O minulé a současné reflexi vědomí společnosti
Reflections on the Social Consciousness in the Past and in the Present

Summary/Abstract: Reflections on the Social Consciousness in the Past and in the Present. Social consciousness became the object of interest of especially German and French sociologists during the 19th and 20th century. When we look for the “common denominator” of their perception of the discussed issue, we will find it is the social conditioning of the consciousness of society. It is possible to find this approach with many authors, namely with K. Marx, E. Durkheim, K. Mannheim, M. Scheler, P. Bourdieu, but also with C. M. Mills, P. L. Berger and others. Marx` system based on the notions of base and superstructure became one of the most influential ones. Researchers focused their intention on manifestations of political movements such as ideologies, false consciousness, utopian consciousness, but also on individual forms of the consciousness of society, such as religious, political and legal consciousness. Later, the communication effect of media was accompanied by the identification of mass consciousness and public opinion. When considering the life strategies of human individuals, sociologists have been having a close look at the role of life experience, world-view (Weltanschauung), “common sense”, and recently also at the role of habitus. The consciousness of society has not had a limpidly pure form on any stage of its development - there has always been a mingling of individual strata, starting with the mythological consciousness and coming to present consumer consciousness. Human race accepted various ways of compulsory explanation of reality: the first one was a consensus, then a monopoly situation followed by atomised competition. Finally, the modern age brought a concentration of cognition. There is one more feature that has proved to be important: the development from the most natural world-views (myths) towards the most artificial, technological cognition. Post-modernism deeply influenced the formation of social consciousness by giving mass media a strong (often manipulating and misleading) influence upon public. The transformation processes in the post-Communist countries have emphasised the peculiarities of these countries` social consciousness. Even though Marxism was forced out by neo-liberalism, there have been principles of paternalism, collectivism and conformism still remaining in the minds of people. This situation results into paradoxes in legal consciousness, in the attitude towards economy, morals, etc. Only further research can show to what extent the present state of consciousness of these societies is under influence of democratic processes. Sociológia 2002 Vol 34 (No 4: 287-304)

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