The term “superorganic” was probably first used by the early sociologist Herbert Spencer in the late 19th century, in contrast to “inorganic” or “organic.” To Spencer, and other cultural-determinist sociologists and philosophers like Émile Durkheim and Auguste Comte, human society is superorganic in that it exists at a higher level of complexity than physical things or biological organisms. Viewed through Spencer's social evolutionary thought, superorganic refers to the claim that culture is an entity that exists over and beyond the individuals that make it up. [Source: Encyclopedia of Anthropology; Superorganic]
superorganic
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