What are the criteria for social progress? Social progress

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Konkov, Vyacheslav Vladimirovich. Social progress: criteria, contradictions, paradigms: dissertation... Candidate of Philosophical Sciences: 09.00.11 / Konkov Vyacheslav Vladimirovich; [Place of protection: Ros. acad. people. households and state services under the President of the Russian Federation]. - Moscow, 2012. - 149 p.: ill. RSL OD, 61 12-9/337

Introduction

Chapter 1. The phenomenon of social progress: essence and ontological foundations 14

1. The idea of the development of society in the history of philosophy 14

2. Social progress: objective grounds and subjective-personal beliefs 32

3. Criteria for social progress as an object of social philosophical analysis 59

Chapter 2. Criteria for social progress in modern times

1. Methodological grounds for identifying and assessing criteria for social progress 74

2. Contradictions and prospects for social progress in the context of globalization: a change of paradigms 100

Conclusion 132

List of sources used 138

Introduction to the work

Relevance of the research topic

The state of society at the beginning of the new millennium is characterized by an accelerating kaleidoscope of events, social and technological innovations, an increase in known threats and conflicts and the emergence of new ones. World civilization is going through the stage of globalization and, to a significant extent, is making a transition to post-industrialism, which determines the acute and controversial nature changes. The process of globalization is accompanied by a series of various crises - economic, environmental, social-class, civilizational, value-moral, etc.

Philosophy and science have developed many concepts, theories and forecasts regarding the changes taking place, their prospects and consequences. They range from purely negative points of view, predicting the death of humanity, to optimistic theories, speaking of the impending breakthrough of man into previously inaccessible areas of the universe. An unbiased analysis of facts, trends and theories leads to the conclusion about the unstable situation of society, the development of events in which can be realized according to various scenarios.

Modern problems of society and the prospects for its development cannot be understood without analyzing the philosophical and scientific concepts of the historical process and social progress. Philosophy of history and social philosophy comprehend the laws of development and change in society, justifying and explaining the progress or regression of humanity as a whole and in certain periods of its history.

Due to the growing scale of demographic, resource, energy, social and other problems associated with the development and spread of the economy, science, industry, technology, etc. the universality of the postulates of theories of progress causes many critical judgments. The relevance of philosophical questions is increasing: what is the essence of social progress? What are its criteria? What are they justified by? What are the reasons for the contradictions in the development of mankind and the different interpretations of progress by philosophical and scientific theories? What understanding of progress develops during the transition of society to the post-industrial phase of development?

Society, trying to find answers to the challenges of the time and resolve global crises, has developed many approaches and paradigms based on various philosophical and ideological principles and influencing the development of society in various ways. These include theories and concepts of post-industrial society, globalization, sustainable development, information society, knowledge economy and others. Heuristically substantive and multidimensional, they do not claim to be exhaustive and definitive explanatory paradigms and methodological approaches.

To answer the questions posed, it is necessary to identify the ontological foundations and key characteristics of social progress, to clarify the dialectic of objective and subjective-personal factors and its criteria. The development of a methodology for determining the criteria for progress will make it possible to theoretically explain - at least partially - the current state of society. A critical comparison of the main development paradigms is necessary to identify the prospects of society depending on the implementation of various scenarios associated with alternative worldview concepts.

Determining the contours of the theory of progress based on the criteria necessary to overcome the limitations and costs of growth and development of society will minimize crises and problems associated with inevitable mistakes. As a result, it will be possible to form ideas about development that make it possible to organize the social structure according to principles that meet changes in the social environment.

Analysis of the main problems of our time from the perspective of a paradigm based on balanced criteria of progress allows us to take a new approach to solving them. The study of the objective foundations of the development of society makes it possible to systematically assess each problem, threats to society, potential risks and prospects for making certain decisions. Modern society lives and develops in the process of creating new things, innovations, so it is advisable to present each crisis not only as a problem, but also as a new opportunity, as a way to break through new area knowledge.

For Russia, the problem of development and overcoming crises is as acute as for the rest of the world. In addition to economic, environmental and social problems The situation in the country is complicated by deep sociocultural heterogeneity across a vast geographical area. As a result, the aggravation of any problems gives rise to disintegration processes that divide society into separate social loci. The use of adequate criteria for progress in social practice can give society new integrating ideas and impulses, contribute to the unification of society and gain advantages over other countries - subjects of cultural and economic competition.

Thus, the task of understanding the theories of social progress and clarifying its criteria is relevant, since it allows us to better understand the internal mechanisms of the development of society and the causes of crisis phenomena in the modern socio-natural system; propose directions and mechanisms for solving many acute and large-scale problems.

Degree of scientific development of the topic

In the history of philosophy, much attention has been paid to the study of social structure, the concepts of personal and public good, and the study of the driving forces of social change. The authors of many studies, works and theories built different ontologies of social progress and came to various conclusions about its essence were based on different criteria. The dramatic course of world history has constantly pushed the greatest minds in philosophy and the social sciences and humanities in general to a skeptical view of the idea of social progress.

A lot of research is devoted to the study of factors and criteria for the development of society. scientific works. The first ideas of the philosophy of history were expressed in the works of Hesiod, Heraclitus, Plato, Aristotle, who did not adhere to the point of view of the inevitability of social changes and believed that human history is cyclical. Aurelius Augustine, at the end of antiquity, was one of the first to develop the idea of progressive historical development.

The concept of progress during the Enlightenment was formulated in the works of a number of thinkers, in particular, S.L. Montesquieu, who pointed out the primacy of law in the social order; C.-I. Saint-Pierre, who substantiated the idea of universal peace; A. Turgot, who highlighted the importance of education in society; J.-J. Rousseau, who expressed the idea of the unity of man with nature; J.A. Condorcet, who understood progress as a process of improvement

nia human mind; I. Kant, who established the need to accept the idea of progress for humanity.

Within the framework of the formational philosophy of history, patterns social development studied by K. Marx, F. Engels, whose main ideas were the recognition of economic contradictions between the producing and appropriating classes - the main driving forces of social progress. During the Soviet period of development of Marxist theory, these ideas also developed, supplemented by conclusions about changing attitudes towards property and resolving social contradictions as important criteria for development, for example, by A.P. Butenko, Yu.K. Pletnikov, E.A. Arab-Ogly and others.

