The Human Person in Society

• What is the nature of the human person?

  Social by nature
• Why do human beings form groups?

  To meet basic needs for subsistence
• How does society contribute to human potential?


  It allows individuals to flourish and live well
• How do changes in society affect individuals?

  Changes in society also change the persons living in it
• What are the types of preindustrial societies?

  Hunting and gathering, pastoral, horticultural, agrarian
• What characterizes hunting and gathering societies?

  Limited forms of production and small groups
• How long did hunting and gathering societies occupy human history?

  About 90 percent
• What was the greatest advancement during the hunting and gathering period?

  Domestication of fire
• What characterizes pastoral and horticultural societies?

  Domestication of animals and cultivation of plants
• How did inequality emerge in pastoral and horticultural societies?

  Some people acquired more possessions than others
• What led to the development of agrarian societies?

  New materials and methods for cultivation
• What was the impact of increased land cultivation in agrarian societies?

  Yielded more products and food supply
• How did wealth accumulation affect social stratification in agrarian societies?

  Established more complex social stratification
• What formal structures emerged due to social complexity in agrarian societies?

  The state and laws
• What changes occurred in industrial societies compared to agrarian societies?

  More opportunities and fields of specialization
• How did literacy change in industrial societies?

  It escalated with free public education
• What improvements were made in health practices during industrial societies?

  Better life expectancy and health treatment
• How did the organization of societies improve in industrial societies?

  Created more formal systems for efficiency
• What technological advancements marked the arrival of industrial societies?

  The steam engine and railroads
• What was the impact of increased mechanization in industrial societies?

  Tremendous increase in production and inequality
• What characterizes postindustrial societies?

  Orientation toward knowledge and service
• Why is education important in postindustrial societies?

  It provides knowledge for the service sector
• How has technology changed human relationships in postindustrial societies?

  Human relationships are mediated by computers
• What resulted from overproduction in postindustrial societies?

  The creation of a consumer society
• How do advertisers influence consumer behavior?

  By creating a culture of consumption
• What is sign consumption in consumer society?

  Purchasing based on sign value, not use value
• What characterizes the throwaway society?

  Insatiable desire to consume beyond needs
• What is the dominant feature of today's society?

  Technological innovations
• How has the virtual society changed human activities?

  Human activities are performed in virtual realities
• What is a concern regarding the technological society?

  It is based on a way of thinking that dominates