Antipyretics for children are prescribed by a pediatrician. But there are emergency situations with fever when the child needs to be given medicine immediately. Then the parents take responsibility and use antipyretic drugs. What is allowed to be given to infants? How can you lower the temperature in older children? What medications are the safest?

The history of philosophy goes back more than two and a half millennia. During this time, many definitions of philosophy have accumulated, but debates about what it represents - worldview, science, ideology, art - still persist. Everyone knows the colloquial, everyday definitions of philosophy:

1) philosophy is established beliefs By about anything(for example, life philosophy, student philosophy);
2) distracted, are common, Not related To business reasoning(for example, to breed philosophy).

One of the most widespread definitions of philosophy, which was adopted in the USSR for several decades, was based on K. Marx’s thesis about the need to create a new philosophical science, armed with modern, accurate methods of studying existence, society and man: philosophy is the science O most general laws development nature, human society And thinking.

Philosophy is often understood as anyone's doctrine O world(for example, ancient philosophy, Hegel’s philosophy, etc.)

The term "philosophy" is often used to describe methodological principles, lying V basis any Sciences, region knowledge(for example, philosophy of history, philosophy of mathematics, etc.)

Defining social philosophy is even more difficult, since this area of knowledge directly affects the interests of people, their understanding of the world and themselves in this world. Social philosophy originates in Antiquity. Its appearance is associated with the names of Socrates and Plato, who first posed the task of philosophical understanding of society and its individual spheres.

As for the philosophy of history, its beginning in Europe was laid by Augustine Aurelius (IV century AD) with his famous work “On the City of God.” The Augustinian interpretation of the historical process dominated in European philosophy until the 18th century. But the formation of social philosophy as a separate branch of knowledge dates back to the middle of the 19th century. At this time, the formation of sociology and psychology took place. Scientists abandon “speculative”, rational knowledge of the world based only on reflection in favor of experimental, rational knowledge. They highlight the active role of a person who masters the secrets of the universe not with the help of metaphysical constructs divorced from real life, but through precise scientific methods.

The century and a half that has passed since then has not brought clarity to the problem of the essence of both philosophy in general and social philosophy in particular. To this day, there is no unity in the literature in the definition of social philosophy and its subject. Moreover, in the scientific world there is not even a unified understanding of one of the main categories - “social” - although the object of social philosophy is social life and social processes.

In the literature the term " social"used in different senses. Perhaps the most frequently used definition is that given by P.A. Sorokin, according to many, the most outstanding sociologist of the first half of the twentieth century." Social phenomenon There is world concepts, world logical (scientific - in strict sense this words) of being, resulting V process interaction (collective experience) human individuals“- wrote this American scientist (Sorokin P.A. Man. Civilization. Society. M., 1992. P. 527.).

Let's consider definitions social philosophy. One of the most famous definitions is the following: " Social philosophy called upon answer on question O volume, How at all Maybe conscious ordering people their relations V society, which opened And open before them V various historical era ways And facilities construction social relationships, Which character wore And wear Here objective obstacles, getting up before people How these restrictions are realized people And appear V practice, how much adequately this problem reflected philosophical systems And ideological designs of the past And present"(Essays on social philosophy. M., 1994. P.3.).

We will not analyze such a complex definition (interpretation of the word); apparently, it can be quite useful for a theoretical scientist, but we will try to find a simpler definition: “Social philosophy is a system of scientific knowledge about the most general patterns and trends in the interaction of social phenomena, the functioning and the development of society, the integral process of social life" (Social Philosophy. M., 1995. pp. 13-14.).

The author of another definition is the famous domestic scientist V.S. Barulin. He believes that the " social philosophy studies laws, according to which V society fold up sustainable, big groups of people, relationship between these groups, their connections And role V society"(Barulin V.S. Social philosophy. Part 1.M., 1993. P. 90.)

The student can use any of the above definitions. He may also try to synthesize them in some way, or even try to construct his own definition. But for this you need to know that the diversity and difference in definitions of social philosophy is largely due to the fact that the problem-subject status of social philosophy is still not clear. The reasons for this are varied. This is reflected in the nihilistic (completely denying all past achievements) break with the “Isthmth” past. The statement since the mid-80s of “pluralism of thoughts, not knowledge” is influential. Difficulties in mastering modern Western literature also have an impact.

On last reason Let's go into more detail. For several decades, even professional Soviet philosophers, not to mention those who studied philosophy at higher educational institutions or were simply interested in it, were deprived of the opportunity to communicate with foreign non-Marxist colleagues and read foreign philosophical literature. The consequence of this, among other things, was that since the late 1980s the book market has bombarded readers with such a volume of previously unknown literature that it was simply difficult to master. But it's not only that. In Russia, much of what was already the history of philosophy abroad has become fashionable.

