is, a type of development that is characterized by a transition from a lower to a higher, from a less perfect to a more perfect state.

The idea of a profession - a directed change for the better - also arose in antiquity. Thus, the ancient Greek philosopher Democritus divided the history of society into qualitatively different periods (past, present, future), the transition from which is characterized by the growth of culture and the improvement of people's lives.

But Special attention problems of social progress began to be given in modern times. One of the first to clearly formulate and justify the idea of social progress was the French philosopher 18th century. M. Condorcet . He divided history into ten eras, which succeed each other on the basis of the improvement of the mind. Condorcet believed that the starting point of progress is the possibility of developing human cognitive ability.

Hegel characterized world history as progress in the consciousness of freedom. He singled out the Eastern, Greco-Roman and Germanic phases of historical development. The eastern phase expresses the freedom of one ( despotism), Greco-Roman - the freedom of some ( aristocracy And democracy), German - absolute freedom, universal will. Hegel did not believe that progress is unlimited. For him, history ends in the Prussian Monarchy, which is the pinnacle of world history.

Progressive development of society. From the point of view of the Marxist concept of the development of society, progress is associated with the development of the productive forces of society, the growth of labor productivity, the liberation of people from the oppression of spontaneous social forces and the exploitation of man by man. Socio-economic formations were considered as natural stages progressive progressive development of mankind.

It should be noted that most thinkers recognize dynamic character the functioning of society and progressive development society from its lowest to its highest states. This is evident from the development of material production, science, culture, the social structure of society and its political system.

The progressive development of society is a complex, multifaceted and contradictory process. Society, as we noted, is a complex system that includes a number of subsystems ( economic, social, political And spiritual) and elements. The development of society as a system does not mean that all subsystems develop in the same way. On the contrary, the development of various aspects of social life proceeds unevenly. Often progress in some areas of public life is carried out against the background of regression in other areas. Cases of crises in various spheres of public life, individual backward movements do not change the general direction of the progressive development of society, that is, social progress is the dominant trend in the development of society.

Social Progress inherently contradictory. So, for example, progress in the development of science and technology, along with positive results, also has negative consequences: pollution natural environment radioactive and other substances, numerous violations of the ecological balance. Some contradictions of modern social progress are connected with the discrepancy between the technological and spiritual and moral aspects of human activity. There is a deepening of social inequality, numerous violations of human rights, manifestations of nationalism, interethnic conflicts.

Thus, social progress never does not appear in its pure form. It cannot be represented as a relatively straight line. It is always associated with backtracking movement in a certain direction, with the loss of some part of the possible development.

Criteria of social progress. The contradictory nature of social progress raises the question of its criteria . In the history of philosophy, there are different approaches to the problem of criteria for social progress. The French Enlightenment considered development as the criterion of progress. reason And Sciences. For utopian socialists (K.A. Saint-Simon, C. Fourier, R. Owen) the criterion of progress was morality, the moral principle. Hegel believed that the criterion for progress is the degree of disclosure of the idea. human freedom. For Marx, the criterion for the progressive development of society is level of development of productive forces.

All these criteria are important, but they are applicable to measure progress in certain areas of public life and are not sufficient to characterize all progressive

development of society. Thus, the criterion of reason is a particular criterion in the sphere of spiritual life, the criterion of productive forces is a criterion in the economic sphere.

General criterion should testify to the degree of perfection of the whole society as an integral organism and the person himself as a subject of history. The general criterion of social progress is position human in the natural environment And social reality. This criterion indicates that the most important value and goal of all social development is Human. In accordance with this, such integrative indicators of the progressive development of society as the degree of political and economic freedom, the level of satisfaction of material and spiritual needs, average life expectancy, health status, etc. are put forward.

Thus, social progress is directed towards humanistic values and priorities.

Control questions

1. Give a description of the main interpretations of social determinism - mechanical, dialectical, probabilistic.

2. How do the objective and the subjective, the spontaneous and the conscious, correlate in history?

3. What is fatalism and voluntarism?

4. Why is it widely believed that civilizational and formational concepts are alternative? Is another interpretation possible?

5. What is progress in history?

6. What is the difference between the concepts of "individual", "individuality", "personality"?

7. Why is the role most often talked about? prominent personalities in history and do not pay attention to the role of each individual in it?

Questions for self-study(SRS)

1. Society as an object of philosophical analysis. Basic research programs.

2. Material production. Sociocultural essence of labor.

3. Peace political life person and society.

4. Social sphere public life. Social space and its components.

5. Public consciousness. Spiritual life of society.

6. The philosophy of history is its problematic field.

7. Source, driving forces and the subject of historical development.

9. Models of the historical process.

10. Place of Russia in the world historical stream.

11. Philosophy of culture: basic strategies.

12. Unity and diversity of the cultural and historical process.

13. Historical forms of man's relationship to nature.

14. The role of science, information and technology in the development of modern society

Educational, educational and methodical and additional literature

1. Anthology of world philosophy: In 4 volumes / Ed. V.V. Sokolova and others - M., 1969-1972.

2. Aristotle. Politics // Works: In 4 volumes - M., 1984. T. 4.

3. Augustine Aurelius. Confession. Peter. Abelard. The history of my disasters / Comp. V.L. Rabinovich. - M., 1992. Book. eleventh.

Berdyaev N.A. Philosophy of freedom. The meaning of creativity. -M., 1989.

5. Barulin V.S. Social Philosophy. - M., 1999.

Bulgakov S.I. Light is not evening. - M., 1994. Department. 3. Chap. III.
Weber M. Selected works. - M., 1990.

8. Hegel G.W.F. Encyclopedia of Philosophical Sciences // Works: In 3 volumes - M., 1971. T. 3.

9. Gobozov I.A. Introduction to the philosophy of history. - M., 1999.

10.Ivin A.A. Philosophy of history. - M., 2000.

11. History of legal and historical doctrines. - M., 2004.

12.Machiavelli. Sovereign. - M., 1990.

Mezhuev V.M. Philosophy of History and Historical Science // Questions of Philosophy 1994 No. 4.

14.Nazaretyan A.P. Civilizational Crises in the Context of Universal History. - M., 2001.

15.Sorokin P.A. Man, civilization, society. - M., 1992.

Social Philosophy / Ed. Yu.V. Kryaneva, M.A. Kuznetsova, L.E. Motorina - M.: MAI Publishing House, 1996.

17. Social knowledge and social change. - M., 2001.

18.Toynbee A.J. Understanding history. - M., 1991.

Frank S.L. Spiritual foundations of society. - M., 1992.
Philosophy of Culture / Ed. Yu.V. Kryaneva, L.E. Motorina. - M.: MAI Publishing House, 1993.
Serebrenko N.I., Sokolov A.E.. The crisis of culture as a historical phenomenon (in the concepts of N. Danilevsky, O. Shpetler, P. Sorokin // Philosophical Sciences. 1990. No. 8

Topic 6.2 Global problems and the future of mankind.

Modern society and nature, the nature of the interaction
Philosophy about the social process, its content and contradictory nature.
The essence of global problems, their origin and solutions. Interaction of civilization and future scenarios.