In the civilizational concept of the philosophy of history, issues of the development of society were considered by N.Ya. Danilevsky, who proposed the idea of civilizations with unique culture and development features; O. Shpen-

Gler, who studied the decline of European culture; A.D. Toynbee, who put forward the concept of “responses to challenges” as the main factors in the genesis of civilizations; L.N. Gumilev, who adheres to the idea of passionarity of peoples; S. Huntington, who explained and substantiated modern civilizational conflicts.

The theory of post-industrial society made a significant contribution to the study of social progress, proposing the division of the historical process into separate phases depending on the nature of the technological interaction of society with the environment. The development of society within the framework of post-industrial theory was studied by D. Bell, who identified the post-industrial phase as a separate phase of development with a predominance in

economics of service sector society; E. Toffler, who described the succession

the bridge of agrarian, industrial and post-industrial phases; I. Masuda, who put forward the idea of the information society; M. Castells, who substantiated the network nature of the social structure in the post-industrial era; as well as F. Webster, V.L. Inozemtsev, S.B. Pereslegin and

In the context of the theory of nonequilibrium systems, synergetics great value to identify and study the patterns of social development, there were studies by I. Prigogine, I. Stengers, S.P. Kurdyumova,

E.N. Knyazeva, V.I. Arshinov, V.S. Stepina, O.N. Astafieva,

K.H. Delokarov and other scientists who considered the behavior of unstable self-organizing systems, which include society.

IN different times A great contribution to the development of the theory of social progress, the construction of ontology and the identification of criteria for progress was made by such philosophers and scientists as G.V. Hegel, who substantiated the dialectical

the nature of social development; Charles Darwin, who created the foundations of the theory of evolution; G. Spencer, who systematized common features theories of evolution

tion and progress; P.A. Kropotkin, who identified the contribution of mutual cooperation of individuals to social progress; V.I. Vernadsky, who expressed the idea of the noosphere - a single space of society and the environment -

yes; A. Maslow, who established the dependence of motivations and needs

individuals, as well as P.A. Sorokin, K. Popper, E. Fromm and others.

Among modern scientific studies of the idea of progress, its applications

rank and criteria, it is necessary to mention the works of D. Diamond, who substantiated the impact of geographical, situational and managerial factors on

progress, I. Wallerstein, who proposed the theory of world-systemic development

developments of society; I.M. Dyakonov, who identified separate stages in the historical process, connected by a set of technologies, value systems and the level of organization of society, as well as A.V. Korotaev, V.N. Shevchenko,

A. Battler, A.P. Nazaretyan and other researchers who contributed to the systematization of theories of progress and put forward original ideas for criteria for progress, and other scientists.

The purpose of the dissertation is to study the ontological foundations and key factors of social progress, identifying its contradictions and criteria.

The implementation of this goal led to the solution of the following tasks:

to clarify the concept and essence of social progress, to identify its ontological foundations, as well as subjective-personal assumptions and other factors of implementation;

summarize the achievements in the development of the theory of social progress, compare its criteria proposed by various social philosophical concepts and paradigms:

consider the theoretical and methodological foundations for identifying criteria for social progress;

identify mechanisms that contribute to the development of society and its transition to a new phase state;

propose indicators and criteria of social progress in relation to current state society and state.

The object of research is social progress as a multidimensional and structurally complex phenomenon.

The subject of the research is the existential foundations, subjective-personal factors and criteria, as well as the contradictions of social progress.

The scientific novelty of the study is as follows:

1. A conceptual analysis of social progress was carried out. The author's definition of social progress is proposed as a consistent and directional change in society according to current criteria from one state to another, each of which is for most people a greater benefit than the previous one and is not in conflict with basic social values.

Research methodology
The scientific and theoretical basis of the study is the works of scientists who have made significant contributions to social philosophy, the theory of evolution and social progress both in the past and in modern times. Taking into account the profile of the research, it reflected special philosophical literature, including on the theory of nonequilibrium systems, or synergetics, including publications of recent years. The author relied on methods of cognition developed in social and humanitarian knowledge and tested by social practice - systemic, structural, synergetic, comparative, historical.
Main provisions submitted for defense:
1. 1. 8. The fundamental criteria of social progress that contribute to the transition of society to a new phase of development are: increasing the opportunities for direct participation of individuals in public management; the spread of meritocratic principles of selection and social rotation; implementation of timely and effective feedback mechanisms in the management of society; expanding opportunities for civil self-government in society; increasing the capabilities of individuals to master current theoretical and practical knowledge; increasing the prestige of knowledge; implementation of innovations in the field of social cooperation; strengthening motivation for intellectual development; development of culture; formation and ensuring the implementation of a system of spiritual and moral values at a higher level than in modern society.
    The theoretical significance of the work lies in the fact that the conclusions and proposals substantiated in it develop and complement a number of provisions of social philosophy and can be used in training course in social philosophy while giving lectures and conducting practical classes.
    The practical significance of the study lies in the proposals made by the author about changes and additions to existing social practices related to the principles of managing social structures and relationships social groups. These proposals can be used in political and social activities, as well as in the rule-making activities of government bodies.
    Approbation of research results.
    The work was prepared at the Department of Philosophy Russian Academy national economy And civil service under the President Russian Federation, where it was discussed and reviewed. The main provisions obtained during dissertation research, are presented by the author in four published scientific articles and in the materials of an international scientific and practical conference with a total volume of 2.25 pp. The results of the study were announced at the International Scientific and Practical Conference with the participation of UNESCO departments “Youth as a driving force of sustainable development in the context of globalization”, held at the Russian Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Russian Federation in 2010.
    Work structure
    The volume and structure of the work are determined by the purpose and objectives of the study. The dissertation consists of an introduction, two chapters combining five paragraphs, a conclusion, and a bibliography of the literature used.
    