If in the West the term “social philosophy” became very widespread in the middle of the twentieth century, then in Russia - only in the final 90s. To be fair, it should be noted that in the West there is no consensus on the essence of social philosophy. Thus, the textbook for Oxford students (Graham G. Modern social philosophy. Oxford, 1988.) contains sections on the essence of society, personality, social justice, social equality and its maintenance, health care, moral standards and law. Another textbook, published in Darmstadt (Forschner M. Man and Society: Basic Concepts of Social Philosophy. Darmstadt, 1989), examines the concepts of society, the idea of free will and human responsibility, problems of punishment, power, political systems, theories of just wars, etc. This list goes on.

Let us note that the approaches of domestic authors are also different and they all have the right to exist, since they are not alternative, but only complement each other, considering the complex social world from different aspects of the philosophical worldview.

Which role What role does social philosophy play in society? Before answering this question, let us recall functions philosophy: after all, to a large extent they are common to social philosophy.

1) function extrapolations universals(identification of the most general ideas, concepts, concepts on which the socio-historical life of people is based);
2) function rationalization And systematization(translation into logical and theoretical form of the total results of human experience in all its varieties: practical, cognitive, value);
3) critical function ( criticism of the dogmatic way of thinking and cognition, misconceptions, prejudices, errors);
4) function formation theoretical generalized image peace on certain steps development society.

Speaking about the specifics of social philosophy, special attention should be paid to the following: functions:

1) epistemological function(research and explanation of the most general patterns and trends in the development of society as a whole, as well as social processes at the level of large social groups);
2) methodological function(social philosophy acts as a general doctrine about methods of cognition of social phenomena, the most general approaches to their study);
3) integration And synthesis social knowledge(establishment of universal connections of social existence);
4) prognostic function social philosophy (creating hypotheses about general trends in the development of social life and man);
5) ideological function(unlike other historical forms of worldview - mythology and religion - social philosophy is associated with a conceptual, abstract theoretical explanation of the social world);
6) axiological or value function(any socio-philosophical concept contains an assessment of the object under study;
7) social function(in the broadest sense, social philosophy is called upon to perform a dual task - to explain social existence and contribute to its material and spiritual change);
8) humanitarian function(social philosophy should contribute to the formation of humanistic values and ideals, the affirmation of the positive purpose of life).

Functions social philosophy dialectically interconnected. Each of them presupposes the others and one way or another includes them in its content. Thus, it is obvious that the socio-philosophical study of social processes will be more successful the more carefully attention is paid to each of the functions of philosophy.

Famous philosopher K.H. Momdzhyan rightly notes that, unlike specific sciences, each of which develops its own “plot,” philosophy has the audacity to try to comprehend the world in its totality, universality, universality. This totality is revealed by it in two interrelated aspects, which can conventionally be called “substantial” and “functional”. IN first case speech coming O search significant And non-random similarities between subsystems holistic peace (for example whom Maybe serve their subordination universal principles causal-functional communications, on existence which insist concepts philosophical determinism). In second case speech coming O attempts explanations similar similarities by disclosure significant And non-random connections, real mediations between correlative "kingdoms" being"(Momdzhyan K.H. Society. Society. History. M., 1994. P.68.).

At the same time, social philosophy acts as a special theory, which has its own categories, laws and principles of research.

social philosophy knowledge society

Due to the high degree of generality of its provisions, laws and principles, social philosophy also acts as a methodology for other social sciences.

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State government educational institution

higher professional education

"Russian Customs Academy"

Department of Humanities

TEST

in the discipline "Philosophy"

on the topic "Social functions of philosophy"

Completed by: Belousov A.A., 2nd year student of the correspondence course of the Faculty of Customs Affairs, group Ts1333

Lyubertsy 2014

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of the test is to study the social functions of philosophy.

So, philosophy - firstly - is highest level and the type of worldview is a theoretically formulated, systemically rational worldview. Secondly, by its very essence it is designed to reveal the rational meaning and universal laws of the existence and development of the world and man.

BASIC FUNCTIONS OF SOCIAL PHILOSOPHY

The functions of social philosophy must be considered in relation to the society in which it exists and the student who studies it: these functions are close, but not identical.

Figure 1. - Main functions of social philosophy

The most important function of social philosophy is, first of all, cognitive. It consists in studying the relationship between social consciousness and social existence, in developing the socio-philosophical theory that society needs. This work is carried out by social philosophers. The development of a theory includes defining the main categories and concepts of social philosophy, such as society, the formation of society, economics, civilization, etc., as well as bringing them into a certain system built on the basis of certain principles.

In the countries of Eastern Europe and Russia there is a transition from developed (Soviet) socialism to democratic capitalism. This transition contradicts Marxism-Leninism and its socio-philosophical component - historical materialism. Russian and foreign philosophers are faced with the task of filling the social and philosophical vacuum that arose after the collapse of historical materialism. Peter Kozlowski suggests filling it with personalism. We are trying to develop a social philosophy of historical realism.

