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0EURASIAN lOURNAL OF
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EURASIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES, PHILOSOPHY AND CULTURE
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CONCEPT, FUNCTIONS AND TYPES OF SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS
Abdullayev Tursunboy Yakhshiboyevich1
Associate professor of the Department specialty sciences, Candidate of the Sciences of Philosophy Andijan faculty of Tashkent Institute of Finance, Andijan, Uzbekistan https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11518236
ARTICLE INFO
ABSTRACT
Received: 01st June 2024 Accepted: 06th June 2024 Online: 07th June 2024 KEYWORDS
Social institutions, personal status, structure of society, concept, functions and types of social institutions.
The article discusses the concept, functions and types of social institutions. The purpose of this work is the study and general characteristics of social institutions. Society is formed from a system of social institutions and is a complex set of economic, political, legal, spiritual relations that ensure its integrity as a social system.
INTRODUCTION
Social institution is one of the main concepts in sociology, allowing us to reveal the essence of society. Social institutions are the most important components of the social structure.
Society is formed from a system of social institutions and is a complex set of economic, political, legal, spiritual relations that ensure its integrity as a social system. A social institution in a sociological interpretation is considered as historically established, stable forms of organizing the joint activities of people; in a narrower sense, it is an organized system of social connections and norms designed to satisfy the basic needs of society, social groups and individuals. Social institutions are value-normative complexes (values, rules, norms, attitudes, patterns, standards of behavior in certain situations), as well as bodies and organizations that ensure their implementation and approval in the life of society.
All elements of society are interconnected by social relations - connections that arise between and within social groups in the process of material (economic) and spiritual (political, legal, cultural) activities.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
In the process of development of society, some connections may die out, others may appear. Connections that have proven their benefits to society are streamlined, become generally significant patterns and are subsequently repeated from generation to generation. The term "institute" comes from the Latin word institutum - establishment, arrangement. This term came to sociology from jurisprudence, where it was understood as a set of legal norms regulating social and legal relations in a particular area (for example, institutions were called property, inheritance, marriage, etc.).
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In sociology, the concept of "social institution" has acquired the meaning of a special type of sustainable regulation of social connections, relationships and organizational forms of social regulation of the behavior of subjects. The institutional aspect of the functioning of society is a traditional area of interest for sociological science. The classics of sociology considered institutions from the standpoint of their role in maintaining order in society. In classical sociological theories, social institutions are understood as certain types of relationships between people that are constantly in demand and therefore reproduced; in structural-functional analysis, social institutions are considered from the point of view of meeting the needs of individuals and groups. ANALYSIS AND RESULTS
In modern sociological knowledge, there is a special direction - institutional sociology, which considers society as a set of social institutions, social development - as a change in various social institutions that prevail in different historical periods. [5;.40]
Already the social statics of O. Comte considered institutions, beliefs and moral values as the main elements supporting harmony and order in society. The term "social institution" was first used in sociological science by G. Spencer. He attached great importance to institutional orders and believed that the need for the formation of social institutions was due to the struggle for the existence of the social organism in the conditions of evolution.
E. Durkheim, like Comte, saw the functions of social institutions in maintaining solidarity. K. Marx understood institutions as historically established structures determined by production relations. As such forms of organization and regulation of social activity, he analyzed private property, division of labor, primogeniture and other institutions. M. Weber believed that social institutions should be studied in the form in which they are significant for individuals. Since in his view society is becoming increasingly rational, it is rational action that matters. Weber considered the institution of bureaucracy as a structural component of a rationally organized capitalist enterprise. The concept of "social institution" occupies a central place in structural-functional analysis.
T. Parsons builds a model of society as a system of social relations and social institutions. Social institutions are value-normative complexes that regulate the behavior of individuals. As stable configurations, they form the status-role structure of society. It is the normative-role institutional structure that ensures social order in society, its stability and integration. The structural-functionalist idea of social institutions is the most developed in Western and domestic sociology. [9;.27-32]
But, despite the fact that each sociological theory, in the center of which was the concept of institution, gave it its own definition, in general, an understanding of social institutions has developed as historically determined forms of organization and regulation of social life, ensuring the relative stability of connections and relationships within the framework of social organization society. They can be defined as a set of roles and statuses designed to satisfy certain social needs. The totality of these meanings can be reduced to four main essential features of a social institution: [3; 80-82]
a) identifying a certain circle of subjects who enter into relationships in the process of activity that become sustainable;
b) a specific organization;
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c) the presence of specific social norms and regulations governing people's behavior;
d) the presence of socially significant functions of the institute.
For example, when we say that a school is a social institution, then by this we can mean a group of people working in the school. In another meaning - organizational forms of functions performed by the school; in the third meaning, the most important for the school as an institution will be the institutions and means that it has to perform the functions assigned to it by the group, and finally, in the fourth meaning, we will call the social role of the teacher an institution. Consequently, we can talk about different ways of defining social institutions: material, formal and functional. In all these approaches we can, however, identify certain common elements that form the main component of a social institution.
