Cilvēks socioloģijas skatījumā

Abstract

Dina Bite focuses on sociological aspect of looking at people. Accordingly, in her article “The Human Being from a Sociological Perspective”, she gives an insight into the most important sociological paradigms, emphasising their relation to interpretation of human nature. The presentation of the topic uses classical division of sociological theories into macro and micro levels in chronological order, with the aim of highlighting their different perspectives on human nature. Dina Bite first discusses the definition of man in sociology, considering that the main focus of sociology is the interaction between man and the surrounding society, which implies an endless debate on the question “who came first – society or man?” In the study of man, the term homo sociologicus is used to explain man’s place in the social structure or cultural, economic and political context that determines their consciousness and way of life. The term homo sociologicus was first used by the German sociologist Ralf Dahrendorf to emphasise the influence of morals and values on an individual’s choices. The individual, although subject to set expectations, norms and sanctions, can nevertheless vary their performance in role fulfilment. The author emphasises that early sociological paradigms focused on a macro-level approach to the analysis of society, identifying the needs of society as a whole and the most important social structures in society, while later theoretical approaches emphasised the influence of the individual in shaping social reality and sought to find a compromise between a strong macro and micro-level approach. Man, in the social theoretical sense, is a complex product of various internal impulses and external environmental factors. Human nature is characterised by biological and psychological traits, as well as by economic, political and cultural regimes of a given society. The task of sociologists would therefore be to look for commonalities and differences in combinations of the above-mentioned characteristics. Theories of collectivism are synonymous with macro, structuralist and objectivist theories (e.g., structural functionalism). In contrast to the macro approach, the so-called individualist theories are emphasised. In their interpretation, social reality is the result of actions and interactions of individuals and groups. In this case, autonomy and value of an individual is relatively high, since it is up to individuals to determine what meanings will be assigned to certain objects and what consequences this will have. Theories of individualism include the so-called subjectivist, micro, elementalist theories (e.g,. symbolic interactionism, phenomenology). Dina Bite points out that sociology does not consider an individual in isolation from the surrounding social environment, so the most important difference between the theoretical perspectives that explain interaction between an individual and the environment is the extent to which the individual is able to influence the environment. In a sociological perspective, issues of power, conflict and inequality are always present for the full expression or realisation of human nature. Macro-level theories emphasise dependence of the expression of human nature on historically established forms of social organisation, which vary from time to time and from society to society. They see an individual as a socially and culturally organised being, willingly or unwillingly subject to the influence of society – in the range between instinctive and social human behaviour, macro-level theories represent social, economic, political, and cultural determinism. Microsociological theories, on the other hand, offer analysis of society in terms of individual experience and action. Even from an individual level, social structures are comparatively active in influencing beliefs, attitudes and behaviour. Sociological theories describe human nature not only as a duality but as the result of interaction of multiple factors. Contribution of sociological perspective to the study of human nature is related to analysis of interaction and relationship between an individual and society. The author stresses that the challenge and opportunity of contemporary sociology is to develop an integrated and interdisciplinary view of the various aspects of human nature, taking into account diversity and variability of social life.

Dina Bite pievēršas socioloģiskajam aspektam skatījumā uz cilvēku, un viņas raksta nosaukums ir “Cilvēks socioloģijas skatījumā”. Autore sniedz ieskatu svarīgākajās socioloģiskajās paradigmās, uzsverot to saistību ar cilvēka dabas interpretāciju. Temata izklāstā izmantots klasiskais socioloģisko teoriju iedalījums makrolīmenī un mikrolīmenī hronoloģiskā secībā, lai izgaismotu to atšķirīgo skatījumu uz cilvēka dabu. D. Bite vispirms aplūko cilvēka definīciju socioloģijā, ņemot vērā, ka socioloģija galvenokārt koncentrējas uz cilvēka un apkārtējās sabiedrības mijiedarbību, kas paredz nebeidzamu diskusiju par jautājumu “kurš bija pirmais – sabiedrība vai cilvēks?”. Cilvēks sociālo teoriju izpratnē ir sarežģīts, dažādu iekšējo impulsu un ārējo vides faktoru ietekmēts rezultāts jeb produkts. Socioloģisko teoriju skatījumā cilvēka daba tiek raksturota ne tikai kā dualitāte, bet kā daudzveidīgu faktoru mijiedarbības rezultāts. Autore uzsver, ka mūsdienu socioloģijas izaicinājums un vienlaikus iespēja ir veidot integrētu un starpdisciplināru skatījumu uz dažādiem cilvēka dabas aspektiem, ņemot vērā sociālās dzīves dažādību un mainību.