Are we a product of society or is society a product of us?

Question

Isnt 'society' a term for- complex living together?

Why have we this idea of society and me as if they exclusive? Society is me and i am society. Therefore what is my responsiblity, not duty thats an ugly word.

synergism?? Is a concept not an answer!

Answer 1

it is like a circle,
it is just like we say: we are a product of what we do,
in other words: we make society which in turn make us

Answer 2

In short I'd say that society, in its infancy, was a product of the people of whom it was composed, when populations were much smaller & the actions of individuals could hence had a greater impact on that societies shape.

But as it has grown and developed into something far more complex over the centuries the people born into it, especially those of today, are now a product of that society, which has become far more difficult to mould & adapt to the current needs of its occupants.

At least I believe this to be true in this country (UK).

Answer 3

Definitely we created our society.
It is the product of our conglomerated mind. It is our mind in relationship or interaction with each other.
What is happening in society originated from the thinking mind of the people.
Psychologically we are divisive and worship exclusiveness, so we are not living wholly.
The society which is the representation of our mind is a never ending turmoil of conflicts.
This conflicts originate from our mind because of our selfishness,(free will). Whatever we want, we pursue it no matter what the consequences are.

Now I, who is a part of this big picture realized that the source of conflict is our mind, then I must rewind my thinking and move differently. I have to negate all the destructive course of society's movements.

Answer 4

a culture is a learned body of rules by which a group defines acceptable responses to living. society is the way a group enacts it's culture.

society acts directly on individuals; training them, providing for them (or not), regulating their interactions with each other, controlling individuals' deviance from cultural norms, and reinforcing the individual's cultural world view (concepts of what the universe is like and how it operates).

individuals have some ability to defy or change society, but change in a society only comes about when a large enough group of individuals agree on those changes and have high enough status to gain control over the way a society enacts the underlying culture.

so, the answer to your basic question is: both.

Answer 5

If I look at it on a societal level, I'd say its 50-50. We are all socialized according to societies rules, but the rules of society must change with time, and the societies members are the agents of that change. The next generation will be socialized according to the new rules, grow up to rebel against them in some fashion, have children themselves and the cycle repeats.

On an individual level, I'd say it's about 99.99 to .01. I've been socialized according to my culture, but I have very little power to affect the entire culture as an individual. Most likely, my life will mean little to the grand scheme of things and I will die without much consequence to the world at large.

Answer 6

Society is a product of us because WE create society as a whole. Individually we are a PRODUCT of society, because since society is already an organized (so to speak) forever evolving influence, as we grow we become affluenced by the society in its evolved state at that time period. People's thoughts and actions a good majority of the time relies upon what society has shown and exposed to us at that time. For example, the morbid and drull ideology of the medieval times was what people created as a society, and so if you were BORN in those times, of course as you grew whatever tasks, habits, and cultural influence was apparent influenced you as such.
I don't know if i'm making any sense......but that's pretty much my opinion.

Answer 7

OK... it completely depends upon what role do you play in society.
answer these questions...
*how do i contribute to society?
*what is my status in society?
*do my decisions matter in society at large?

increasingly these questions are becoming complex. in ancient times societies were divided into people of different occupation and caste. what this helped in was. some people can take decisions to shape their community by understanding others.

everyone one did their part of job and few took care of the rights and rituals. same happens today. the only thing is that society has become individualistic. everyone is trying to do stuff on their own regardless of collective good. reasons for which should not be discussed right now.

but the solution to your question lie in realizing your role in the society. if you can reach that status or power... its all yours... given the consideration you will take an account of others rather than yourself alone.

Answer 8

It's both, really. But I think you are a product of society first, because you can be influenced by society before you are actually capable of doing anything for society, and only later on you can go on and do something to change society. But then, you've already been influenced by it...

Answer 9

I think society is a product of us because it is dynamic and changing all the time. A society or culture is a cerain size population that have common beliefs. It is our growth in life experience, education, and understanding, that allows us to make corrections and recognize as individuals the things wrong in our society. If our ideas and thoughts are accepted by others to change then that individual has changed societal thinking.
Think: global warming
whaling
freedom
death penalty
slavery
infanticide
genocide
abortion
greed

Societys are groups of people with a common belief seeking fulfillment and meaning and striving to attain a higher goal (i hope).

Answer 10

We both effect each other from the moment we are born we have an effect on society, (our parents attitudes, actions change),
and also society has an effect on us shaping many of our attitudes, beliefs and actions, also we all react to society in some form or another.

We are each and everyone of us a perfect representation of our society to some degree, however just as society is not a perfect representation of us so we are not soley representative of society. (Bit confusing really) we also have a uniqueness which is individual to each of us, it is this which we ideally would impart to society.

Answer 11

we are all co creators of society and yet all of us have a sense of self as separate from the others in society...society includes more than just us it is the additional inspiration that flows when two or more people get together and harness their resources to solve a problem or to find a way to entertain themselves.