    Social progress: objective foundations and subjective-personal beliefs
    G. W. Hegel takes a different approach to history. History, according to Hegel, is a natural process, delimited by eras that differ in the degree of freedom of members of society.43 The driving forces of history for Hegel are the struggle for recognition between people, which transforms the political and social structure. End point historical development, according to Hegel, is a society in which all people are free. This understanding has been developed in our days by F. Fukuyama44, who, in the spirit of liberalism, considers increasing the degree of freedom of each person to be the main criterion for the progress of society.
    However, in the 19th century, the positivist view of the history of society as part of the general evolution of nature also became widespread. T. Malthus and G. Spencer45 believed that the historical process is governed by the laws of evolution, the main driving forces are the struggle for survival and natural selection between people and their communities. The concept of the philosophy of history, based on the application of the laws of evolution in the social environment, was called social Darwinism, but due to the underestimation of the role of the human factor and excessive reductionism in the 20th century, it lost its philosophical significance.
    A significant approach to history is historiosophy, especially Russian, represented by P.Ya. Chaadaev, Slavophiles, V.S. Solovyov, N.A. Berdyaev and other thinkers46. Society, according to the historiosophical concept, develops naturally and purposefully, but the goal of development is set from the outside, by the will of God, therefore the course of History is little subject to human influence. The main thing in historiosophy, from Solovyov’s point of view, is the creative insight of the historical mission of society, different for different nations and cultures, justifying it and promoting its fulfillment.
    The most fully developed concepts of the philosophy of history, considering the entire spectrum of social relations and using numerous historical facts, became formational and civilizational theories. The first was developed by K. Marx and F. Engels in the 19th century47 and became fundamental in the philosophy of Marxism.
    In the formational concept, human history is presented as a successive change social formations, characterized by the level of development of productive forces and production relations. The driving forces of society in the formation model are the economic interest of individuals and their associations, the contradictions between the producing and appropriating classes, the inability of outdated social organization support the development of advanced industrial relations. People's interest in improving their economic well-being, accumulating the results of their labor and using them to satisfy their needs forces people to work to accumulate values, to invent ways and technologies to extract as much benefit as possible from fewer resources.
    Classes of people creating most of economic product, inevitably comes into conflict with the class that appropriates the results of their labor. The resolution of inter-class contradictions increases the share of the oppressed class in the use of the results of the produced product, which simultaneously increases its motivation in work and contributes to efficient growth industrial production. Social organization can promote advanced industrial relations, or it can hinder them. This contradiction pushes society to change its political and social organization and redistribute power in favor of new classes participating in more efficient management of economic production48. The criteria for the progress of society according to the formational concept are; a) increasing the level and efficiency of existing productive forces; b) changing the type of production relations for more efficient use of productive forces; c) resolution of contradictions between productive forces and production relations towards a more equitable social organization; d) improving the well-being and standard of living of the producing classes; e) redistribution of rights to the material results of production from appropriating classes to producing ones; f) transfer of political power in society to groups of people who create the majority of the useful product.
    In the civilizational theory, developed in the works of N.Ya. Danilevsky, O. Spengler, A. Toynbee, L.N. Gumilyov, S. Huntington49, the history of mankind consists of the stories of the emergence, development and decline of a finite number of civilizations that have various sizes and role in geographic space and historical time. According to A. Toynbee, civilizations arise as a “response to a challenge”50; the properties of each civilization are unique and depend on many external and internal factors.
    The main driving forces in the civilizational concept are individuals, who, due to their talents, form the structure of responses to challenges for society, and cultures, which, while maintaining their originality and integrity, allow society to develop in interaction with other civilizations without loss of identity. During the period of the emergence of civilization, talented individuals form responses to all sorts of environmental challenges, manifested in the form of natural forces, influence factors of other civilizations, or transcendental principles of worldview. These answers are fixed in society in the traditions, customs and worldview of the subjects of civilization, i.e. form its culture51.
    Culture in the civilizational concept represents the core that allows society to maintain integrity and identity. When confronted with new challenges, the elite of society demonstrates its qualities by introducing appropriate innovations and expands the cultural space, thereby helping to increase the sustainability of society and its development. If society does not cope with the emerging crisis, then this can lead to breakdown and even destruction of civilization.
    
    Criteria of social progress as an object of social philosophical analysis
    Changing needs of social groups are consolidated in changes in people’s value systems. This process occurs most clearly during periods of society’s transition to a new phase of development133. New values have an impact on changes in the legal and moral spheres of society.
    New values are the basis for assessing the parameters of the development of society, the compliance of social changes with the criteria of its progress. So, if the value in society is material goods, and mainly in the form of consumer goods, then the increase in the production of consumer goods will be considered progress. If increasing the volume of our knowledge about the world around us is considered a value, then progress will be the accumulation of scientific discoveries and an increase in the education of society. And if we consider the reduction of danger as values environmental disaster and the collapse of civilization due to reaching the limits of growth of industrial production, then progress will be the transition of production to resource-saving technologies, strict environmental safety standards and, possibly, limiting the volume of material consumption in society.
    People choose the values they follow, but they do not always do so independently and independently. The social environment and living conditions always have a decisive influence on choice. The nature of social life and structure social production form such values that society must follow in order not to end its existence in the fight against insurmountable circumstances. Only the search for new opportunities contained in the surrounding world, but not previously known, makes it possible to overcome the framework of predetermination and create new forms of relationships, meanings of life and value standards and, as a result, reach a new level of organization of society and its relationship with the environment.
    The peculiarities of the structure of society and the environment determine the available opportunities for people’s actions, but the emergence and application of these opportunities does not occur without the manifestation of initiative, without the appearance of the first, often heroic, and sometimes tragic example. The emergence of such breakthroughs occurs thanks to outstanding individuals who make discoveries in science, culture or politics.
    From the history of science and culture, we know that discovery or innovation requires breaking or overcoming tradition, established rules and accepted frameworks of life activity shared mostly society, putting forward a new paradigm134. Overcoming restrictions, often in the form of law, requires courage and strength of character, conviction of what is right and the gift of foresight. All outstanding personalities remaining in history possessed these qualities. Examples include the achievements of Plato, R. Descartes, W. Shakespeare, Michelangelo, V. Hugo, T. Jefferson, K. Marx, I. Newton, A. Einstein, S. Korolev and many others.
    The ideas and activities of large-scale personalities contribute to changing society. Thanks to new cultural achievements, new opportunities for creative self-realization appear. As a result of scientific discoveries, new ways of transforming the external environment for the common good are emerging in society. Thanks to philosophical, sociological and political ideas society begins to comprehend reality in a new way, organize its activities, use human abilities and the capabilities of the environment.
    If in the past great personalities sometimes managed to turn the course of history not only in a single state, but also for an entire civilization, today such opportunities for individuals have increased even more. In modern society, the speed of social change has increased manifold. Many social and political institutions are no longer as immutable and monolithic as before, thanks to the democratic political structure individuals received opportunities for advancement into power structures, and any significant information spreads across space via the Internet almost instantly to a huge audience. These factors characterize the complexity and instability modern society, its presence at bifurcation points, when small-scale impacts lead to large-scale changes within society itself135.
    In society, technologies of social communication, dissemination of ideas and knowledge play an increasingly important role. In ancient times, knowledge, social and cultural ideas, personal experience were transmitted directly from person to person and had such a slow distribution that a rare individual could see the embodiment of his ideas. With the advent of printing, the speed of communication of ideas increased significantly, which affected the acceleration of scientific and technological progress. In the 20th century, the spread of newspapers, radio, television, and today the Internet has influenced such an acceleration in the exchange of information that often the implementation of many of the most fantastic ideas and forecasts can be seen already during the lifetime of the person who put them forward.
    