The diagnostic function of social philosophy consists of analyzing society from the point of view of its current (crisis) state, assessing development options, their causes, methods and plans. Russia is a transitional society; in such periods, the role of politics (and politicians) is great, which represents the sphere of provoking and resolving conflicts. Such conflicts, on the one hand, act as a source of development for Russia, and on the other hand, they are accompanied by material, psychological and human sacrifices, many of which can be avoided with skillful management of social conflicts.

The diagnostic function of social philosophy allows us to analyze the causes of conflicts in various spheres of society, understand their causes and outline a socio-philosophical path to their resolution.

The prognostic function of social philosophy is expressed in the development of reasonable forecasts about trends in the development of societies and humanity, social contradictions and conflict processes in the future. This involves analyzing the development trends of the main social subjects (formations of society, social communities, institutions, organizations), the dynamics of interests, etc. This opportunity is given by the implementation of the cognitive and diagnostic functions of social philosophy. The result of the prognostic function is a forecast that sets out possible (real and formal) scenarios for the development of a given society and humanity.

These scenarios include reasonable goals for social development and realistic ways to implement them. Possible scenarios for the development of society and humanity can only be developed on the basis of existing socio-philosophical principles. The socio-philosophical approach to developing scenarios for the development of society differs from the pragmatic approach currently dominant in our country, which presents a response to historical challenges from the point of view of short-term interests, leads to the fact that we go with the flow of events, instead of swimming towards some morally justified goal. Events take over us and our principles if we do not use them.

The educational function of social philosophy is expressed in its study by students, leaders, and politicians. Knowledge of the basics of social philosophy allows you to use it to prevent and resolve conflicts, understand the main trends in the development of society and humanity. The lack of education of many people in the field of social philosophy is one of the reasons for ill-conceived and hasty decisions, utopian projects such as the communist one, destructive and diverse conflicts shaking our country. For a long time, the mindset of conflict with supposed enemies: capitalists, bourgeois, businessmen, speculators, etc. was introduced into the consciousness of Soviet people. Now we have to learn tolerance (tolerance) for opposing opinions and actions.

The projective function of social philosophy is to develop a project for transforming reality in the interests of some social community (group, class, stratum, nation). This transformation may concern changes in a social institution, state, formation, civilization and include the goal, subjects, means, timing, pace of transformation (for example, the Marxist-Leninist project of the socialist reorganization of Russia). In this case, social philosophy acquires an ideological character and plays the role of a justificatory authority for some political decisions.

And as V.A. correctly states. Tishkov, - that the 20th century was largely created by intellectuals, not only in the form of explanations of what was happening, but also in the form of instructions on what and how to do. And in this sense, we are talking not just about the responsibility of the historian, but also about the authority of the historian in history, and therefore about the benefits or harm of his actions. The past century, especially Russian history, provides more than enough grounds for such a view.

Society, represented by its ruling elite and intelligentsia, turns to social philosophy whenever it is in a crisis, when the way out of it is unclear, when new ideas and means of their implementation are required. The world now finds itself in this situation on the threshold of post-industrial civilization in conditions of an ecological crisis, and Russia in conditions of abandoning the outdated proletarian-socialist system.

The subject and specificity of philosophy cannot be revealed sufficiently fully without touching on the question of its functions. First of all, this is a worldview function, which is associated with an abstract theoretical, conceptual explanation of the world, in contrast to all other types and levels of worldview. The only thing I would like to add here is to point out the dual nature of philosophical concepts themselves, which is expressed in their attraction or scientific knowledge, objective truth, or pseudoscience.

The methodological function, which has also already been discussed, is that philosophy acts as a general doctrine of method and as a set of the most common methods knowledge and mastery of reality by man.

It is also worth highlighting the prognostic function of philosophy, the formulation within its framework of hypotheses about the general trends in the development of matter and consciousness, man and the world. In this case, the degree of probability of a forecast, naturally, will be higher, the more philosophy relies on science. Finally, one cannot fail to mention the function of philosophy as a school of theoretical thinking and wisdom. This is especially true for studying the history of philosophy.

The critical function of philosophy. It extends not only to other disciplines, but also to philosophy itself. The principle of “questioning everything,” preached by many philosophers since antiquity, precisely demonstrates the importance of a critical approach and the presence of a certain amount of skepticism in relation to existing knowledge and sociocultural values. He plays an anti-dogmatic role in their development. At the same time, it must be emphasized that only constructive criticism based on dialectical negation, and not abstract nihilism, has a positive meaning.

Closely related to the critical function of philosophy is its axiological function (from the Greek axios - valuable). Any philosophical system contains the moment of evaluating the object under study from the point of view of various values themselves: social, moral, aesthetic, ideological, etc. This function is especially acute during transitional periods of social development, when the problem of choosing a path of movement arises and the question arises of what should be discarded and what should be preserved from old values.

The social function of philosophy is quite multifaceted. It will be discussed in more detail in this essay.

