An Intorduction to The Study of Society (An Old and Rare Book)

Man, as the latest school of philosophy holds, is the subject matter of philosophy, but, he is a concrete being ‘who lives in society which is the matrix of his life and existence. The study of society, there- fore, is of primary importance for the study of man.

The present book is an attempt to analyse social concepts and trace their origin and development, with particular reference to man as a member of his family, caste-group, social institutions and organi- zations. In presenting this analysis the author has followed the latest method of philosophers who interpret philosophy by the help of history, including the study of society through all stages of its growth. The book is divided into eleven chapters as follows :

(i) Social Philosophy, meaning and scope. (ii) Relation between social philosophy and some other studies. (iii) Some social concepts. {iv) The method of the social study. (v) The social Nature of Man. (vi) The family. (vii) Marriage. (viii) Caste and Stages of life. (ix) Individual and Society. (x) Education and Educational institutions. (xi) Social mind.

This study fully documented with the critical apparatus—general index and foot notes—is designed to meet a long-felt need of the reader including the serious students of the subject at the Honours and post-graduate levels.

The present collection contains reflections on contemporary Indian Society, Finance and Education, expressed in the form of a lecture or an address, by Dr. C. D. Deshmukh, during his tenure of office as the Governor of the Reserve Bank, Union Finance Minister, Chairman of the U. G. C. and Vice- Chancellor of the University of Delhi. It comprises his speeches that remained unpublished after the U. G. C. published: two volumes.

The contents of this volume can be placed in three categories , viz., (i) speeches valuable for their contribution to the monetary and economic history in regard to War Finance, Planning and Development problems etc., (ii) speeches dealing with the progress and problems of education in India, such as Language phobia, Romanizing scripts, Technical Education, (iii) speeches on Social problems, such as National Integration, Growing Democracy and other aspects of life which do not easily come under classification.

The volume is important not only for the striking ideas, but also for felicitous expression, fine phrasing, sweet rhythm and agreeable concord that characterize the elegant style.

This study presents a valuable account of social and eco- nomic conditions in India in the nineteenth century. Drawing upon the material gathered from the reports preserved in the despatches of the American Consuls in Calcutta and Bombay, the author has evaluated source for the history of Modern India which had not been tapped before. Hc has examined the mate- rial critically and built up his thesis on firm grounds, care- fully delineating the conditions under which the American consuls wrote their reports.

The book is divided into seven Chapters:—I. Introduction II. Aspects of U.S. history and the American Consuls in India. III. Aspects of principles and practice of U.S. foreign policy and India. IV.. Facets of Indian Society in the nineteenth century. V. Facets of Indian Economy in the nineteenth century. VI. Facets of Indo-American trade relations in the nineteenth century. VII. Epilogue.

This source study complete with Appendices, Index and Bibliography should be found useful by all serious students of the subject.

This book is meant to be an Introduction to the Study of Society. The analysis given in it is designed to cover the area in which the problems regarding society and social life fall. At the very outset, the issue whether there is anything like social philosophy, which is tc be distinguished from sociology, has been discussed and an attempt made to settle the question : Is there a general science of society as against the special social sciences? Some, following Herbert Spencer, hold that philosophy is unification of the sciences, in the sense that philosophy as a speculative study arises by way of synthesizing the results of the sciences. In the field of social studies also a similar view of sociology in relation to the special social sciences has been developed. We are told that the former is only a body of generalizations on the basis of the results of the special social sciences. But the analogy between philosophy and sociology breaks down in view of the fact that philosophy is an abstract study as it proceeds by speculation, whereas sociology is an empirical study, though it is the general science of society. The point is that sociology is not quite based on the special social sciences, though the latter supply much material to the former. There is never- the less an intimate relation between sociology as the general science of society and social philosophy. If we do not identify sociology with social philosophy—there is no reason why we should—we have to note that the former tends to merge into the latter.

The term ‘‘philosophy" is a controversial one. It is rather paradoxical to say that after three thousand years of philosophy the present-day philosophers are debating among themselves what philosophy is about. This is unfortunate indeed. Though the conceptions of philosophy are not as many as there are philosophers the conception of it varied from age to age. In the begining it was occupied with the physical world, then it turned from matter to mind. Now it turns round man. The latest school of philosophy takes man as the subject matter of philosophy.

But man in the concrete is a being who lives in society. So the study of man as apart from that of society is abstract. This brings out the importance of the social studies. Society is, in- deed, the matrix of our life and existence. The study of society is therefore one of first importance. The University Grants Commission and UNESCO are obviously right in emphasizing humanistic studies like ethics, sociology cum social philosophy, and comparative religion. It is important to consider how philosophy is taught in the Indian Universities. Generally, students are introduced to the subject through history of philosophy. But history of philosophy is taken only in the sense of a succession of systems of thought and is taught without reference to the history of the relevant periods with the result that students do not know what philosophers belonged to what periods. That way they only gather some ideas torn from the flow of events in which they were rooted. It would doubtless be rational to teach philosophy by the help of history, inclu- ding as it does the study of society in its origin and development. From this point of view also the study of society appears to be of paramount importance. That without social studies the education of our boys and girls remains incomplete has been recognized by the Education! Authorities all over the world. They have therefore made provision for the teaching of the subject at the primary, secondary, and higher stages of education. This is one bright feature of the prevailing system of education, which, however, needs to be overhauled.

Here I should express my indebtedness to some former pupils of mine, especially to Sri Dhananjay Nath of the Ramakrishna Mission Multi-purpose School, Midnapore, and Sri Pijus Das, Lecturer, Kakdwip, College, who constantly encouraged me to make the book ready for publication. I also express my gratitude to Motilal Banarsidass for so kindly undertaking publication of the book at a time when the cost of paper and printing 1s very high.