ABSTRACT
This chapter first explains the concept of the superorganic and its elaboration in the work of some of the founders of the discipline of anthropology. It then focuses on the writings of Marx, a development of the notion of constitutive relations, and of the social-material and social-cultural distinctions. The chapter illustrates the different senses of sociality with reference to the phenomenon of gift exchange, introduce a further distinction between communication and communion, and unpack a key term in all discussions of social behaviour in animals and man-namely 'altruism'. Spencer follows a well-established tradition of liberal social philosophy, according to which society is rationally constituted as an instrumental adjunct to the satisfaction of extrasocial and purely hedonistic ends, namely the pursuit of happiness and the avoidance of misery. In many ways, a paradigmatic instance of the social relationship is furnished by the exchange of gifts.
