| Parameter name | Meaning |
| Article topic: | Spiritual realm |
| Rubric (thematic category) | Sociology |
Spiritual realm- this is the area of creation and development of spiritual blessings. The elements of the spiritual sphere are spiritual needs as a source of spiritual activity of society, a means of carrying out spiritual production, as well as subjects of spiritual activity. Spiritual values main element spiritual sphere - exist in the form of ideas and are materially embodied in the form of language, works of art etc.
are produced not things, but ideas, images, scientific and artistic values. True, these values are one way or another materialized in physical things, carriers of these spiritual values, in books, paintings, sculptures or in modern electronic media. But still, the main thing in these objects is not their material side, but their spiritual content, the ideas, images, and feelings contained in them.
The spiritual sphere includes universities and laboratories, museums and theaters, art galleries and research institutes, magazines and newspapers, cultural monuments and national art treasures, etc. This sphere three main tasks. The science designed to discover new knowledge in technical and humanitarian fields , i.e. create avant-garde technologies, projects spaceships, decipher ancient texts, describe the laws of the universe, etc. Education is called upon transfer knowledge discovered by scientists to subsequent generations the most effective way why schools and universities are created, latest programs and teaching methods, qualified teachers are trained.
Culture designed to create extra-scientific, namely, artistic values, store them in libraries, museums, and exhibit them in galleries. Culture should also include religion, which is the basis of the spiritual culture of any society.
The whole, as Aristotle taught, must be understood only as something more, something other than the simple sum of its constituent parts . For this reason, in order to understand society as a whole, it is necessary to study not only its parts, but also to identify the special properties of society as a whole. These are the following properties:
Amateur activity;
Self-organization;
Self-development;
Self-sufficiency. - this is the ability of a system to create and recreate everything through its own activity the necessary conditions own existence, to produce everything necessary for collective life.
Self-sufficiency is the main difference between society and its components. None of the above types social activities cannot function independently, none of the individual social groups unable to survive alone, to provide herself with everything she needs. Only society as a whole has this ability. Only the totality of all types of activities, all taken together and interconnected groups and their institutions create society as a whole as a self-sufficient social system - a product joint activities people who are capable of creating all the necessary conditions for their existence through their own efforts
The connection between legal norms and socio-economic relations is clearly visible. Let's turn to the famous historical facts. In one of the first codes of laws Kievan Rus, which is commonly called “Russian Truth,” provides for various punishments for murder. In this case, the measure of punishment was determined primarily by a person’s place in the system of hierarchical relations, his belonging to one or another social stratum or group. Thus, the fine for killing a tiun (steward) was enormous: it was equal to the value of a herd of 80 oxen or 400 rams. The life of a stinker or serf was valued 16 times less.
Concerning social sphere , then here we can talk about its direct depending on the development of the material sphere where public wealth is created - schools, residential buildings, hospitals, sanatoriums and holiday homes are built, clothing, shoes, food, medicines are produced, i.e. everything that serves to satisfy the primary and most important needs of people. Wherein the state of the social sphere also affects material production, because the spiritual and physical well-being of people, the level of their upbringing and education and, consequently, their readiness to work in material production depend on it.
Spiritual sphere - concept and types. Classification and features of the category "Spiritual Sphere" 2017, 2018.
The spiritual sphere appears before us as the most sublime, for it is here that what distinguishes man from other living beings - spirit, spirituality - is born and realized with our own eyes. Here spiritual needs are born, from the most basic to the most refined and... .