Closely related to the social function is the function of philosophy, which we would call humanitarian. The point is that philosophy should play an adaptive and life-affirming role for each individual, contribute to the formation of humanistic values and ideals, and the affirmation of the positive meaning and purpose of life. It is thus called upon to carry out the function of intellectual therapy, which is especially important during periods of unstable social conditions, when old idols and ideals disappear, and new ones do not have time to form or gain authority; when human existence is in a “borderline situation”, on the verge of being and non-being, and everyone must make their own difficult choice.

It seems that today this function is especially relevant, and we should be grateful to V. Frankl, who created logotherapy (from the Greek logos - meaning, and therapeia - treatment) - a theory that could help millions of people. Its task is to “cope with the suffering that is caused by the philosophical problems posed to a person by life.” The name of the theory is formed by analogy with psychotherapy. However, the scientist places logotherapy much higher in importance, because a person, in his opinion, is more than a psyche, it is a spirit, which philosophy is designed to treat.

It should be emphasized that all functions of philosophy are dialectically interconnected. Each of them presupposes the others and somehow includes them. It is impossible to separate, for example, ideological and methodological, methodological and epistemological, social and humanitarian, etc. functions. And at the same time, only through their integral unity is the specificity and essence of philosophical knowledge revealed.

THE SOCIAL FUNCTION OF PHILOSOPHY AND ITS ROLE IN THE LIFE OF SOCIETY

social philosophy worldview prognostic

First of all, let us point out the basic meanings of the concept “social”. In modern philosophical and sociological literature, this concept is used in a narrow and broad sense.

In a narrow sense, “social” means the existence of a special area of social phenomena that make up the content of the so-called social sphere of society, in which its own range of problems is solved, affecting the relevant interests of people. These problems relate to the social status of people, their place in the system of social division of labor, the conditions of their work, movements from one social group to another, their standard of living, education, health, social security, etc. All these problems within the social sphere are solved on the basis of the specific social relations that develop here, also understood in a narrow sense. Their specific content is determined by the content of the specified problems about which they arise. In this they differ from, say, economic, political, moral, legal and other social relations.

In a broad sense, the concept of “social” is used in the meaning of “public”, as a synonym for this concept, coinciding with it in scope and content. In this case, the concept “social” (“social”) means everything that happens in society, in contrast to what happens in nature. In other words, it denotes the specificity of the social in relation to the natural, natural, biological. In a broad sense, the concept “social” is also used as the opposite of individual. In this case, it denotes what relates to social groups or to the whole society, as opposed to what concerns the individual qualities of an individual.

In social philosophy, the concept “social” is used both in a broad and narrow sense. In other words, it can relate to all processes occurring in society, including in its social sphere, but it can only concern those that pertain to this sphere itself and express its specificity. The social sphere itself is considered in its interactions with other spheres of public life within the framework of a single society.

The social function of philosophy is quite multifaceted in its content and covers various aspects of social life: philosophy is called upon to fulfill a dual task - to explain social existence and contribute to its material and spiritual change. It should be remembered that in public life social changes, experiments and reforms are of particular value and significance. Therefore, before attempting to change the social world, it must first be explained well. It is philosophy that has the prerogative in developing comprehensive concepts for the integration and consolidation of human society. Its task is to help realize and formulate collective goals and direct efforts to organize collective actions to achieve them. At the same time, the degree of vitality of a philosophical concept is determined by the extent to which each individual can understand and accept it. Therefore, despite its comprehensive nature, philosophy must be addressed to every person.

Social philosophy recreates a holistic picture of the development of society. In this regard, it solves many “general questions” concerning the nature and essence of a particular society, the interaction of its main spheres and social institutions, the driving forces of the historical process, etc. Various social sciences constantly face these questions when studying their problems: history, political economy, sociology, political science, social psychology, law, ethics, etc.

Appeal to the provisions of social philosophy helps representatives of these sciences find solutions to their specific problems. This means that social philosophy plays the role of the methodology of social sciences, in a certain way directs their research into the relevant aspects of social life, and forms approaches and principles for their study. This is possible because it helps representatives of social sciences understand the place in society of the phenomena they study, their connections with other social phenomena, the combination of patterns and accidents in their development, etc.

The effectiveness of this assistance depends primarily on the content of social philosophy, the degree of its penetration into the essence of a particular society, and the processes occurring in it. It is precisely the depth and breadth of her judgments and conceptual positions, the heuristic nature of many of them, i.e. their inherent ability to comprehend the secrets of social phenomena and their complex interactions determines the theoretical and methodological significance of social philosophy. This significance is revealed when its provisions are used in solving relevant problems of science and practice.

The task of social philosophy is not at all to reflect in detail all the phenomena and processes of social life. The life of society is extremely rich in various events. It is very complex due to the diverse connections between social phenomena that are dynamic and contradictory in nature. No science can express all the richness and complexity of social life. Social philosophy does not set itself such a goal. However, by recreating one or another ideal model of the development of society and its individual aspects, social philosophy contributes to understanding the essence of various social phenomena, their place and role in society, and reveals the most significant direct and inverse connections between these phenomena as elements of the social system. Ultimately, it reproduces a holistic picture of the existence of society, reveals the basic mechanisms of interaction between its parties, trends and patterns of its development.

