Welcome dear students! Today we are going to learn about Man and Society from Class 8 Social_Science. After studying this chapter, you will learn that man is a social animal, you will understand socialization and human expressions, and you will learn about the early sociologists. Among all the living beings on earth, it is only human beings who have complete awareness about their existence. They contemplate over their goals and purposes in life. It is due to this that innumerable questions arise in people’s mind. Why is man called a social being? Is man God’s creation? Why are there differences between groups? What is that strength which unites people and groups? Why does society undergo constant change? Is this change a sign of progress? In order to find answers to such questions, and to study human society in a methodical manner, many attempts were made 150 years ago in a scientific manner. [CHECKPOINT]
As a result of all these attempts, a new branch of study originated. This study was called Sociology. Sociology has been derived from the Latin word Socius and the Greek word Logos. These two words jointly mean the Study of Society. This word was first used by August Compte. According to August Compte, Sociology is a scientific study of the factors related to Social order and Social progress. According to Maciver and Page, Sociology is a study of Social relationships. Now, let us understand the importance of studying sociology. First, it helps in personality development. Second, it gives solutions to social problems. [CHECKPOINT]
Third, sociology gives knowledge about modern situations and developments. Fourth, it helps to promote social welfare of backward and weaker sections of society. Now let us move on to the concept that man is a social being. The relationship between man and society is unique. There is no society without man, nor man without society. That is the reason many sociologists are of the opinion that man is the creation of society, and society, that of man. If we close our eyes and ask ourselves, would it be possible for me to live all alone in my town, everyone would come up with the same answer. And that is, impossible. Isn’t that so? [CHECKPOINT]
Man is a social animal. He desires to live with others around him. Society is necessary for the development of all of us, because social relationships are necessary for man’s existence. That is the reason human society has been called a web of social relationships, and man, a social being. Next, we will learn about socialization. If we have to become members of society, we have to live amidst society. If we do not live among people, we will not be able to learn language, study, play games, experience thought processes or the body language that we have learnt now. This process of learning is called socialization. [CHECKPOINT]
The family, school, peer groups, and mass communication enable our socialization. The family provides us food, nurturance, education and security. Parents help us to grow mentally and physically healthy. The school provides formal education. We learn to co-operate and live with others interacting with our peer groups. The mass media gives us knowledge about the world around us and enable us to live in harmony with it. Due to all this help from various quarters, man is able to lead a successful life in society. Let us now discuss the necessity of the social environment. [CHECKPOINT]
If man does not grow in a social environment, he cannot imbibe the qualities of a human being. An individual cannot be socialized outside the society and group. In order to understand the truth of this statement, the following instance can be studied. Kamala, a girl who was found in Midnapore in 1920, had spent nine years among the animals in the forest. She used to walk on all fours legs like an animal and eat raw flesh. Later, in the company of human beings, she learnt to eat cooked food, to speak and behave like other children. But she was not aware of her own nature. [CHECKPOINT]
What is evident from this instance is that man, if he is not in human society, becomes an animal. This has been proved by many other experiments by social scientists. Now, let us think about human beings and language. How do we express our feelings? We can express hunger, thirst, sleepiness, sorrow and happiness through our bodily gestures and signals. But we cannot convey all our feelings only through body language. Language becomes inevitable in such situations. Our languages have words such as father, mother, brother, sister, uncle, and aunt, including relations between human beings. [CHECKPOINT]
Thus language is needed to understand specific relationships and feelings perfectly. Man knows language, whereas animals do not. This is the difference between man and animals. Just imagine how the world would be without language. There would be no textbooks, schools, mass media or civilization! Human society would be just like animal society. Therefore, while studying society, language is treated as a very important aspect of the society. Let us now know about the sociologists who developed sociology in the early stages. Sociologists are those who study the society, culture, behaviour, and social relationships. [CHECKPOINT]
Some of the early sociologists are as follows. Auguste Compte was the one who gave the name Sociology to the scientific study of society. Hence he is considered the Father of Sociology. Herbert Spencer was the British sociologist who lived in the 19th century. He studied the evolution of society. Emile Durkheim, the French sociologist, lived in the latter part of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century. He worked hard at making sociology a science. Max Weber was a German sociologist. He was also a great scholar in the fields of Economics, Philosophy and History. [CHECKPOINT]
He did a sociological study of the Labour force and the Christian religion. Karl Marx was a German philosopher. He was highly knowledgeable about History, Economics, Philosophy and Christian Religion. He extended the scope of sociology. The British introduced Sociology in the Bombay University in 1914. Leading Indian sociologists are G S Ghurye, M N Srinivas, A R Desai, Iravati Karve, and S C Dubey. Now, let us move on to the exercises to test your understanding. Exercise one asks you to fill in the blanks with suitable words. Let us solve them together. [CHECKPOINT]
Number one. Man is a social animal. Number two. Formal education is provided by the school. Number three. The Father of Sociology is Auguste Compte. Number four. To become a human being socialization is necessary. Number five. Human beings express their feelings through language. Exercise two asks you to answer the following questions in two or three sentences each. Question six. Define Sociology. Sociology is defined in two ways. According to August Compte, Sociology is a scientific study of the factors related to Social order and Social progress. According to Maciver and Page, Sociology is a study of Social relationships. [CHECKPOINT]
Question seven. What is socialization? Socialization is the process of learning through which individuals become members of society by living amidst people, learning language, studying, playing games, and experiencing thought processes and body language. Question eight. Describe Kamala, the one who was found in Midnapore. Kamala was a girl found in Midnapore in 1920 who had spent nine years among animals in the forest. She walked on all fours and ate raw flesh, but later learned to eat cooked food, speak, and behave like children, though she remained unaware of her own nature. [CHECKPOINT]
Question nine. Name some early sociologists. Some early sociologists are Auguste Compte, Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, and Karl Marx. Exercise three asks you to answer in four or five sentences each. Question ten. Explain Man is a social being. The relationship between man and society is unique, as neither can exist without the other. Man desires to live with others, and society is essential for human development because social relationships are necessary for existence. Therefore, human society is described as a web of social relationships, making man inherently a social being. [CHECKPOINT]
Question eleven. Explain the relationship between human beings and language. Humans express basic feelings through gestures, but language is essential to convey complex emotions and define relationships like father, mother, brother, and sister. Unlike animals, humans use language to understand specific relationships perfectly, and without it, civilization, schools, and mass media could not exist. Question twelve. What is the importance of studying sociology? Studying sociology helps in personality development and provides solutions to social problems. It gives knowledge about modern situations and developments, and it promotes the social welfare of backward and weaker sections of society. [CHECKPOINT]
Finally, let us look at the activity provided in the chapter. The activity asks you to collect the pictures of sociologists. You can gather photographs or illustrations of Auguste Compte, Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, Karl Marx, and the leading Indian sociologists like G S Ghurye and M N Srinivas to create a visual chart for your classroom or study notes. This will help you remember their contributions and recognize their faces. Thank you for listening! Keep revising and practicing. Goodbye! [CHAPTER_COMPLETE]