Functionalist Methodology

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Functionalist Methodology

Advantages

  • Society as a system. - Parsons - The Organic analogy- There are 3 similarities between society and the human body.
  • 1. The System Organisms. - The human body and society are both self regulating and fit together in certain fixed ways. In the body there are the organs and cells. In society there is the institutions and roles. of people. Eg school and a teacher.
  • 2. The System Needs. - Organisms and society have needs that need to be met. Society must appropriately socialise the next generation for the next work force or society would be dysfunctional.
  • 3. Functions. - All aspects of the body and society must interact in order for society to function appropriately and survive. Eg in the body the blood carries oxygen, and in society the social systems provide food and shelter for those who require it.
  • Value Consensus and social order. - Parsons. - Social order is maintained through shared culture. This lays down basic rules for society which all members will abide by. Yet social order is only maintained if all of its members agree upon these norms and values.This is agreement value consensus.
  • The system needs - Parsons. - There are four basic needs that the system has. GAIL.
  • G - Goal attainment - Society must have goals to aspire to and they must have the appropriate resources to achieve them. This may be set by teh political sub-system through parliment.
  • A - Adaptation - Society must meet the members needs.
  • I - Intergration - All social institutions must work together in order to persure the shared goals. This includes the education system, religion and the mass media.
  • L - Latency - This is the maintenance of society over time and how each institution has its role within society. Eg School socialises the next generation.
  • Types of society. - Parsons - There are two types of society. The traditional and modern. In a modern society individuals earn status through their own individual self interest and they are all judged against the same standards. Eg exams and laws. While in a traditional society status is ascribed at birth and they put group interests before their own.
  • Social change - Parsons - Change is a gradual process. Eg a amoeba used to perform all the essential functions, but a human body is much more complex. Then in society a single institution provides the base for society, but other institutions proved different things to people.

Disadvantages

  • Mertons internal criticism - All complex societies have the scope to go wrong or face unforeseen consequences. This is the idea of dysfunction. Eg the growth of technology has been functional as it provides a longer life expectancy and produces cheaper, better quality products. But the dysfunction to this is that it causes pollution, climate change and disease. Therefore not all parts of society can be beneficial.
  • Functionalists are unscientific. They do not aim to disprove any of their theories and therefore it is unscientific. Eg they seen parts of society and functional and dysfunctional.
  • Logical criticism - Functionalists are criticized as they believe that the existence of the family is to socialise children. Yet the socialisation can only take place once we have a family.
  • Marxist criticism - They ignore the fact that society is not harmonious. It is based on exploitation. 'Shared values' are just a concealment for the ruling class ideology that creates a false class consciousness for the working class.
  • Conflict theories. - Functionalists justify and legitimize the position of powerful groups.
  • Feminists - The functionalists theories are gender blind and ignore how  women face subordination in society.
  • Postmodernist - Overall the theory can not be applied to the diverse and fragmented society today.
  • Postmodernist - Functionalism is a meta-narrative that creates a model of a stable and orderly society.
  • Dennis Wrong - Action - Functionalists are too deterministic. They do not include the concept of peoples free will. They are just like puppets that are controlled by society.

Evaluation

Craib - Parsons theory has its faults, but at least it is a theory of society as a whole. Durkheim was the founding father of sociology and so his influence has contributed hugely to our understanding of society.

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