Social connections between institutions and between institutions organize social life. The purpose of institutions is to create convenience for socially oriented interaction between people and ensure the continuity of social life through the mechanisms of reproduction, continuity and adaptation.
Based on experience and understanding of life, people select the most convenient forms of organizing their activities and regulating relationships. Gradually they became convinced that ritualization (i.e., submission to certain rules and order) of life ensures control, similarity, predictability of behavior and the expediency and usefulness of coordinated actions.
Note that the need to classify social institutions is due to the fact that there are many social institutions that fulfill the numerous needs of society. At the same time, it is not always possible to make a clear distinction between them according to value, functional or other criteria.
The core of institutions are connections and traditional "assignment", the presence of certain regulators (systems of prohibitions - taboos, ideas, morals, etc.). [9; 28-32] Adapting to changes in society, the institute expanded its influence and functions. The process of institutionalization covered not only family, everyday, religious relations, but also other areas. Labor, scientific creativity, leisure, processes of power and subordination, etc. become institutionalized (i.e., regulated through various norms and rules).
Within the framework of institutionalism, types of institutions were distinguished on other grounds, related not to functions, but to the specifics of normative structures. P. Blau based his classification of institutions on the values embodied in the normative structure. Thus, integrative institutions are formed around particularistic values that support social solidarity and the identity of the social structure. Distributive institutions embody universal values that act as a means of "preserving the social agreements developed for the production and distribution of necessary goods. Finally, organizational institutions emerge around achievable values, serving to mobilize resources and coordinate collective efforts to achieve social goals. Right there.
There are several fundamental needs: needs for reproduction; needs for safety and order; needs for subsistence; needs for knowledge transfer, socialization of the younger generation; needs for solving spiritual problems. [3;80-82] Therefore, we can talk about basic social institutions. In developed societies there are seven basic social institutions brought into existence by these needs.
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This is the institution of family and marriage, which performs the main function -population reproduction; it is in the family that children are born and receive primary education.
The institution of politics is associated with the conquest and distribution of power in the person of the state and political parties; he is faced with the task of setting goals in society and mobilizing resources to achieve these goals, legislative and organizational support for their achievement.
The Institute of Economics manages economic activities, production and distribution of material goods.
The Institute of Culture and Socialization is busy creating and disseminating culture, educating the younger generation so that it can integrate into the existing social structure.
In addition, since the values of scientific life have become very important and highly standardized, the institution of science, which ensures the production of new knowledge, can also be considered basic. The formation of the institute of science over the past century and a half is associated with the awareness in society of the close connection between science and economics - through technology.
Medical activity in the twentieth century. is also determined by strictly established patterns and norms of behavior, has a system of roles and statuses, so that the health care institute can also be identified as the main one. Its appearance can be associated with the humanization of society, as well as a sharply fallen birth rate, which forced society to be more concerned about preserving all children born, maintaining the general and reproductive health of men and women, and extending working age.
In addition to the main social institutions, which are universal, there are non-basic institutions, which represent private social practices historically developed in specific societies within the framework of the main institution.
Various non-core social institutions are hidden inside the main institutions: [9; 27-32]
a) the institute of economics contains institutions of the market, trade, money, property, regulation of money circulation, organization and division of labor, etc., serving the production and distribution of values and services. Economic social institutions provide the entire set of production connections in society, connecting economic life with other spheres of social life. These institutions are formed on the material basis of society.
b) the institution of politics contains the institutions of the presidency, parliament, courts, law enforcement agencies, army, party, etc.;
c) the institution of family and marriage contains institutions for registration of marriage, divorce, adoption, foster family; paternity and maternity; associated with the regulation of childbirth, relations between spouses and children, socialization of youth, family revenge, twinning, inheritance, naming, etc.
d) educational and cultural institutions. These include schools, institutes, art institutions, creative unions, systems of libraries, theaters, etc.
e) the institution of religion contains the institution of baptism, confession, excommunication, fasting, monasticism, the Inquisition, etc.
Social institutions, just like social connections and interactions, can be formal and informal. A formal institution is an institution in which the scope of functions, means and
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methods of action are regulated by laws or other legal acts, formally approved orders, regulations, rules, regulations, charters, etc. Formal social institutions are the state, army, court, family, school, etc.
These institutions carry out their management and control functions on the basis of strictly established formal negative and positive sanctions. An informal institution is an institution in which the functions, means and methods of activity are not established by formal rules (that is, they are not clearly defined and not enshrined in special legislative acts and regulations), therefore there is no guarantee that this organization will be sustainable.
Despite this, informal institutions, just like formal ones, perform management and control functions in the broadest social sense, since they are the result of social creativity and the expression of the will of citizens (amateur associations of amateur performances, associations of interests, various funds for social and cultural purposes and so on.).
