p Society, being a special form of the motion of matter, emerges on the basis of the further development of the material forms of the motion of matter that constitute nature, particularly its biological form. Its immediate ancestor is the animal herd, a biological group based on food, sex, defence and other instincts.

p The animal herd was transformed into human society under the direct influence of labour and the “instrumental” activity of man’s animal ancestors to meet their needs. While looking for food or defending themselves from enemies, highly developed animals began using natural objects (sticks, stones, etc.) in order to reach for a fruit, to crack the hard shell of a nut, to hit an attacking beast, and so forth. These actions often had positive results, which conditioned the emergence of a corresponding reflex and the habit of using natural objects as “instruments” in undertaking certain actions associated with meeting the body’s needs. At first such use of natural objects was a casual and temporary phenomenon, but later, the obvious efficacy of such uses lent them increasing importance for the life of the given species of animal.

p While systematically applying natural objects to achieve a predetermined result, attempts were made to create the necessary “instruments” by processing certain natural objects. As this tendency developed it conditioned a gradual transformation of reflex and instinctive actions into conscious and purposeful activity.

p By creating the instruments required to influence nature, man’s ancestors became less and less dependent on it, since man then waged a struggle for his existence not by changing his biological qualities and functions, but by improving the instruments with which he affected nature and purposely changed it.

p Corresponding ties and relationships were established between individuals acting jointly in the creation and use of instruments. These ties grew stronger with the development of this activity and gradually overtook in importance the biological ties underlying this association. As these relationships became more and more important for the existence of a tribe, formed by individuals, this herd developed into a human society-a higher form of matter’s being, qualitatively different from previous forms of living nature.

p As we can see, labour-the process taking place between man and nature, “in which man of his own accord starts, regulates, and controls the material re-actions between himself and Nature"  [307•1 — represented the basis of the existence and development of this new form of the motion of matter. 308 Labour is the prime and basic condition for human life, and its existence, above all, distinguishes human society from an animal herd. Thanks to labour man becomes separate from nature and “makes it serve his ends, masters it.”  [308•1 

p Society, which took shape as a particular form of motion of matter, did not sever its ties with the forms that preceded it and constituted a sphere of animated and unanimated nature, but incorporated them in a transformed way. In fact, society was formed through the interaction and interrelation of intricate material systems, viz., by people with physical, chemical and biological processes, subject to corresponding physical, chemical and biological laws. While all these laws express the organic linkage and unity of society and nature, they are not determining in society, do not constitute its essence or express its qualitative features. Subject to definite physical, chemical and biological laws, man’s functioning and development are part of a definite system of social relations with their specific laws which determine the specific features of society and the people that make it up.

p Moreover, society’s organic ties with nature are also expressed by the fact that the former cannot exist without its interaction with the latter. As mentioned earlier, labour, which provides the means of subsistence, is the basis of society’s emergence and existence. At the same time it represents that interaction of man and nature, in 309 the course of which man purposely changes some natural objects and phenomena, adapting them to people’s specific needs.

The interaction of society and nature is thus a prime condition for the functioning and development of society. In the course of this interaction, nature produces a definite impact on society, while the latter influences nature. Let us see how this mechanism works.