Social organism

Model of social interactions

Social organism is a sociological concept, or model, wherein a society or social structure is regarded as a "living organism". The various entities comprising a society, such as law, family, crime, etc., are examined as they interact with other entities of the society to meet its needs. Every entity of a society, or social organism, has a function in helping maintain the organism's stability and cohesiveness.

The model, or concept, of society as organism is traced by Walter M. Simon from Plato ('the organic theory of society'), and by George R. MacLay from Aristotle (384–322 BCE) through 19th century and later thinkers, including the French philosopher and founder of sociology, Auguste Comte, the Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher Thomas Carlyle, the English philosopher and polymath Herbert Spencer, and the French sociologist Émile Durkheim. According to Durkheim, the more specialized the function of an organism or society, the greater its development, and vice versa. The three core activities of a society are culture, politics, and economics. Societal health depends on the harmonious interworking of these three activities. David Sloan Wilson, in his 2002 book, Darwin's Cathedral, applies his multilevel selection theory to social groups and proposes to think of society as an organism. Human groups thus function as single units rather than mere collections of individuals. He claims that organisms "survive and reproduce in their environments" and that "Human groups in general, and religious groups in particular, qualify as organismic in this sense".