    Methodological grounds for identifying and assessing criteria for social progress
    The model of society proposed by E. Fromm is more attractive than the industrial model, in which universal alienation reigns. But how possible is it in reality? Industrial society arrived in the 20th century. to the limit of its development, as evidenced by many crisis phenomena. But the spontaneous transformation of the social structure does not necessarily have to lead to the humanistic society described by E. Fromm, since it largely depends on objective trends.
    Comparing E. Fromm’s model of society and the model of post-industrial society, one can notice that D. Bell analyzes the objective changes in industrial society and predicts the onset of a post-industrial society based on other formative and guiding principles.187 Post-industrial society has an advantage over industrial society in economic efficiency and provides greater prospects for people on economic criteria. And at the same time, it provides greater individual development and creative fulfillment for people with ability and a desire for knowledge.
    Post-industrial theory, with its focus on the use of information and knowledge for development, gives hope for the gradual humanization of society. One of the main criteria of progress in a post-industrial society is an increase in opportunities for creative self-realization and an improvement in human abilities to process information and obtain new scientific knowledge. But this is impossible without changing people’s orientation from the “mode of having” to the “mode of being.”188 People who organize their lives according to the principle of “being” and not “having” are the main driving subjects of post-industrial society.
    Post-industrial society provides people with more freedom choice life path. Only a creatively liberated person who is not characterized by stereotyped thinking and mechanically organized life activities can meet the needs of a post-industrial society. Therefore, based on a comparison of the criteria for progress of a humanized society and the corresponding criteria for progress in a post-industrial society, we can assume that if humanistic theory and is utopian for implementation at this stage of history, then in the future many of its provisions may well be implemented.
    Using the results of our research into the foundations of progress and its criteria, we can offer our own (hierarchical) approach to defining and using progress criteria.
    The first level of criteria, based on the implementation of basic physiological and psychological human needs, is the basis for assessing the progress and results of the progress of society. If life in society deteriorates in terms of basic indicators of material, physical and psychological well-being, then we cannot consider it progressing, even despite improvements in other areas of life. Therefore, we propose to consider this level of criteria as basic. The degree to which basic needs are met in society in accordance with these criteria can be determined through sociological surveys and individual statistical indicators.
    A satisfactory standard of living of the population, the absence of hunger and deprivation means a positive “implementation” of the basic criteria, as a result of which their relevance decreases and the importance of the criteria of the next level, based on social interaction, increases. If hunger and poverty reign in a society, then the relevance of basic needs and criteria for progress will exceed the importance of any other social needs and criteria. Thus, people experiencing hunger participate in mass protests, regardless of the possible damage to their personal safety, social status and social prospects.
    The significance of basic criteria based on improving material and psychological indicators varies depending on the level of development of society and the characteristics of its culture. In a society with developed culture and civilization, criteria become of great importance social community, solidarity, belonging to a certain culture. The feeling of belonging to society and awareness of its achievements allows us to reduce the dominance of basic needs. Often people are ready to endure physical hardship and risk their lives for the sake of the existence and success of their society. An individual’s display of dedication in the interests of his or her native society can contribute to the success of society. The successful existence of a society means that the interests of its members are protected and their needs are fulfilled within the framework of cultural identity.
    Industrial society divides society into various productive forces with their own interests and current needs. Classes of industrial society engaged in production and services in lower levels labor hierarchy, often lack the fulfillment of basic needs (and criteria) that remain a priority for them. For other social strata, socially determined criteria, which are satisfied in an economically secure and socially safe society, become more important.
    