This expresses the main content of the concepts of many traditional and modern trends and schools of social philosophy. It is desirable, of course, that the content of the concepts of social philosophy reflect real social processes as deeply as possible, which would contribute to their deeper understanding. This is important not only for science, but also for practice, more precisely, for the scientific justification of people’s practical activities.

The need for this constantly reminds itself. It is important that the development of society does not proceed by itself, but is more targeted and carried out in the interests of all people. And for this it is necessary, in particular, that their activities be as less spontaneous as possible and as conscious as possible, comprehended by them at the level of understanding the problems of the whole society. This is especially important for activities government agencies, designed to purposefully organize practical solutions to social problems and thereby find optimal ways for the development of society. All over the world, people strive to more meaningfully, taking into account not only immediate but also long-term interests, solve the problems of their social life, which determines the solution to their personal problems. It is important that they clearly understand both the immediate and long-term consequences of their activities and can change them in their own interests.

The corresponding ideological and methodological provisions of social philosophy can help with this. By revealing the social significance of various forms of activity and their role for the self-affirmation of a person in society, showing the nature of society itself, the dynamics and direction of its development, social philosophy helps people understand the immediate and long-term consequences of their actions for themselves and other people, social groups and , perhaps for the whole society. This is one of the manifestations of the prognostic function of social philosophy, which often helps to anticipate trends in the development of social processes and consciously predict them.

So, we can talk about the ideological, theoretical, methodological and prognostic functions of social philosophy. Its ideological function lies in the fact that it forms a person’s general view of the social world, the existence and development of society, and in a certain way resolves questions about the relationship between people’s existence, the material conditions of their life and their consciousness, the place and purpose of a person in society, goals and the meaning of his life, etc. All these problems are posed and solved within the framework of various schools of materialistic, idealistic and religious philosophy.

The theoretical function of social philosophy is that it allows one to penetrate into the depths of social processes and judge them at the level of theory, i.e. systems of views about their essence, content and direction of development. At this theoretical level we can talk about trends and patterns of development of social phenomena and society as a whole.

Connected with all this is the methodological function of social philosophy, which consists in the application of its provisions in the study of individual phenomena and processes of social life, studied by certain social sciences. In this case, the provisions of social philosophy play the role of methodology in research carried out in the field of historical, sociological, legal, economic, psychological and other sciences.

Finally, the prognostic function of social philosophy is that its provisions contribute to the prediction of trends in the development of society, its individual aspects, possible immediate and long-term consequences of people’s activities, the content of which, in fact, determines the content of social development. On the basis of such foresight, it becomes possible to build forecasts for the development of certain social phenomena and the entire society.

The indicated functions of social philosophy are manifested in the development of the consciousness of each person if he masters the philosophical worldview, theory and methodology of philosophical thinking. In this case, he acquires the ability to think systematically, dialectically, to consider social phenomena in their interaction, change and development. As a result, a certain methodological discipline of thinking is formed, making it strictly logical and clear, which is an indicator of a culture of thinking.

All this does not exclude, but rather presupposes the development in a person of the ability to think creatively, outside the box, overcoming various kinds of stereotypes, one-sidedness and dogmatism, to think in close connection with life, reproducing all its complexity and inconsistency. Logical creative thinking becomes effective means knowledge of social phenomena and solving practical problems of life of people and the whole society.

Currently, when analyzing the phenomena of social life, so-called concrete sociological research is used. They are resorted to when studying economic, social, everyday, political and other phenomena and processes. In other words, their application can be universal, just like the application of the provisions of social philosophy. At the same time, there are significant differences between them. The main thing is that social philosophy is able to comprehend the processes taking place in society more deeply, to understand more clearly the internal logic of their development and the diverse forms of their manifestation than is allowed by the data of specific sociological studies taken on their own, which most often contain information only about external side of social phenomena and processes. In addition, the results of specific sociological studies themselves, which receive a systematic justification within the framework of social philosophy, can be interpreted more deeply.