Social control in such institutions is carried out on the basis of informal sanctions, i.e., norms fixed in public opinion, traditions, customs. Such sanctions (public opinion, customs, traditions) are often a more effective means of controlling people's behavior than legal norms or other formal sanctions. [6;.71] Functions of social institutions
The purpose of social institutions is to satisfy the most important needs and interests of society. Economic needs in society are simultaneously satisfied by several social institutions, and each institution, through its activities, satisfies a variety of needs, among which vital (physiological, material) and social (personal needs for work, self-realization, creative activity and social justice) stand out.
A special place among social needs is occupied by the individual's need for achievement - an achievement need, according to which each individual shows a desire to express and prove himself in specific social conditions.
Social institutions perform both general and individual functions that correspond to the specifics of the institution. Sociology. [8;118-125] General features:
• the function of consolidating and reproducing social relations. Any institution consolidates and standardizes the behavior of members of society through its rules and norms of behavior.
• the regulatory function ensures the regulation of relationships between members of society by developing patterns of behavior and regulating their actions.
• the integrative function includes the process of interdependence and mutual responsibility of members of social groups.
• broadcasting function (socialization). Its content is the transfer of social experience, familiarization with the values, norms, and roles of a given society.
Selected functions:
• the social institution of marriage and family implements the function of reproduction of members of society together with the relevant departments of the state and private enterprises (antenatal clinics, maternity hospitals, a network of children's medical institutions, bodies for supporting and strengthening the family, etc.).
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• the social health institute is responsible for maintaining the health of the population (clinics, hospitals and other medical institutions, as well as state bodies organizing the process of maintaining and strengthening health).
• a social institution for the production of means of subsistence, performing the most important creative function.
• political institutions in charge of organizing political life.
• a social institution of law that performs the function of developing legal documents and is in charge of compliance with laws and legal norms.
• a social institution of education and norms with the corresponding function of education, socialization of members of society, familiarization with its values, norms, laws.
• a social institution of religion that helps people solve spiritual problems.
Social institutions realize all their positive qualities only under the condition of their legitimacy, that is, recognition of the expediency of their actions by the majority of the population. Sharp shifts in class consciousness and a revaluation of fundamental values can seriously undermine the population's trust in existing governing and governing bodies and disrupt the mechanism of regulatory influence on people. In this case, instability in society, the threat of chaos, entropy, the consequences of which can become catastrophic, sharply increases. Thus, it intensified in the second half of the 80s. XX century in the USSR, the erosion of socialist ideals and the reorientation of mass consciousness towards the ideology of individualism seriously undermined the trust of the Soviet people in the old social institutions. The latter were unable to fulfill their stabilizing role and collapsed. [10;212] Thus, social institutions:
1) create the opportunity for members of society to satisfy various types of needs;
2) regulate the actions of members of society within the framework of social relations, i.e., ensure the implementation of desired actions and carry out repression in relation to undesirable actions;
3) ensure the sustainability of public life by supporting and continuing impersonal public functions;
4) carry out the integration of the aspirations, actions and relationships of individuals and ensure the internal cohesion of the community.
Taking into account E. Durkheim's theory of social facts and based on the fact that social institutions should be considered the most important social facts, sociologists have derived a number of basic social characteristics that social institutions should have:
1) institutions are perceived by individuals as external reality. In other words, an institution for any individual person is something external, existing separately from the reality of thoughts, feelings or fantasies of the individual himself. In this characteristic, the institution has similarities with other entities of external reality - even trees, tables and telephones - each of which is located outside the individual;
2) institutions are perceived by the individual as an objective reality. Something is objectively real when any person agrees that it really exists, regardless of his consciousness, and is given to him in his sensations;
3) institutions have coercive power. To some extent this quality is implied by the previous two: the fundamental power of an institution over the individual consists precisely in the fact
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that it exists objectively, and the individual cannot wish it to disappear at his will or whim. Otherwise, negative sanctions may occur;
4) institutions have moral authority. Institutions proclaim their right to legitimation - i.e. they reserve the right not only to punish the offender in some way, but also to impose moral censure on him.
CONCLUSION
Social institutions guide the behavior of community members through a system of sanctions and rewards. And, thus, determines the orientation of social activity and social relations through a mutually agreed upon system of purposefully oriented standards of behavior. Each such institution is characterized by the presence of an activity goal, specific functions that ensure its achievement, a set of social positions and roles, as well as a system of sanctions that ensure the encouragement of desired behavior and the suppression of deviant behavior. Social institutions always perform socially significant functions and ensure the achievement of relatively stable social connections and relationships within the framework of the social organization of society. Social needs unsatisfied by the institution give rise to new forces and normatively unregulated activities: reorientation of old social institutions or the creation of new ones, reorientation of public consciousness.
Social institutions are property, state, political parties, family, labor organizations, educational institutions, science, media, etc.
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