    Contradictions and prospects for social progress in the context of globalization: a change of paradigms
    Social changes in the coming post-industrial society can also lead to both a more equitable structure and the emergence of new segregation, the division of society into people who have information knowledge and abilities, and people of the lower class, who do not have access to new technologies and are easily used for all kinds of manipulations. Such risks and dangers form a complex of problems that require solutions within the framework of social philosophy.
    The formation of the concept of progress during the Enlightenment was important stage existence of mankind, which determined its development for subsequent centuries. In many developed countries, the problems of wealth stratification, hunger, high mortality, low quality medical care, general ignorance and illiteracy. With the help of progress, humanity has achieved amelioration of most past problems and a significant improvement in material living conditions for the majority of the population. These changes are an undoubted merit of the progress of science and, in general, the concept of progress of the human mind.
    Therefore, it is absolutely fair to pay attention to the idea of progress now, when new complex problems have arisen before humanity. global challenges associated with the risks of the omnipotence of new technologies. But problems associated with the development of society should not be solved by simply abandoning any changes and returning to the past, already passed stage. In this regard, one of the main tasks modern philosophy the dissertation author considers the development of the concept of progress, which has already brought enormous benefits, subject to its transformation to modern needs, taking into account the errors and contradictions of its past application.
    In his research, the dissertation author made an attempt to philosophically comprehend progress in the context of general ontological problems and bring it to more objective and consistent formulations. Value content and comparison of progress with the general meaning of human existence can give it a clearly defined direction. Identification and justification of criteria for the progress of society should become one of the main ways of applying philosophical analysis in order to solve global problems of mankind.
    The objective foundations of the criteria for progress are a key factor for understanding the phenomenon of progress itself and its internal laws. In many philosophical and sociological studies, the task of identifying the mechanisms of functioning of society, its driving forces, affecting its development and distribution in space and time. Many researchers have achieved success in this direction, but the results they obtained were not always associated with the goals and criteria of social progress, and their variability in the process of social development was not highlighted.
    From the point of view of the dissertation author, it is common for any society to set goals for its development, and therefore to designate the criteria for its movement in relation to these goals. But the goals of society are significantly influenced by the needs of individuals and social groups, and they have not only a subjective, but also an objective basis. Therefore, the criteria for the progress of society are determined based on the need to satisfy the basic needs of individuals, the needs of social groups, and from indicators of the success of the functioning of society. This conclusion is presented by the dissertation student in identifying the basic, social and fundamental criteria of progress and identifying their interdependence.
    The dissertation author has established that the driving forces of progress are social forces that produce goods and values, contribute to the interaction of society with natural environment, form the principles and mechanisms of industrial and social relationships. Effective and effective criteria progress must meet the interests of developing advanced social forces that most effectively change the environment for the needs of society. The emergence of something new in the process of social activity allows not only to improve the life of society, but also affects its internal structure, causing changes necessary for its adaptation to the new social reality.
    Progress is a process associated with the variability of society, but any variability opposes the factors responsible for the stability and sustainability of society. The categories of variability and stability are in constant dialectical struggle, positive result which is social progress. A society is stable and integral if it exists in accordance with its values. But the emergence of new material goods and social innovations also affects changes in social values. Therefore, according to the dissertation author, the process of revaluation of values accompanies significant successes of progress and is its integral part.
    The dissertation author concluded that in the process of innovation, activity plays an important role outstanding personalities, thanks to which society makes choices regarding new social and cultural values. The activities of individuals are especially crucial during bifurcation periods of society’s transition to a new phase state.
    In the history of society, many researchers identify separate stages that differ in their characteristic features. At each stage, society functions in accordance with patterns different from others, and each subsequent stage is more effective for society in interacting with external environment in relation to his previous state

The formation of post-industrial society is a complex, uneven process, riddled with contradictions. These are contradictions between man and modern technology in the social, economic and psychological aspects, a conflict between the trend towards globalization and the traditional principles of national-state sovereignty.

49. Social progress and its criteria.

Progress is understood as a direction of development, which is characterized by forward movement society from the lower and simple shapes social organization to higher and more complex ones. The concept of progress is opposed to the concept of regression, which is characterized by a reverse movement - from higher to lower, degradation, return to already outdated structures and relationships. The idea of the development of society as a progressive process appeared in ancient times, but finally took shape in the works of French enlighteners (A. Turgot, M. Condorcet, etc.). They saw the criteria for progress in the development of the human mind and in the spread of enlightenment. Such an optimistic view of history changed in the 19th century. more complex ideas. Thus, Marxism sees progress in the transition from one socio-economic formation to another, higher one. Some sociologists considered complication to be the essence of progress. social structure, growth of social heterogeneity. In modern sociology. historical progress is associated with the process of modernization, i.e., the transition from an agrarian society to an industrial one, and then to a post-industrial one. It is obvious that the progressive development of society does not exclude return movements, regression, civilizational dead ends and even breakdowns. And the development of humanity itself is unlikely to have an unambiguously linear character; accelerated leaps forward and rollbacks are possible in it.

The criterion of progress should be the measure of freedom that society is able to provide individuals for maximum development its potential. The degree of progressivity of one or another social order must be assessed according to the conditions created in it to satisfy all the needs of the individual, for the free development of man (or, as they say, according to the degree of humanity of the social structure).

There are two forms of social progress: revolution and reform.

A revolution is a complete or comprehensive change in all or most aspects of social life, affecting the foundations of the existing social system. Until recently, revolution was viewed as a universal “law of transition” from one socio-economic formation to another. According to Marxist methodology, under social revolution is understood as a radical revolution in the life of society, changing its structure and meaning a qualitative leap in its progressive development.

Reform is a transformation, reorganization, change in any aspect of social life that does not destroy the foundations of the existing social structure, leaving power in the hands of the former ruling class. Understood in this sense, the path of gradual transformation of existing relations is contrasted with revolutionary explosions that sweep away the old order, the old system to the ground. Marxism considered the evolutionary process, which preserved many relics of the past for a long time, too painful for the people. And he argued that since reforms are always carried out “from above” by forces that already have power and do not want to part with it, the result of reforms is always lower than expected: the transformations are half-hearted and inconsistent.

50. Philosophical aspect global problems of our time.

Global problems of our time: philosophical aspects

So, the FIRST GLOBAL PROBLEM of our days is the still persisting THREAT OF THERMONUCLEAR FIRE. The ghost of “doomsday”, “omnicide”, the destruction of everyone and everything still haunts the planet. The possibilities of the emergence of an “all-burning flame” and the subsequent “nuclear winter” are by no means abstract; they have visible features.

Indeed, treaties on the reduction of strategic nuclear arsenals have been signed and are tacitly observed, but have not yet been ratified by any nuclear state or acquired the status of law. So far, only a few percent of the vast nuclear stockpile has been destroyed. The process of nuclear disarmament may last indefinitely. And in mid-1995, in the United States and the former USSR alone, there were about 25 thousand nuclear warheads. In addition, nuclear technology is spreading. India, Pakistan, South Africa, Israel and a number of other states are already ready to produce nuclear weapons. The danger of possession increases nuclear weapons irresponsible political adventurers and even criminal elements.

THE SECOND GLOBAL PROBLEM IS AN IMPENDING ECOLOGICAL DISASTER. Our cradle and abode are in danger. What is the essence of the environmental threat?

The fact that the growing pressure of anthropogenic factors on the biosphere can completely break the natural cycles of reproduction biological resources, self-purification of soil, water, atmosphere. This will give rise to “collapse” - a sharp and rapid deterioration environmental situation and, as a consequence, the rapid death of the planet's population.