Moreover, if social philosophy really adheres to scientific principles when analyzing and explaining processes occurring in society, it proceeds from the corresponding principles. These include:

* approach to society as an integral social system, all elements of which are interconnected and interdependent; At the same time, special importance is attached to cause-and-effect and natural relationships, the analysis of which constitutes the main content of social determinism as a theoretical and methodological principle for the study of social phenomena, focusing on a comprehensive account of the cause-and-effect and natural connections and relationships that exist between them;

* consideration of all social phenomena and processes in their constant dynamics, i.e. in movement, change and development; this is the principle of historicism, which requires the analysis of any social phenomena in a historically developing social context, i.e. in the system of their developing and changing connections with other social phenomena, along with which and under the influence of which these phenomena develop. This means that when analyzing social phenomena, one cannot artificially tear them out of the historical context, i.e. the system of circumstances in which their development occurred or is occurring, so as not to receive superficial or even false conclusions about their essence and social significance;

*finding and analyzing those social contradictions that determine the essence and source of development of these social phenomena and processes:

* consideration of the latter in their historical continuity, taking into account what is truly outdated and now plays a conservative, or even openly reactionary role, and what continues to live, retains its significance and allows society to develop along the path of civilization and progress;

*all this is expressed in the principle of transition from the abstract to the concrete in the analysis of the development of society, individual social phenomena, and the historical process as a whole; this principle, substantiated within the framework of the dialectical method, has not lost its relevance and significance to this day.

These are, in brief, the provisions of social philosophy that characterize its subject, functions and principles for the study of social phenomena, as well as its theoretical and methodological significance for other social sciences that study various aspects of social life, for the analysis of the practical activities of people and their social relations.

CONCLUSION

Thus, the social function of philosophy is quite multifaceted in its content and covers various aspects of social life: philosophy is called upon to fulfill a dual task - to explain social existence and contribute to its material and spiritual change. It should be remembered that in public life social changes, experiments and reforms are of particular value and significance. Therefore, before attempting to change the social world, it must first be explained well. It is philosophy that has the prerogative in developing comprehensive concepts for the integration and consolidation of human society. Its task is to help realize and formulate collective goals and direct efforts to organize collective actions to achieve them. At the same time, the degree of vitality of a philosophical concept is determined by the extent to which each individual can understand and accept it. Therefore, despite its comprehensive nature, philosophy must be addressed to every person.

LIST OF SOURCES USED

1. Alekseev P.V., Panina A.V. Philosophy: textbook. - M.: Prospekt. 2009.

2. Zotov A.F. Philosophy: textbook - M.: Prospekt, 2009.

3. Kaverin B.I. Philosophy (current problems): textbook / B.I. Kaverin, A.T. Klimovich, V.V. Dibizhev, M.N. Ishchuk, I.V. Demidov, S.Yu. Ruchkin, A.I. Fedorishchenko. M.: Publishing house of the Russian Customs Academy, 2011. 292 p.

4. Karmin A.S., Bernatsky G.G. Philosophy: textbook for universities, 2nd ed. - St. Petersburg: "Peter", 2007.

5. Ilyin V.V. Philosophy: textbook M., 1999.

6. Krapivensky S.E. Social philosophy. Volgograd. 1996. www.gumer.info/bogoslov_Buks/Philos/krapiv/

7. Lavrinenko V.P. Social philosophy: textbook - M., 1995. www.alleng.ru/d/phil/phil025.htm

8. Lavrinenko V.P. Philosophy: textbook - M., 1998. www.gumer.info/bogoslov_Buks/Philos/lavr/index.php

9. Frankl V. Man in search of meaning: a textbook - M., 1990.

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3. Subject of social philosophy. Development of social philosophy and its main historical stages. Functions of social philosophy

worldview antique philosophy space

Defining social philosophy is even more difficult, since this area of knowledge directly affects the interests of people, their understanding of the world and themselves in this world. Social philosophy has a long history but a relatively recent history. If the philosophy of history as an independent discipline stood out in the complex of philosophical sciences at the end of the 18th - early XIX centuries, then for social philosophy the time of self-determination was the second third of the twentieth century. Social philosophy originates in Antiquity. Its appearance is associated with the names of Socrates and Plato, who first posed the task of philosophical understanding of society and its individual spheres. As for the philosophy of history, its beginning in Europe was laid by Augustine Aurelius (IV century AD) with his famous work “On the City of God.” The Augustinian interpretation of the historical process dominated in European philosophy until the 18th century. But the formation of social philosophy as a separate branch of knowledge dates back to the middle of the 19th century. At this time, the formation of sociology and psychology took place. Scientists abandon “speculative”, based only on reflection, rational knowledge of the world in favor of experimental, rational knowledge. They highlight the active role of a person who masters the secrets of the universe not with the help of metaphysical constructs divorced from real life, but through precise scientific methods. The century and a half that has passed since then has not brought clarity to the problem of the essence of both philosophy in general and social philosophy in particular. To this day, there is no unity in the literature in the definition of social philosophy and its subject.

Abroad, social philosophy is understood as the philosophical study of issues of human social behavior: from the role of individual opinions to the legitimacy of laws, from the social contract to the criteria of revolutions, from the functions of everyday actions to the influence of science on culture, from demographic changes to collective order in a hornet's nest. In Russia, social philosophy is defined as an autonomous research field of philosophy that analyzes society, history and man as a subject of activity and sociocultural interactions.