Policy structure Political sphere Politics (Greek рolitike – polis, public) -) (in in a broad sense) – setting goals and a program to achieve them;
-) (in the narrow sense) – a sphere of purposeful relationships between people, the purpose of which is: --)... . Politic system
- Spiritual sphere. Political sphere. 1.3.1. Without the abolition of serfdom, it turned out to be impossible to strengthen and improve
state system management, the crisis of which, after the reign of Nicholas I, became obvious to the most enlightened and patriotically thinking part... Definition of the spiritual sphere, its constituent elements. Social consciousness is, first of all, an ideal phenomenon of society; its forms, types, levels, states differ in their specific content, public functions, but at the same time they all retain the quality of ideality. Meanwhile in public life the functioning of the consciousness of society is not exhausted
ideal forms
, consciousness also acquires more specific sociological features. Therefore, there is a need to consider the consciousness of society not only within the framework of its ideality, but also in the broader context of social life. This content of the spiritual life of society is reflected in the category “spiritual sphere of society.”
1 “The spiritual sphere involves the identification of the following areas: science, ideology, artistic and aesthetic life, education and enlightenment, ensuring the formation of new generations, the transmission of spiritual values from generation to generation” (Category historical materialism. M., 1980. P. 303). A.K. Uledov identifies ideological, scientific, artistic and aesthetic life as an area or subsystem of spiritual life (see: Uledov A.K. Spiritual life of society).
In our opinion, the elements of the spiritual sphere are characterized by three distinctive features. Firstly, they are based on forms, types public consciousness, secondly, they include certain types of spiritual activity, thirdly, they are institutionalized subsystems of society. Let's look at these signs.
Thus, science is based on knowledge of the laws of nature, society, and man himself. Religion is based on a kind of reflection in the heads of people of the forces of nature and society, their own essence. Art involves an aesthetic reflection of reality. The differentiation of the spiritual sphere to a certain extent reproduces the differentiation of the forms of social consciousness and includes it.
2 “Here, therefore, the following proposition is valid without any restrictions: the object of man is nothing other than his own objective essence. A man's God is only as much as his thoughts and intentions...
The divine essence is nothing more than the human essence, purified, freed from individual boundaries, that is, from the real, bodily person, objectified, that is, considered and revered as an extraneous, separate entity... religion is the first and, moreover, indirect self-consciousness human” (Feuerbach L. Selected philosophical works. M., 1955. T. 2. P. 42-43).
But the elements of the spiritual sphere are not just individual forms of social consciousness. They also reveal the active and productive side of spiritual life, i.e. the very activity of production and reproduction of spiritual values. For example, science is not only the sum of knowledge about the laws of reality, the totality of objective truths, it is also the most complex process of human activity, spiritual production. In order to comprehensively reveal this process, it is necessary to analyze a kind of technology of scientific knowledge, to identify the role of various factors scientific activity. In the same way, ideology is not a collection class ideas, slogans, assessments, it includes a complex process of developing these ideas, which, in particular, requires funds, skills, and abilities. This is a whole branch of activity, a kind of ideological industry, in which thousands of people who are the subjects of this activity are professionally employed.
1 “The essence of science lies not in already known truths, but in the search for them, in experimental research activities aimed at understanding and using the laws of nature and society. Science is not knowledge in itself, but the activity of society to produce knowledge, i.e. scientific production" (Volkov G.I. Sociology of Science. M., 1968: see also: Shvyrev V.S. Scientific knowledge as an activity. M., I984).
Let us compare moral and aesthetic consciousness. In both cases we are dealing with forms of social consciousness, each of which plays important role in society, fulfills its functions and is not replaced by any other. At the same time, the social manifestation of moral and aesthetic consciousness in society is different. Moral consciousness, due to a number of its characteristics, has not become a special type, a type of spiritual production in the system of social division of labor. If we can raise the question of who “produces” moral principles, norms, and assessments, then this production, distributed among art, science, ideology, and various institutions, is born in the very process of life of a class and society. But specialized spiritual moral production, which would appear special labor There is still no specific group of people in society.
As for aesthetic consciousness, it has developed into a certain type of spiritual production. Along with the aesthetic reflection of reality, the origins of which are rooted in human labor, professional aesthetic activity of artists, writers, sculptors, performers, and filmmakers has also developed in society; the essence of this activity is an aesthetic reflection of reality. That is why moral consciousness, being an important form of social consciousness, is not an element of the spiritual sphere of society, but aesthetic consciousness has acquired this status.