They no longer talk, but shout about a decrease in the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere, an increase in “ greenhouse effect", the spreading of ozone holes, the non-stop pollution of natural waters. It is estimated that at least 1 billion 200 million earthlings experience an acute shortage of drinking water. Intensive agriculture depletes soils 20-40 times faster than they can naturally regenerate. Biologists record the daily loss of 150 species of animals and plants.

THE THIRD GLOBAL PROBLEM IS DANGER. HANGING OVER HUMAN CORPORITY.
Body. He and I come into this world and leave behind our mortal bodily remains when we leave it. The body brings great joy and cruelly torments us with illnesses and illnesses. Physical health is always one of the first places in the system of human values.
And it is all the more alarming to hear the growing warnings of biologists, geneticists, and doctors that we are facing the danger of the destruction of humanity as a species, the deformation of its bodily foundations.
There are already visible consequences of this phenomenon. The chilling word “AIDS” is increasingly invading human life. Such a disaster that has befallen humanity is the first global pandemic (widespread epidemic) in history, spreading death not in one country, but throughout the world. A number of researchers believe that this is not just a disease, but a certain stage in the biological existence of the human race. It is associated with their unbridled mass invasion of natural foundations own existence. AIDS today is no longer a medical problem, but a truly universal problem.
Ocean chemicals, in which our daily life is immersed, sudden changes in politics and zigzags in economics - all this affects the nervous system, reproductive abilities and somatic manifestations of millions of people. There are signs of physical degeneration in a number of regions, an uncontrollable, truly epidemic spread of drug addiction and alcoholism.
Finally, the FOURTH, no less terrible GLOBAL PROBLEM - THE CRISIS OF HUMAN SPIRITUALITY. Almost all secular and religious, global and regional, ancient and new ideologies cannot today even answer in any conclusive way either the pressing problems of the era or the eternal demands of the spirit. Defenseless, rushing, limping human thought in many cases turns out to be incapable of grasping the present, maturely assessing the past, or at least somehow foreseeing the future.
There are no reliable ones now social theories and philosophical and anthropological concepts, within the framework of which it would be possible to more or less definitely characterize our today and, even more so, tomorrow. Fear, anxiety, and anxiety permeate all layers of human consciousness. One of the influential American philosophers, Richard Rorty, in the spring of 1995 at the Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said that in the American philosophical community everyone is so tired that they hope for something to appear, but no one has the slightest idea what it should be.

The concept of development is initially associated with the concept of a system (initially the assumption is introduced that only system objects can develop) and the concept of “level of organization of the system”.

Development is a type of change (movement).

According to E.G. Yudin and, development is different from functioning. Operation– this is movement in states of the same level of system organization. In contrast to functioning, development is a change of states, which is caused for the entire system by the impossibility of maintaining existing forms functioning => development is always associated with a change in the level of organization of the system.

Alekseev and Panin suggest the following as signs of development:

1. qualitative nature of the changes (during the development process, a qualitative transformation of the subsystems of a given object occurs)

2. direction of change

3. irreversibility of changes (irreversibility can be understood as the emergence of fundamentally new possibilities for the object as a whole) =>

Development– these are irreversible, targeted and qualitative changes in the system.

Development involves the following directions:

2. progress is the development from the old as lower to the new as higher

3. regression is the opposite.

The ratio of progress and regression:

1. Regression can act as a subordinate or internal side of progress; the overall progress of the system may include regression individual elements structure and functions (the position is doubtful, it needs to be justified)

2. Progress of one material system included in the system on a larger scale, may turn out to be only a side of the regression of this second system.

3. The concept of progress (according to modern philosophy) is not applicable to all matter as a whole; it can only apply to finite, limited systems.

The Problem of Progress Criteria is that the criteria for progress are different for different levels of organization of matter.

ü For inorganic nature such a criterion is the degree

complications of the structure of the system (for example: the molecular level of organization compared to the atomic).

The degree of complexity of the system structure is determined by the following indicators:

1. increasing complexity of the system (emergence of new subsystems)

2. increase in the number of internal and external interactions of the system

3. increase, increasing opportunities for such interactions (increasing degrees of freedom).

ü For wildlife the so-called “functional”

criterion" - an increase in the degree of systemic organization of an object, allowing new system perform functions that are not available to the old system.

ü For public systems applies:

1. so-called "economic criterion" - social progress is measured and determined by the rate of growth of labor productivity.

2. humanistic criterion : the indicator is the measure of human freedom in one respect or another (meaning the level of real opportunities for the free development of the individual and the level of opportunity for harmonizing the interests of society (i.e. collective) and the interests of the individual). Humanistic criterion in modern understanding was nominated K. Marx - “In place of economic wealth and economic poverty, a rich man and a rich human need take the place. A rich man is a man in need of the fullness of human life.”

A comprehensive criterion of social progress involves a set of indicators of social progress:

1. growth rates of production and labor productivity, leading to an increase in human freedom in relation to nature.

2. degree of freedom of workers from exploitation

3. social progress is measured, among other things, by the level of democratization public life

4. the level of real opportunities for the comprehensive development of individuals in this society.

Is there a universal criterion for progress? What might he look like?

Modern metaphysical interpretations of development are based on opposition, gradualism, continuity, suddenness of change, and not on opposition opposite sides the development process itself.

Concepts presented:

1. evolutionism in the concept of Herbert Spencer

2. creative evolutionism - A. Bergson.

1. The relationship between essence and phenomenon. Do it yourself using the textbook!

2. Relationship between form and content

3. Systematic principle

4. Dialectical-materialistic concept of determinism.

The topic is closely related to the problems of social change social progress.

One of the first scientific concepts social development as consistent advancement of societies through ascending levels of progress, which is determined increase in knowledge, belongs to A. Saint-Simon.

His ideas were developed by the founder O. Comte. Comte's law of intellectual evolution of mankind directly points to the direction and criterion of social progress - the degree of advancement to the highest in his concept, the scientific (positive) stage of development. G. Spencer, sharing the idea of the nonlinear nature of evolution, assumed measure social progress by the achieved degree of complexity of societies. Social evolution is similar to biological and gradually leads to the fact that the world is getting better. In the theory of K. Marx, the issue of social progress was resolved almost unambiguously. Reaching the highest level human development— the construction of a classless communist society, where the free labor of free people will reign, is inevitable, although distant in time.