Social philosophy is the philosophical study of society viewed in its historical development. Social philosophy studies the structure of social systems, their functioning and evolution, social institutions and social values, society as a whole and its development. The tasks of social philosophy also include the study of human nature and its changes in the course of history, identifying the meaning of history and, as far as possible, its main trends. Special attention social philosophy devotes itself to the study of modern society and the prospects for its development in the foreseeable future. Modern social philosophy should also provide analysis and criticism of existing social concepts such as liberalism, conservatism and socialism. And finally, social philosophy outlines its place among other sciences about society, explores the features of social cognition in general and the possibilities of achieving objective knowledge about society and its history.

The object of socio-philosophical analysis is society - local or humanity. Society is the object of analysis of various sciences: history, sociology, philosophy of history, social philosophy, etc. But each of them has its own subject of study, i.e. its aspect in the study of society, and therefore general and specific methods of social cognition.

The subject of social philosophy is the relationship between human society and social man. In this regard, society acts as a social being, and man in the form of social consciousness. The latter means that a social person is people united in a clan, ethnic group, people, civilization, etc., and not an individual. With this approach, society, its cognition and social consciousness, as well as social practice acquire obvious specificity in comparison with other sciences and forms of worldview that study society. Thus, social philosophy is an integral part of philosophy that studies the relationship between society and man in the form of interaction of social existence and social consciousness.

The subject of social philosophy is the relationship between social man, on the one hand, and social institutions, public spheres, social formations, social civilizations, etc. - with another. The essence of a social person in this case is social consciousness and social practice, which are carried out in the listed social forms. In this regard, it is appropriate to emphasize that social philosophy does not study social existence and social consciousness in their separateness, but the process of their functioning and development in various social forms (institutions, spheres, formations, etc.). Therefore, an important problem of social philosophy is the study of society as an integral natural-social system, the most important elements of which are social existence and the social consciousness of man.

First of all, social philosophy studies social existence, which is interpreted differently in different socio-philosophical systems. Social existence is a unity of the objective (material) and subjective (ideal), which makes it difficult to understand and interpret. It is necessary to specify the methods of philosophical knowledge: social connection and social development, social contradictions, social laws, the relationship between social necessity and freedom, etc. And the point here is not only in the corresponding adjective “social”, but mainly in identifying the essence of new social and philosophical concepts. Therefore, the analysis of the features of social cognition must precede the analysis of other problems of social philosophy.

Due to the complexity of the object being studied, several areas of analysis have arisen in the history of social philosophy: historical idealism, historical materialism, historical realism. They solve the problem of the relationship between social existence and social consciousness and other related problems in different ways. All these directions are equivalent from the point of view of social truth, i.e. are hypotheses that have their own cognitive value in different societies and in different historical periods. For example, historical materialism dominated in socialist societies, and historical idealism in bourgeois ones. Now both humanity and social philosophy are rising to a new level of social knowledge.

Social philosophy studies humanity as a set of local (individual) societies that are interconnected with each other. In this case, the concepts of “humanity” and the “societies” of which it consists are different. Societies are integral systems, unique natural-social organisms, consisting of many spheres-systems: geographical, demographic, economic, etc. These social systems are analyzed in terms of their constituent parts and functions within social organisms. Even when studying this part of social philosophy, it becomes clear what a complex entity society is, and how little we know about it.

One of the problems of social philosophy is the process of development of societies and humanity. Here the main subjects of social development (individuals, elites, classes and nations) are analyzed; types of social development (cyclical, linear, spiral); features of the process of social development (evolutionary, revolutionary, co-evolutionary); social progress in all the complexity of its course (criteria, necessity, price, etc.), driving forces and prospects for social progress, the relationship between conscious and spontaneous in social development.

An important problem of social philosophy is the study of the forms of communication between the main spheres of the social organism, i.e. studying ways to integrate elements of social life. Such forms of integration are formations of societies (social formations), which act as unique metasystems. We distinguish three types of such metasystems: political, economic, mixed. The same societies correspond to them. Within the framework of these formations of societies, corresponding forms of social consciousness arise, in which economic, political, and mixed existence is cognized.

Social philosophy has long been concerned with the problem of qualitative stages in the development of societies and humanity, which is associated with the concept of culture and civilization. In cultural studies, the problem of culture is studied in more detail, as an independent characteristic of human society and individuals. Within the framework of social philosophy, culture is considered as a qualitative characteristic of society, diversity and stages of development of culture - civilizations. In this part, civilizations are studied both as characteristics of local societies (Egyptian, Western European, Chinese, Russian, etc.), and as characteristics of stages of human development: pre-industrial, industrial, post-industrial.

Brief summary: the subject of social philosophy is the subject of socio-philosophical activity (i.e. the activity of social philosophers as subjects of social philosophy). The definition of the subject of social philosophy should be carried out only in conjunction with the definition of other elements of socio-philosophical activity (its subject, purpose, method, etc.). Of decisive importance for determining the subject of social philosophy is the development of those branches of philosophical activity that are prerequisites for social philosophy. Accordingly, the subject of social philosophy is defined in the categories of those philosophical teachings (trends) that reach such a degree of development that they form a specialized area of socio-philosophical research.

