Greg - society exists in the senses that it has its own laws and rules independently of particular individuals. That is,in part, because people, when in groups, behave differently from the ways they do independently, or even in one-to-ones.

    All our laws do not refer to particular individuals or particular pairings to the point where the laws don't function for the benefit of particular individuals or dyads(pairings) but for the benefit of the total group - society.

   That's what the word 'society' is referring to, the totality of the group. So we start to talk of 'society's needs', for shelf-fillers, nurses, brick-makers, children. People do jobs they don't 'want' to do , even do things they don't 'want' to do, because 'society' needs, or wants them.


   BTW, yes 'Autolycos' does contain additional information, namely, one or two of the tendencies/preferences that this collection of molecules has.


   Bestest wishes




    Ivor

   A cursory look at history shows how socities rise and fall in similar ways.

   All of this os designed to demonstrate that altho' 'societies' are not tangible objects, they exist and cause stuff. We are not merely 'a collection of individuals', and we don't function in life as tho' we believed we were merely such a collection. We want to, and we'd be better off if made more effort to, but we act much of the time because we know that 'society', with its laws and requirements, is a fact as well as a word.