If O. Comte, G. Spencer and E. Durkheim designed concept of progress in the form bilateral process differentiation and integration regardless of its beneficial consequences, then L. Ward, N. Mikhailovsky and others believed that progress is about increasing human happiness or reducing human suffering. In one of his first works P. Sorokin indicated that both of these currents are insufficient and they need to be synthesized. Otherwise, the theory of progress risks giving a formula of stagnation instead of a formula for progress.

Most supporters social evolutionism convinced of presence of intellectual and technical progress, however regarding of moral progress, opinions differ. Those who believe that moral progress exists belong to the school of evolutionary ethics . They proceed from the fact that the very presence of morality as the basis for interaction and mutual assistance between people is already the most important factor in the survival of society. Moral evolution does not cancel struggle for existence, but humanizes her, forcing her to find ever softer ways to fight.

For a long time, the prevailing idea among evolutionists was that evolution is unidirectional for all societies, when each of them goes through successively identical stages of development on the path to progress. In the 20th century this view was found untenable on the basis of anthropological research. It turned out that not only non-Western, but also many European countries developed not according to one, but according to different scenarios, including different quantity and the sequence of stages.

On a new basis, the evolutionary approach was revived in recent years: evolution is not unidirectional, but can go in many directions. According to the theory of evolutionary change by the structural functionalist T. Parsons, societies tend to become increasingly differentiated in their structures and functions, with new structures expected to be more functionally adapted than previous ones.

The position of the supporters is significantly different cyclical development. and periodic economic crises have raised doubts about the overall progressive development of mankind. Thus, the German scientist Oswald Spengler in his book “The Decline of Europe” (1918) substantiated the periodization of the development and decline of cultures by analogy with the stages of the human life cycle, including decline and death. In his opinion, each of the eight cultures he studied existed for about 1000 years. Therefore, if we assume that Western European culture originated about 900 years ago, then its end is already near.

The English historian Arnold Toynbee also believed that the development of civilizations occurs along one path, improving and moving towards decline in similar stages. Arising as a response to any challenge from natural or human factors, civilization flourishes as long as its elite is able to counteract this challenge. Otherwise, there will be a split and disintegration of civilization and, due to the increase internal conflicts- movement towards decline.

Cyclic theories should also include the sociocultural dynamics of P. Sorokin, which contains a very pessimistic assessment of the prospects for the development of modern Western society.

Another example of cyclical theories is the concept of “world-economy” by I. Wallerstein, according to which Third world countries will not be able to repeat the path, passed by states - leaders modern economy; capitalist world-economy, which originated more than 500 years ago, in 1967-1973. entered into the inevitable the final phase of the life cycle - crisis phase.

Social progress and forecasting in philosophy

Modern is carried out within the framework of scientific and technological progress, which in turn acts as a party social progress.

Issues of social progress were paid attention to by D. Vico, I.G. Herder, A. Turgot, J. Condorsse, O. Comte, K. Marx, F. Engels and others.

Social progress- this is an objective tendency of the upward development of humanity, expressed in the improvement of forms human life, needs, abilities to satisfy them, in the development of science, technology, media, medicine, etc.

The question of the criteria for social progress is debatable. Some researchers in as a criterion of social progress call the level of development of the method of production, others in this capacity highlight the level of development of the productive forces of society, others reduce it to labor productivity. It seems that we can accept as the most representative point of view, according to which the level of development of productive forces, expressed in labor productivity, can be accepted as a criterion of social progress.

In a philosophical explanation social process two points of view have been fighting for a long time - evolutionary And revolutionary.

Some philosophers preferred evolutionary development society, while others saw great attraction in revolutionary changes in social life. Obviously, we should be thoughtful about the ways and means of social progress. The course of the latter does not exclude a combination of revolutionary and evolutionary transformations of social life. When carrying out progressive changes and reforms, one should focus on ensuring that their implementation does not result in a decline in the economy, a decrease in the level of development of productive forces and a reduction, but, on the contrary, an increase in the economic wealth of society based on an increase in the level of development of productive forces and labor productivity.

Anticipating the future in different forms has always played an important role in the life of society. The importance of foresight especially increased during turning points in history, during periods of acute social conflicts. This is especially true for modern era, when it becomes obvious that both the distant and immediate future of humanity will be radically different from its present and recent past.

Foresight- this is knowledge about the future, i.e. about what does not yet exist in reality, but what is potentially contained in the present in the form of objective and subjective prerequisites for the expected course of development. Scientific foresight and social forecasting must contain an answer not only to the question of what can happen in the future, but also answers to questions such as when this should be expected, what forms the future will take and what is the measure of probability of this forecast.

There are three main methods of social forecasting:

extrapolation;
modeling;
expertise.

The most reliable method of social forecasting is expertise. Any social forecast combines scientific and ideological purposes. There are four types of forecasts: search; normative; analytical; forecast-warning. Anticipating the future - interdisciplinary research, and it is fruitful only in the process of integrating humanitarian, natural science and technical knowledge.

The topic of social progress is closely related to the issues of social change.

One of the first scientific concepts of social development as the consistent advancement of societies along ascending levels of progress, which is determined by the increase in knowledge, belongs to A. Saint-Simon.

His ideas were developed by the founder of sociology O. Comte. Comte's law of intellectual evolution of mankind directly points to the direction and criterion of social progress - the degree of advancement to the highest in his concept, the scientific (positive) stage of development. G. Spencer, sharing the idea of the nonlinear nature of evolution, proposed to measure social progress by the achieved degree of complexity of societies. Social evolution is similar to biological evolution and gradually leads to the world becoming a better place. In the theory of K. Marx, the issue of social progress was resolved almost unambiguously. Achieving the highest stage of human development - the construction of a classless communist society where the free labor of free people will reign - is inevitable, although distant in time.