In short, science, ideology, art, and religion have become specialized types of spiritual production and spiritual activity in society. All of them are included in common system division of labor in society. And it is in this capacity that they act as elements of the spiritual sphere.
A characteristic feature of the elements of the spiritual sphere is the public institutionalization of professional spiritual activity.
Let's look at science as an example. Science today is a complex social organization, organized into a system of institutes and other departments, and a specific system of training personnel for scientific activities, and material and financial support. scientific work, and its own system of relations between people in this area. The same can be said about education and upbringing. Education in modern society is a complex social subsystem, which includes a set of organizations, the training of teachers, the material base for training, forms of management, planning the work of these organizations, and much more. 1
See, for example: Ke.ye V.Zh. Science as a component social system. M., 1988.
The institutionalization of elements of the spiritual sphere reveals another difference between these elements and social consciousness. For example, an important component of social consciousness is public opinion. But it, in our opinion, is not an element of the spiritual sphere of public life because it exists as an opinion, judgment, assessment, and not as a sociologically formed social institution. 2
“Formal, subjective freedom, consisting in the fact that individual persons, as such, have and express their own opinion, judgment about universal Affairs and give advice regarding them, is manifested in that compatibility, which is called public opinion"(Hegel G. Soch. T. 7. M.-L., 1934. P. 336).
So, the elements of the spiritual sphere are characterized by a certain fusion of forms, types of social consciousness with professional activity on their production, with the public institutionalization of this activity.
The totality of these elements, their constitution into a certain subsystem of society, its own development and functioning form one of the four most important subsystems of society - its spiritual sphere.
Determinants of the spiritual sphere of society. Considering other spheres of public life - social, political, we have already encountered a certain versatility of the social determinants of each of them. But the spiritual sphere in this regard clearly leads in terms of richness and diversity of social causes. It should be taken into account that each
the element is not associated only with any one social reason (this does not negate the fact that in specific cases the predominant importance of one or more reasons can be identified).
Thus, first of all, the economic sphere of society is the most powerful reason for the development of such an element as science. It was she who transformed the scientific knowledge of the laws of the surrounding world from an activity of a small group of people into a widely ramified subsystem social activities, with millions of troops professional workers, with a strong material base.
An important social determinant of the spiritual sphere is social sphere. One example of the effect of this dependence can be the constitution of religious consciousness into the public institution of the church. At a certain stage in the development of private property relations, under conditions of the dominance of spontaneous forces, religious faith turns into a complex social subsystem with its own organizations, personnel, and a certain social role.
The influence of the political sphere on the formation of ideology is clearly manifested in society. Actually ideological activity, i.e. development of certain ideological goals, programs, understanding them from a certain angle from the point of view of classes, nations, states, international relations, a certain processing of the consciousness of the working masses in the interests of the ruling classes - all this was born along with the appearance of the first political institutions. True, the ideological support of political institutions long time was not differentiated from these institutions themselves, acting as part of the mechanism of political governance, which was expressed, in particular, in the fact that politicians often combined the functions of ideologists. But these facts are not a basis for identifying political and ideological functions in general, or for denying the relative independence of ideological activity.
One of the most important social determinants of the spiritual sphere is the social needs for the transfer of accumulated experience of socialization,
educating new generations of people. It is clear that society could not exist without such a transfer of social experience. But if the transfer of achieved experience has always been an integral feature of evolution human society, this does not mean that it has always been the same, that social means, forms, methods have not changed historically. If in the first stages of human history the transfer of social experience and the education of new generations were carried out through imitation in joint work, the use family traditions, then with the development of social production, groups of people began to emerge who were professionally engaged in training and educating the younger generations. Gradually, a whole branch of social activity, a public subsystem of education and upbringing, emerged, within the framework of which the transfer of accumulated cultural achievements and the primary socialization of younger generations takes place.
