16.
MAN AND SOCIETY
Humans, from the very beginning, were not able to live on their own so they started to form groups.
These groups created their system of laws and accepted behaviour which can be defined as a society. These
laws and behaviour make it possible for people to live together.
Education begins in families. It is extremely important to show children what is right and what is
wrong from an early age. Children observe moral rules and behave according to what they see. They pick
them up from their parents, teachers and friends. Parents should therefore be models of appropriate social
behaviour. Children learn how to behave politely in certain situations. It is from our family that our
behaviour is formed. If parents speak rudely, children will imitate them. If parents only have TV dinners,
children will not know how to behave at a table. Talking to people with respect, listening to them, showing
empathy, praising others for their achievements, should be common in every family. Their absence leads to
the raising of ill-mannered children.
At nursery school and kindergarten they start socializing with other children and make friends. They
play and do some activities together. At school pupils develop friendly relationships with their classmates
and formal relationships with teachers. As a whole class they help and support themselves, stick together and
work as a team. Rules of social behaviour are also taught at school. At most schools children can attend
religious studies or ethics. It is taught once a week. Pupils learn about polite behaviour and moral principles,
they learn to differentiate between good and evil, what is moral and what is immoral.
Living in society requires following certain rules of behaviour. If we want to be accepted by the
society we live in, we should know these rules and try to follow them. These rules and conventions concern
appearance (how to dress for a particular occasion) and behaviour (greetings, addressing people or topics of
conversation). Ethics, the study of moral rules, norms and manners, analyses what is right and what is wrong.
Etiquette, known as protocol, describes formal rules or traditions of behaviour in a certain society and
culture. It prescribes the ways in which people communicate with each other and show their respect for other
people.
Certain acts of courtesy are regarded as normal. Modern etiquette tells us how to greet people, wear
clothing appropriate for certain occasions, help those who need assistance. It is polite to hold the door open
for woman or elder person. You should put your hand over your mouth when you cough or yawn. In a
restaurant it is polite to offer a chair for woman first, eat properly and quietly. It is considered impolite to
speak with your mouth full, point at someone or to stare at someone. When you travel by bus, you are
expected to offer your seat to a woman or elderly person. When you meet somebody for the first time you
should introduce yourself. People address each other in a formal way. After becoming friends they call each
other by first names. At meetings people usually say Good morning/afternoon/evening, friends usually start
conversation with Hello or Hi. People can meet on different occasions. You are expected to respond to
invitations promptly, arrive on time (not too early, in case your host is not ready) and bring a small present
(flowers, chocolate…). When you arrive, you should take off your shoes. Etiquette tells us how to offer
hospitality to guests. Family and friends meet regularly when they celebrate Christmas, Easter, birthday,
name day or anniversary. On these occasions they congratulate and talk to each other. In conversations,
choosing topics is very important. General and impersonal topics, such as the weather, sports, pets, films and
nature are preferred to personal topics which may cause misunderstandings. People are expected to
contribute to conversations without dominating them and listen to speakers with respect. It is important to
use magic words thank you, please and sorry. From time to time, you should visit your relatives, friends or
neighbours. You have an opportunity to find out how they are, give them advice or help when necessary.
Besides that, regular visits can strengthen your relationships.
Social behaviour among adults is formal. However, the trend is towards less formality, especially
among young people. Their language is less formal and it often contains slang expressions, even vulgarisms.
Nowadays, adults often complain about impolite behaviour of young people. They are often rude and they
don’t have respect for them. The loss of manners has become a serious problem in modern societies.
Nowadays, many children are educated by the media. Cartoon characters, films, computer games and
popular songs are often rude and violent. Only people who look good and have a lot of money are considered
successful. Acquired negative patterns of behaviour in childhood change little in adulthood. Differences
between how children are raised nowadays and how our parents and grandparents were raised has led to
generation gaps. Polite behaviour is expected from everybody and you should follow social rules. Breaking
moral rules is improper and it leads to ignorance, carelessness, misunderstandings, arguments, even conflicts
with people and law. It weakens your friendships and influenced your relationships in a negative way. You
could hurt feelings of other people and lose their confidence. It could take a lot of time to regain their respect
and friendship.
People are expected to follow social norms, principles and laws. If anybody doesn’t and they are
a danger to society, society can take certain measures. Most people support the idea that the punishment
should fit the crime. It means that a person should be punished very severely for a serious crime and less
severely for a lesser crime. So when somebody commits a crime, the police investigate the crime. If they
catch the person who committed a serious crime the person must go to court for trial. The accused may be
granted bail – allowing the accused to pay a fee and remain free until their trial. During the trial, lawyers
question witnesses to discover the truth. Witnesses take an oath to tell the whole truth by putting their right
hand on a Bible. Prosecutor tries to prove that the defendant committed the crime and barrister tries to prove
that he is innocent. If the defendant is guilty, the judge will give the sentence. For a serious crime the person
can be put in prison for several years. Serious crimes often threaten human life like robbery, burglary,
mugging, kidnapping, hijack, murder or manslaughter. For minor offences the punishment is usually a fine or
doing community service. Minor offences are stealing, shoplifting, vandalism or illegal parking...
In the UK and the USA, juries comprising twelve people are used in criminal courts. The jurors are
ordinary people not necessarily with any legal background. They may come from any walk of life and if they
are called up, they must serve on a jury. These jurors listen to the evidence presented by both the barrister (in
the USA: attorney) who attempts to prove the client’s innocence and the prosecutor who attempts to prove
the accused’s guilt. At the end of the trial, the jury goes away to reach a verdict, which they will give to the
court. Then the judge will acquit the accused or sentence him/her.
There are people who often have to solve moral dilemmas, such as abortion, euthanasia or cloning.