The functions of social philosophy must be considered in relation to the society in which it exists and the student who studies it: these functions are close, but not identical. The main functions of social philosophy: cognitive, diagnostic, prognostic, educational, projective.

The diagnostic function of social philosophy consists of analyzing society from the point of view of its current (crisis) state, assessing development options, their causes, methods and plans.

The functions of social philosophy are dialectically interconnected. Each of them, in one way or another, includes them in its content. That is, the socio-philosophical study of social processes will be more successful the more carefully attention is paid to each of the functions.

Thus, the main task of social philosophy is to reveal the essence of society, to characterize it as a part of the world, different from its other parts, but connected with them into a single world universe. At the same time, social philosophy acts as a special theory that has its own categories, laws and principles of research.

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First of all, let us point out the basic meanings of the concept “social”. In modern philosophical and sociological literature, this concept is used in a narrow and broad sense.

In a narrow sense, “social” means the existence of a special area of social phenomena that make up the content of the so-called social sphere of society, in which its own range of problems is solved, affecting the relevant interests of people. These problems relate to the social status of people, their place in the system of social division of labor, their working conditions, movements from one social group to another, their standard of living, education, health care, social security, etc. All these problems within the social sphere are solved on the basis of the specific social relations that develop here, also understood in a narrow sense. Their specific content is determined by the content of the specified problems about which they arise. In this they differ from, say, economic, political, moral, legal and other social relations.

The need for this constantly reminds itself. It is important that the development of society does not proceed by itself, but is more targeted and carried out in the interests of all people. And for this it is necessary, in particular, that their activities be as less spontaneous as possible and as conscious as possible, comprehended by them at the level of understanding the problems of the whole society. This is especially important for the activities of government bodies called upon to purposefully organize practical solutions to social problems and thereby find optimal ways for the development of society. All over the world, people strive to more meaningfully, taking into account not only immediate but also long-term interests, solve the problems of their social life, which determines the solution to their personal problems. It is important that they clearly understand both the immediate and long-term consequences of their activities and can change them in their own interests.

All this does not exclude, but rather presupposes the development in a person of the ability to think creatively, outside the box, overcoming various kinds of stereotypes, one-sidedness and dogmatism, to think in close connection with life, reproducing all its complexity and inconsistency. Logical creative thinking becomes an effective means of understanding social phenomena and solving practical problems in the life of people and the whole society.

Moreover, if social philosophy really adheres to scientific principles when analyzing and explaining processes occurring in society, it proceeds from the corresponding principles. These include:

approach to society as an integral social system, all elements of which are interconnected and interdependent; At the same time, special importance is attached to cause-and-effect and natural relationships, the analysis of which constitutes the main content of social determinism as a theoretical and methodological principle for the study of social phenomena, focusing on a comprehensive account of the cause-and-effect and natural connections and relationships that exist between them;

consideration of all social phenomena and processes in their constant dynamics, i.e. in movement, change and development; this is the principle of historicism, which requires the analysis of any social phenomena in a historically developing social context, i.e. in the system of their developing and changing connections with other social phenomena, along with which and under the influence of which these phenomena develop. This means that when analyzing social phenomena, one cannot artificially tear them out of the historical context, i.e. the system of circumstances in which their development occurred or is occurring, so as not to receive superficial or even false conclusions about their essence and social significance;

finding and analyzing those social contradictions that determine the essence and source of development of these social phenomena and processes:

consideration of the latter in their historical continuity, taking into account what is truly outdated and now plays a conservative, or even openly reactionary role, and what continues to live, retains its significance and allows society to develop along the path of civilization and progress;

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of the test is to study the social functions of philosophy.

So, philosophy - firstly - is the highest level and type of worldview, it is a theoretically formulated, systemically rational worldview. Secondly, by its very essence it is called upon to reveal the rational meaning and universal laws of the existence and development of the world and man.

BASIC FUNCTIONS OF SOCIAL PHILOSOPHY

The functions of social philosophy must be considered in relation to the society in which it exists and the student who studies it: these functions are close, but not identical.

Figure 1. - Main functions of social philosophy

The subject and specificity of philosophy cannot be revealed sufficiently fully without touching on the question of its functions. First of all, this is a worldview function, which is associated with an abstract theoretical, conceptual explanation of the world, in contrast to all other types and levels of worldview. The only thing I would like to add here is to point out the dual nature of philosophical concepts themselves, which is expressed in their attraction either to scientific knowledge, objective truth, or to pseudoscience.

The methodological function, which has also already been discussed, is that philosophy acts as a general doctrine of method and as a set of the most general methods of cognition and mastery of reality by man.

The social function of philosophy is quite multifaceted. It will be discussed in more detail in this essay.

The subject of the function is the specificity of social philosophy. Topic: Subject structure and functions of social philosophy

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