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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Sociology of the Quran Part 4 : Does Society Have an Essential and Independent Existence? Society is composed of individuals; without individuals a society does not exist. What is the manner of this synthesis? How is an indivi­dual related to society, and what kind of relationship is it? Let us take into consideration the following views: First View Society is constituted of individuals. This is merely a hypostatized synthesis; i.e.

a synthesis does not exist in reality. An objective synthe­sis takes place when a series of elements influence one another, and when there is a reciprocal and mutual relation of action and reaction between the elements. These actions and reactions prepare the ground for the emergence of a new phenomenon with its own specific. characteris­tics, as observed in the case of a chemical synthesis.

For example, due to the action and reaction of the two gases, oxygen and hydrogen, for example, a new compound, namely, water, is produced with a new form and a new set of properties. The essential condition for a real synthesis is that the constituent elements are merged into one another in the process of synthesis, giving up their individual nature and pro­perties, to bring into existence a new substance: the compound.

In collective life, human beings never merge with one another in this way, and a society does not represent anything like a `unified man'. Thus, society does not possess an essential and independent existence, but a secondary and a hypostatized one. It is the individual alone who has independent, real, and essential existence. So, although human life in society does have a collective form and colour, but members of society do not merge to form a real compound called `society'.

Second View In reality, society cannot be compared to the natural com­pounds; it is an artificial compound. An artificial compound is a kind of compound although it is not a natural one. An artificial compound, like a machine, is a system of interrelated parts. In a chemical com­pound, the constituent elements lose their identity, and dissolves in the `whole' and essentially lose their individuality.

But in an artificial com­pound, the components do not lose their identity; they just surrender their independence. The components are interconnected and related in such a way that the effect of the resultant product is quite different from the sum total of the individual effects of its ingredients.