Social Norm as a Functional Basis of Sociality: The Problem of Formation and Maintenance of Traditions

Abstract

The article is devoted to the problem of tradition formation in the space of sociality due to the functional potential and possibilities of social norms. The authors believe that the category of “tradition” is associated with dynamic effects (slowing down/acceleration, social and cultural reproduction). Also, “tradition” and “sociality” are categories that reflect the structural organization of social reality, whereas “social norms” are related to dynamic and functional aspects of social reality. Tradition is funded and rooted in the space of the social through the normative systems of society. It is interconnected with sociality and grows out of it. The diversity of social norms can be reduced to a triad of normative systems: “religious norms”, ‘moral norms’, ‘legal norms’, and the relationship between them differs significantly in different historical epochs and in different configurations of sociality. This puts an imprint on the systems of traditional values and forms of traditional, generally accepted practices existing in societies and civilizations.