For doctors or lawyers it is often not easy to decide how to behave ethically. Nowadays, the issue of capital
punishment is discussed all over the world. People who are in favour of capital punishment claim that
murderers who show no pity or respect deserve death. On the other hand, religious people claim that nobody
has right to take someone’s life. Sometimes, innocent people are executed.
Nowadays, the crime rate is very high and it is increasing. It is necessary to find answers to the
question why people commit crimes. The most common reason in most cases is poverty. Unemployed
people or people without living means are not able to cope with their bad situation and they often steal,
shoplift or murder somebody for money. Another common reason is bad education. Children whose parents
are alcoholics, drug addicted or simply indifferent tend to become criminals. They are not able to love or
respect other people because they didn’t know love in their childhood. Our outlook on the world can be
greatly influenced by the media. The levels of violence that we all see in films and computer games lead
directly to a rise in crime. Crime can also occur due to addiction to alcohol and other drugs. Sometimes,
crime may be committed for enjoyment in cases such as vandalism, shoplifting and joyriding (when a car is
stolen, driven fast and then abandoned). Other reasons could be revenge, envy, anger or hatred.
In our society there are people in need: the old, the sick, the disabled, the abandoned, the addicted,
the unemployed, the homeless. There are special social programmes and projects for these people. Society
uses social welfare to take care of people from their birth to death. A lot of institutions are involved in the
system which is concentrated on different categories of people. Health care deals with sick people, job
centres help people to find a job, unemployed people receive unemployment benefits, pension scheme is
useful for retired people. There are hospices and old people’s homes for elderly people, orphanages for
children who have no parents. There are many other institutions, such as institutions for handicapped people.
There are people who are homeless. Homelessness is a big social problem. Many homeless people are
alcoholics or mentally ill or unemployed people without living means. Loss of regular income is common
reason why people become homeless. They live in abandoned houses, parks and streets without any water,
electricity or gas. Charities and different social programmes help them by providing them with food, clothing
and medical treatment. Asylum houses provide them with shelter. Successful profitable firms and companies
can be sponsors for many different cultural or sports events and activities. They can sponsor other less
profitable companies, organisations or people.
Society takes care of its members and has a big influence on family and family life. Society should
support families because everything starts in family. Children are our future and hope, so good education and
upbringing are necessary. Nowadays, young couples have problems to found a family and to find place for
living because they don’t have enough money. Society should provide more financial support for families
and schools, too.
16. QUESTIONS
1. Why are social rules and norms important in every society? How do we acquire and maintain them?
2. What rules are there in your school?
3. How should we educate people to respect rules and feel guilty when they break them?
4. In school projects or group activities, do you welcome differences of opinion? How can they move you
forward?
5. Give a real example of mutual respect you have experienced in your life or you are familiar with.
6. What social rules or norms of behaviour are people expected to follow? Present polite acts of courtesy in the
following situations:
- greetings - cultural events (opera, theatre)
- visiting relatives, friends and neighbours - formal business dinner
7. Give some examples of impolite or unacceptable behaviour in society.
8. Are there any differences in social rules in different cultures? Give some examples.
9. What leads to children being ill-mannered? What kind of behaviour is typical of ill-mannered people?
10. Why is doing the right thing difficult sometimes?
11. What leads people to commit crime?
12. Which of crimes do you distinguish as petty and serious ones? How should people breaking laws be punished?
13. Talk about the possible abuse of individuals (children, women, elderly people…) in society.
14. What do you think of strikes by people whose jobs affect many lives, such as nurses, doctors, teachers or
railway employees?
15. Talk about moral dilemmas, name examples. What do you think of capital punishment?
16. What happens at court during a trial? Who is involved in it? Compare the trial in Slovakia and the UK / the
USA.
17. Name different categories of people in need. What is the attitude of society towards them?
18. How would you feel if you had a disabling accident that would change your life forever? Have you ever had an
opportunity to get to know a person with a disability?
19. What prejudices are often held towards people with a disability? What can people with disabilities teach us?
20. Is age a disaster? Talk about the importance of elderly people in society.
21. What charitable events are organized in order to help people in need? Name some worldwide charitable
organizations and organizations which fight for human rights and justice.
22. What is your view of the moral values in today’s society? What makes it seem that our society has become
more violent?
ROLEPLAYS / SIMULATIONS
It is May 9, Europe Day. Your school will celebrate the holiday and all classes will be cancelled. Your class has been
appointed to decorate the school and prepare a programme for your teachers and younger students connected with the
EU. Say:
- how you would decorate your school
- what programme you would prepare (quiz, competitions, sporting events, presentations about the EU,
guests, cooking European meals…)
A friend of yours who is a visitor to your country is coming to see you. He/she asked you to give him/her some advice
what manners are considered appropriate in your country. Provide advice on:
- greeting
- table manners
- behaviour at school/work
A
You would like to do some community work and you want to persuade your best friend to be involved in as well. Tell
him/her your ideas and try to characterize the group of people (e.g. the disabled, the elderly, the homeless, the criminals,
the drug addicts, etc.) you would like to care for and the activities you would like to organize for them.
B
Your best friend is a community volunteer and would like to persuade you to be involved in some community activities.
You don’t feel like doing it because you aren’t sure whether it will interfere with your studies and other duties. Try to
explain that to your friend.
16. PICTURES
1 Which different levels of society do the people shown in the pictures belong to? What brought you to
that conclusion?
2 Do you think social ranking of people is a form of prejudice or discrimination? Why? Why not?
3 What kind of help might some people in the pictures need? How can the society change their
situation? How can affluent people give aid to the poor?
4 What do you consider to be the current social problems of greatest concern?