The wealth of social prerequisites, the diversity of the roots from which the elements of the sphere of society grow, explain to a certain extent the richness and diversity of the elements of the spiritual sphere. Apparently, this diversity cannot serve as a reason to doubt whether the selected elements represent something unified in a generic sense, whether they generally constitute a single spiritual sphere of society. Of course, one cannot ignore this diversity, forcefully align all elements, and level out their differences.
In our opinion, the most general synthesizing indicator of all the listed elements is that in each of them consciousness acts as a kind of center around which the features of each element seem to be molded and united. Consciousness here is both the result of a certain activity - it is produced, and a product of consumption - it is consumed, and a certain means, an instrument of spiritual production, i.e. the basis on which new spiritual values are derived, and highest goal, for the sake of which they are formed social institutions, scientific institutions, education authorities, creative unions. Just as material goods, communities, organizations act as a kind of boundary that delineates the limits of the material, social, political spheres, so consciousness, as it were, defines the boundary of the spiritual sphere and highlights its specificity. It is this circumstance that gives grounds for uniting and connecting such different in content and specific public role ideology, science, education, church, art.
It should be noted that in public life all elements of the spiritual sphere are closely connected and interact with each other. Thus, for a long time, the development of the church had a strong influence on art and science; Today the connection between science and education, ideology and science is especially obvious. Essentially, each of the selected elements influences all the others to a certain extent. Therefore, we can not only state the presence of similar features in various elements of the spiritual sphere, but also highlight certain systemic connections between them. In the spiritual sphere, as in other spheres, it is impossible to clearly
In the social system there are directions that have been called spheres of society. Such areas are significant and stable subsystems that reflect certain aspects of each person’s life. Below we will look at what the key areas of public life look like and what they are connected to. We will also examine in detail what the spiritual sphere is.
This information will help students or schoolchildren prepare a thematic report on this topic and select suitable pictures that could clearly present examples of elements of the spiritual sphere.
Spheres of public life
The social system includes certain components. They are treated as social actors, and other entities that are called spheres of public
life. Is our society is incredibly complex organized system vital activity. And like other complex systems, it includes subsystems, that is, spheres.
Public spheres are understood as one or another set of stable relations between subjects of the social system. Each of them is a certain stable and large, as well as relatively autonomous subsystem of activity.
Regardless of focus, it includes the following:
- this or that human activity(it can be related to religion, politics, education, etc.);
- social institutions (work, school, church, political party etc.);
- the established relationships of one person with others that develop in the process of his activities, in particular, during distribution and exchange in the economic sphere.
There are four key areas of people's social life:
- social (according to it, people differ by nationality, class, people, age category, etc.);
- economic (considers relations of production between people and productive forces);
- political (socio-political entities, parties, state, etc.);
- spiritual sphere (education, science, morality, religious relations, etc.).
It should also be understood that a person can simultaneously be included in different areas and maintain or not maintain relationships with other people depending on their views, beliefs and social factors. The spheres cannot be called a space where people live separately; they closely intersect with each other. Man occupies a central position in relation to all spheres and is inscribed in them simultaneously.
Spiritual subsystem of society
A detailed study of the spiritual component of our society is impossible without highlighting it structural elements(forms of social consciousness), which we will discuss below. They differ from each other both in content, and by the method of cognition of objects, as well as by the time of appearance in the process of development, but at the same time they in their own way determine the spiritual direction of the social life of each person.
Spirituality is one of the directions of life, reflecting the specifics following relations between people:
- intellectual;
- moral;
- ideological.
Each type of such relationship arises in the process of development, perception, production or transmission of spiritual values.
This area should be considered as intangible and purposefully organized. Unlike material it is not related to the satisfaction of tangible human needs.
Differences between intangible needs and material needs
Material Sphere human life is directly related to the fact that we satisfy our tangible needs, including basic and not only, for example:
- need for food;
- in clothes;
- in transport and so on.
But the spiritual is aimed at comprehending other values. Thanks to it, you can develop your worldview and consciousness, as well as moral qualities.
