家庭与社会——一项西方社会思想史的探索

Family and Society:An Exploration to the History of Western Social Thought

自古希腊开始,"家庭是社会的基本单位"这一表述一直在西方思想史中获得充分发展,并且成为家庭—社会分析基本的理论支撑来源。这一表述成为社会学的一条基本命题时,其得以可能的哲学观念以及历史感逐渐被抽空,成为一条抽象的、结构式的社会学话语,指导着家庭与社会关系的整理。在西方现代化思潮中,这一话语进一步被得到充分肯定和强化,也逐渐形塑着后发展中国家家庭的命运——家庭逐渐被纳入社会这一体系中,与社会的结构性关系以及服务于社会功能的要求一再被强化,人在这一强化过程中被社会排斥在家庭之外,遭遇了人与家庭的分离。西方学术开始对家庭与社会的关系进行反思,家庭正在迈向多元化,以及西方的家庭—社会模式正在遭遇危机之时,本土的社会学研究依然坚守着"家庭是社会的基本单位"这一观念,研究的主体性和文化自觉意识逐渐丧失。

The statement 'family is the basic unit of society' has been fully expressed as early as in the Ancient Greek,and it has become the basic theoretical support of family-society analysis in the history of western social thought.Its concept of philosophy and sense of history gradually disappeared when the statement became a basic proposition of sociology.As an abstract,structural sociology discourse,it conducted the study of the relationship between family and society.With the trend of modernization in the western society,this discourse has been completely affirmed and strengthened,and it gradually controlled the fate of the families in the developing countries.During this process,the families are incorporated into the social system.Its structural relationship with society and its social function have both been strengthened.As the consequence of above process,people are excluded and separated from their families socially and forcefully.At present,western families are moving towards diversity and the western mode of family-society is in crisis.Western scholars have began to reflect on the social phenomenon,while Chinese ones should focus on these new changes and put forward some practical suggestions to solve this social problem.