Assess the contribution of Functionalism to an understanding of society. (33 marks) Functionalism is a macro, structural theory. It focuses on the requirements of the social system as a whole. Also, Functionalism is a consensus theory. It sees society as based on an agreement among its members about values, goals and rules that standardise and determine behaviour. Functionalists believe that we can obtain true knowledge of the functioning of society and that this knowledge can be used to improve society. Functionalism sees society as a system which contains interconnected parts which work together to form an effective society.
Parsons and other Functionalists liken society to the human body. The human body needs the heart, brain and lungs to work together in order for the human body to survive. Similarly, schools, family, religion and the government are needed in order for the social system to survive. Without these essential social institutions, society would diminish. As a result, social institutions such as the family, religion and the government are seen as part of the social order rather than isolated units. Parsons identified four distinct areas which needed to be addressed in order for the social system to survive.
These four needs known as functional requisites are: adaption, goal attainment, integration and pattern maintenance. Parsons refers to adaption and goal attainment as instrumental needs. In this case, instrument refers to the means to an end. The social system meets its members’ material and adaption needs. These needs are met by the economic sub-system. For instance, the economy provides the basic standard of food and shelter. The second need (goal attainment) refers to the shared activities all members of society are directed to engage in. By directing individual’s goals, a society’s value consensus is reinforced.
The Research paper on Marx Believes That Society Social Individuals Durkheim
Sociology has been influenced by many perspectives among those are Karl Marx also known as the Marxist theory and Functionalism. This research paper seeks to compare and contrast these two theories. These two theories are very different in comparison but they also have a few similarities on their views about the understanding of social life. Marxism has been called a radical approach to ...
For instance, making profit to help society develop is a goal. Political institutions help fulfil such goals. Parsons describes integration and pattern maintenance as expressive needs, as they involve the expression of emotions. The third need (integration) refers to the need to make the social system cohesive. For example, any crime and deviance is dealt with in order to protect the social system. Legal institutions such as the police and courts perform this function. The fourth requirement (pattern maintenance) explains the need for socialisation to occur within societies. Institutions such as education and the family function to do this.
The shared value system coordinates the different parts of society to ensure that the system’s needs are met. However, Parsons has been criticised by other sociologists. Merton, for example, criticises Parsons by stating that we cannot assume society is always a smooth-running, well-integrated system. Merton argues that established institutions in society are not the only ones who might do a particular job effectively. For example, Parsons assumes that primary socialisation is best performed by the nuclear family. However, it may be that lone-parent families or communes raise children just as well or better.
Durkheim argues that the division of labour was key to regulating modern societies. People contributed to the functioning of the social body through their individual tasks. Their individual tasks helped create a value consensus of shared common goals and these help society to function properly. Such beliefs help create social order through commitment to a shared value consensus, often known as collective conscience. Collective conscience represents the social forces that help bind people together and to integrate them into the collective behaviour within society.
The Essay on The Comparison Of Functionalism And Conflict Theory
Functionalism and conflict theory are two theories that influence the purposes of schooling. These two theories are both different and similar in their view and relation to schooling. Basically, the differences lie in the way these two theories explain transmission, as well as way functionalists are more accepting and conflict theorists want to change things. The two theories are similar in their ...
Marxists criticise Functionalism for its failure to explain conflict and change. Marxists argue that society is not a harmonious whole. Marxists believe society is based on exploitation and divided into classes with conflicting interests and unequal power. Solidity is the result of the dominant class being able to prevent change by using force or manipulation. Shared values are concealing the interests of the dominant class. Postmodernists argue that Functionalism assumes that society is stable and orderly. However, it cannot justify the diversity and instability that exists in today’s postmodern society.
Postmodernists argue that Functionalism attempts to create a model of the workings of society as a whole. However, such a theory is no longer possible because today’s society is increasingly disjointed. Many critics argue that Funcitonalism is a conservative ideology that neglects conflict, exploitation and change, and has an over-socialised view of individuals. Functionalism has also been criticised for being too deterministic as it doesn’t allow for individual choice. Moreover, it over-emphasizes harmony and consensus whilst ignoring the extent of conflict and the unequal distribution of power in society.
Overall, Functionalism does attempt to understand society as a whole and the idea that different parts of society are interlinked is useful. Functionalism seeks to answer how social order is possible, even if its answer neglects conflict and is too deterministic. Functionalists recognise the importance of social structure in understanding society, how it constrains individual behaviour and how the major social institutions (family, education and the economy) have links. Also, Functionalism provides an explanation for social stability and why most people generally conform to the rules of social life.
The Term Paper on Functionalism, Conflict, Interactionism and Religion
Religion is the worship of and the belief in a God or gods. Every individual in life is often entitled to a religion as part of the culture. Devotional and performance of specific rituals characterize religion among the people. Religion possesses moral codes that regulate the affairs of man in the society. The paper seeks to determine how the sociological theories impact religion of an individual ...