If O. Comte, G. Spencer and E. Durkheim constructed the concept of progress in the form of a two-way process of differentiation and integration regardless of its beneficial consequences, then L. Ward, N. Mikhailovsky and others believed that progress consists of an increase in human happiness or a decrease human suffering. In one of his first works, P. Sorokin pointed out that both of these trends are insufficient and need to be synthesized. Otherwise, the theory of progress risks giving a formula of stagnation instead of a formula for progress.

Most supporters of social evolutionism are convinced of the existence of intellectual and technological progress, but opinions differ regarding moral progress. Those who believe that moral progress exists belong to the school of evolutionary ethics. They proceed from the fact that the very presence of morality as the basis for interaction and mutual assistance between people is already the most important factor in the survival of society. Moral evolution does not abolish the struggle for existence, but humanizes it, forcing us to find ever softer ways of struggle.

For a long time, the prevailing idea among evolutionists was that evolution is unidirectional for all societies, when each of them goes through successively identical stages of development on the path to progress. In the 20th century this view was found untenable on the basis of anthropological research. It turned out that not only non-Western, but also many European countries developed not according to one, but according to different scenarios, which included a different number and sequence of stages.

On a new basis, the evolutionary approach has been revived in recent years: evolution is not unidirectional, but can go in many directions. According to the theory of evolutionary change by the structural functionalist T. Parsons, societies tend to become increasingly differentiated in their structures and functions, with new structures expected to be more functionally adapted than previous ones.

The position of supporters of the cyclical development of societies is significantly different. First world war and periodic economic crises have raised doubts about the overall progressive development of mankind. Thus, the German scientist Oswald Spengler in his book “The Decline of Europe” (1918) substantiated the periodization of the development and decline of cultures by analogy with the stages of the human life cycle, including decline and death. In his opinion, each of the eight cultures he studied existed for about 1000 years. Therefore, if we assume that Western European culture originated about 900 years ago, then its end is already near.

The English historian Arnold Toynbee also believed that the development of civilizations occurs along one path, improving and moving towards decline in similar stages. Emerging as a response to any challenge from natural or human factors, a civilization flourishes as long as its elite is able to counteract this challenge. Otherwise, there is a split and disintegration of civilization and, due to the increase in internal conflicts, a movement towards decline.

Cyclic theories should also include the sociocultural dynamics of P. Sorokin, which contains a very pessimistic assessment of the prospects for the development of modern Western society.

Another example of cyclical theories is the concept of “world-economy” by I. Wallerstein, according to which third world countries will not be able to repeat the path taken by the leading states of the modern economy; capitalist world-economy, which originated more than 500 years ago, in 1967-1973. entered the inevitable final phase of the life cycle - the crisis phase.

As for the specific criteria of social progress, long discussions are also ongoing on this issue between representatives of different sociological schools and directions. Perhaps the most preferable positions are those of those authors who strive to give the criteria of social progress a humanistic meaning. The point is that it is not enough to talk about social changes, including social development, only as about objectively occurring processes, “processes in themselves,” speaking philosophical language. No less important are their other aspects - their appeal to individuals, groups, and society as a whole. After all, the task is not only to record the very fact of social changes and social development, to determine their types, and to identify the driving forces. It is equally important to understand their humanistic, human meaning - they lead to human well-being, his prosperity, or to a decrease in the level and deterioration of his quality of life.

A sociologist must strive to find more or less objective indicators for assessing social changes and qualifying them as progress or regression. As a rule, in such situations it is produced special system social indicators, which can serve as a basis for assessment. Thus, the Institute of Socio-Political Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences has developed a detailed “System of Social Indicators of Russian Society.” It is divided into four groups according to spheres of social relations: social, socio-political, socio-economic and spiritual-moral. In each of the areas, indicators are divided into three groups by type of measurement: social conditions as objective data that determines the “background” of the development of social relations; social indicators as quantitative characteristics of social relations, recorded by statistical methods, and, finally, social indicators as quality characteristics social relations, recorded by sociological methods. The overlay of indicators on the spheres of social relations allows us to identify 12 measurement subsystems, which act as the basic basis of the systemic order.

The criteria for progressive processes include qualitative improvement of the main factors of social change:

Environment;

Population structures;

Economic factor;

Increasing the level and quality of human life;

The degree of distribution of innovations in all spheres of society;

Improving the sociocultural conditions of human life, etc.
In addition to those mentioned, many other criteria of social progress could be pointed out. But, as many authors emphasize, the main and universal integrative criterion of progress is associated with its humanistic meaning.

Philosophy and futorology.

FUTUROLOGY (Latin futurun - future and Greek logos - teaching, word) - ideas about the future of humanity, a field of knowledge covering the prospects of social processes. The term “F.” was proposed in 1943 by the German sociologist O. Flechtheim, meaning a kind of supra-class “philosophy of the future” opposed to ideology and utopia. Since the beginning of the 60s. this concept has spread in the West in the sense of the history of the future", "science of the future", designed to identify the prognostic (predictive) functions of all scientific disciplines. Since the prospects of social processes are studied by many. sciences, the term “F.”, due to its ambiguity and uncertainty, has been replaced since the late 60s by the concept of “future research,” which covers the theory and practice of forecasting. Bourgeois philosophy includes apologetic, reformist, left-radical, and other movements. In the 60s dominated by the first to put forward the theory of post-industrial society (Bell, G. Kahn, Aron, B. de Jouvenel). Reformists spoke from the position of the theory of convergence (F. Baade, F. Polak, I. Gal-tung), left-wing radicals argued the inevitability of disaster Western civilization"in the face of the scientific and technological revolution (A. Waskow and others). Since the late 60s, bourgeois philosophy has been experiencing a crisis, during which a trend first emerged that proved the inevitability of " global catastrophe"with the existing trends in social development, and then, from the late 70s, - a movement advocating the need for a transition to " new civilization", built on the principles of bourgeois humanism. The leading influence in bourgeois philosophy in the 70s was acquired by the Club of Rome, on whose initiative the so-called Global Modeling of Humanity's Prospects based on the use of Computers was launched. The diverse and contradictory concepts of bourgeois philosophy . is opposed to the Marxist-Leninist doctrine of the future of humanity, scientific forecasting, which is based on the provisions of dialectical and historical materialism, the theory of scientific communism.