Spiritual needs are the opposite of material ones. They are not biologically determined, like, for example, the need for nutrition. The formation and development of spiritual needs arises in the process of formation of a person’s personality and his socialization.
Naturally, you can live without meeting these needs, but then a person will live like an animal, satisfying only basic needs.
But a person’s spiritual needs can be satisfied if one carries out appropriate activities - learning, creating and more. This activity is aimed at changing public and individual consciousness and is manifested in the following:
- in education;
- in education;
- in self-education;
- in religion;
- in creativity;
- in art.
Spiritual activity itself is of two types:
- producing;
- consuming.
Production in this context is the development and formation of a person’s worldview, his consciousness and spiritual qualities. The products of this production are as follows:
- theories;
- values;
- spiritual relationships between people and their spiritual world;
- ideas;
- artistic images.
The key mechanisms of production are art, religion or science.
And spiritual consumption means the consumption of products of religion, art or science. Here we can talk about acquiring new knowledge, visiting museums, concerts or theaters, and much more.
The spiritual principle in society produces stores and distributes such types of valuables as:
- aesthetic;
- scientific;
- moral;
- legal, etc.
The sphere can cover different levels and forms of social consciousness: law and religion, science and aesthetics, and much more.
Elements of the spiritual realm
So what is included in the spiritual realm? It contains several important elements. Its key components are:
- Morality- it unites existing behavioral norms that are based on ideas about good or bad, right or wrong. Morality is a category that existed at the very beginning of the development of society, because the rules governing the key values of society are capable of regulating any social relations.
- Religion- speaking scientific language, this is a form of perception environment which is based on faith in higher power. Religious people feel connected to such forces. Every religion has its established standards and behavioral patterns.
- The science- this concept, on the one hand, means a body of knowledge about the world, and on the other, activities aimed at their argumentation, development and systematization. Scientific knowledge is objective and capable of reflecting various phenomena and patterns as they exist outside of human will.
- Education- this process involves the transfer and assimilation of knowledge, during which a person acquires certain skills and abilities. Thanks to education, the mind and feelings develop, the individual’s own opinion is formed, as well as certain values and worldview. With absence basic knowledge a person will not be able to fully feel like a member of society and communicate with others.
- Art- in a broad sense, this concept means craftsmanship that creates products that can deliver aesthetic pleasure. With its help, certain ideas or emotions are expressed. Through the author's skill, feelings, ideas or thoughts are conveyed in a certain form.
- Culture- it is formed thanks to the spiritual values and achievements of society. It is on their basis that the cultural customs of a particular people are created. Since different nations have different historical pasts, they are formed differently.
Interrelation of subsystems of social structure
We said earlier that everything public spheres closely intertwined with each other. If we look at the history of sciences devoted to society, we can note that in different eras one direction or another was considered dominant. For example, in the Middle Ages the spiritual sphere, namely religiosity, was the most significant part of public life. During the Enlightenment the dominant concepts were science and morality.
However, in fact, the elements of all these subsystems are closely related to each other. In particular, certain economic relations directly affect the structure social structure. Where a person occupies a social hierarchy directly affects his political and cultural views and much more. And economic relations depend on legal system, which is often formed on the basis of the spirituality of the people, their religious and moral traditions.
Social systems are complex, dynamic and changeable.
If we talk directly about spirituality in the life of society, then its key goal is positive changes in individual and public consciousness. The constant enrichment of society as a whole is possible only when everyone individually increases their level of spirituality.
Spheres of society are a set of relationships of a sustainable nature between various social objects.
Each sphere of society includes certain types of human activity (for example: religious, political or educational) and established relationships between individuals.
- social (nations, peoples, classes, gender and age groups, etc.);
- economic (productive relations and forces);
- political (parties, state, socio-political movements);
- spiritual (morality, religion, art, science and education).
Social sphere
The social sphere is a set of relationships, enterprises, industries and organizations that are connected and determine the level and life of society and its well-being. This area primarily includes a range of services - culture, education, healthcare, Physical Culture, social Security, catering, passenger transport, utilities, communications.
The concept of "social sphere" has different meanings, but they are all interconnected. In sociology, this is a sphere of society that includes different social communities and close connections between them. In political science and economics, it is a set of industries, organizations and enterprises whose task is to improve the standard of living of society.
This area includes various social societies and the relationship between them. Occupying a certain position in society, a person enters into different communities.
Economic sphere
The economic sphere is a set of relations between people, the emergence of which is due to the creation and movement of various material goods; it is the area of exchange, production, consumption and distribution of services and goods. The method of production and distribution of material goods is main factor, which determines the specifics
the main task This sphere of society consists in resolving such questions as: “what, how and for whom to produce?” and “how to reconcile the processes of consumption and production?”
Structure economic sphere life of society consists of:
- - work force(people), tools and objects of working life;
- production relations are the production of goods, their distribution, further exchange or consumption.
Political sphere
The political sphere is the relationship of people who are primarily connected directly with the authorities and are engaged in ensuring joint security. The following elements of the political sphere can be distinguished:
- political institutions and organizations - revolutionary groups, presidency, parties, parliamentarism, citizenship and others;
- political communications - forms and connections of interaction between various participants political process, their relationship;
- political norms - moral, political and legal norms, traditions and customs;
- ideology and political culture- ideas of a political nature, political psychology and culture.
Spiritual realm
This is the area of intangible and ideal formations, which include different values and ideas of religion, morality and art.
The structure of this sphere of society includes:
- morality - a system of ideals, moral norms, actions and assessments;
- religion - various shapes worldviews that are based on faith in the power of God;
- art - the spiritual life of a person, artistic perception and exploration of the world;
- education - the process of training and education;
- law - norms that are supported by the state.
All spheres of society are closely interconnected
Each sphere is inherently independent, but at the same time, each of them is in close interaction with the others. The boundaries between spheres of society are transparent and blurred.
The spiritual sphere of society is a system of relations between people, reflecting the spiritual and moral life of society, represented by such subsystems as culture, science, religion, morality, ideology, and art. The significance of the spiritual sphere is determined by its most important, priority function of determining the value-normative system of society, which, in turn, reflects the level of development of public consciousness and the intellectual and moral potential of society as a whole.
The study of the spiritual and moral life of society necessarily involves identifying its structural elements. Such elements are called forms of social consciousness. These include moral, religious, political, scientific, aesthetic consciousness. These forms determine the corresponding subsystems of the spiritual sphere of society, differing from each other not only in the content and method of cognition of their object, but also in the time of their emergence in the process of development of society.Historically, the first form of social consciousness is moral consciousness, without which humanity could not exist even at its most early stages its development, since moral norms reflecting the basic values of society are the most important regulators and stabilizers of any social relationships. In the conditions of primitive society, two more forms of social consciousness arise - aesthetic and religious. It is believed that religious consciousness develops later than aesthetic and, accordingly, moral consciousness, which, however, is argued by representatives of the institution of religion, arguing about the primacy of religion in relation to morality and art. Further, as society develops, political consciousness is formed, then scientific consciousness. Of course, the listed forms are not the final and only ones. The development of the social system continues, which leads to the emergence of new subsystems in it that require their own understanding and, consequently, give rise to new forms of the spiritual sphere of society.
The spiritual sphere, being a subsystem of society as a whole, necessarily responds to all changes occurring in its other subsystems: economic, political, social. Therefore, drastic economic changes in Russia could not but affect the state of the country’s spiritual life. Many researchers focus on changes in value orientations Russians, increasing the importance of individualistic values.
The problem of commercialization of culture and the related problem of reducing its level is acute. artistic value, as well as the lack of demand for classical cultural samples by the mass consumer. These and other negative trends in the development of domestic spiritual culture can become a significant obstacle to the progressive development of our society.
Information was used from the site http://www.ronl.ru
