The functionalist perspective presents social moulding of an individual rather than use of force to the individual in order to carry out societal roles. Moreover, it asserts that when members of the society cooperate with one another, they help in maintaining order in the society. In addition to that, functionalists perceive social transformation as being constructive and expected. The functionalist view also holds that each feature of society is mutually dependent and participates in society's performance as a whole. It was emphasised by Appelrouth and Edles (2008:349) that, the classic structural functionalist image of society is as an organism, such as the body with different parts (e.g.
Teleological school is based on the consequences, i.e. the effect that certain actions have on others. Deontological school focuses on the motivational aspects that lead each individual’s conduct. Based on the above, it would be logical to refer that as the values, past history and motivations constitutes the morals of an individual, then the history and evolution of societies will then form the ethical principles that will determine a comunity customary rules by which theirs people will act, and this is what will shape then the culture of this particular society. The collective nature of morality then implies that those acts called "good " or "bad” vary dramatically depending on the culture in which it occurs.
For example the nature vs nurture debate. Talcott parsons (1902-79) were a key functionalist thinker. He saw society as a system made up of interrelated institutions (like the human body) He thought the main role of an institution was to socialise individuals so they behaved in acceptable ways. He argued that socialisation is the key to understanding patterns of human behaviour. Our behaviour is controlled by the rules of society into which we are born; the result is we don’t have to be told that what we are doing is socially unacceptable- we already know and feel uncomfortable if we don’t conform to social norms.
In this sense, who humans beings are, what they believe, and how they came to be, have all been influenced by society. Society has formed human nature to a point that is hard to argue against. ELABORATE/MORE EVIDENCE. To determine the social coordination/organization of society, Benedict stems many of her claims from observations of three groups: the Zuñi, Dobu, and Kwakiutl. In order to determine social coordination/organization, Benedict claims, “we need detailed information about contrasting limits of behaviors and the motivations that are dynamic in one society and not in another” (229).
This essay will look at that two structural theories of functionalism and Marxists, it will compare and contrast both perspectives and identify similarities and differences in their views of on education family, as well as highlighting the strengths and a weaknesses in both perspectives. Sociological Theory Map (Dierkes', 2010) Emile Durkheim, the French sociologist was one of the founding functionalists. Believed sociology should be studied scientifically methods, just as scientists study the natural world. His famous first principle of sociology was “study social fact as things!” This form of study is known as positivism. The functionalist draws an analogy between the function of society and the function of the human body.
Interaction between individuals is negotiated through shared symbols, gestures and nonverbal communications. This theory studies society through interactions within individual and small groups, this makes it microsociology. Labelling In social terms, labels represent a way of differentiating and identifying people that is considered by many as a form of prejudice and discrimination. Social Construction Social construction is how society groups people and how it privileges certain groups over others. Structuralist Perspective Society is viewed as a complex system of structures that interact to perform various necessary functions.
Functionalism is a structuralist theory that looks at society as a structure. They see society as more important than the individual, it is their belief that the individual are the product of society, the person is shaped by the norms and values that society teaches. Functionalists see religion, family, the political system and education as part of a complex system that has all the necessary parts in order to keep the system going. The modern day functionalism began with the work of Émile Durkheim. He started the work of positivism; this was biological analogies to explain how society should function.
Sociological theories and the family Family is one of society’s main and most important social institutions. It helps to make individuals productive members of society. As with all institutions, family consists of roles, statuses, values and a set of norms which are organized to help the overall society in specific ways. Family is viewed differently in different sociological theories: functionalism, conflict theory and interactionism. To understand the different views of family, we must first understand how the theory applies to family and how each theory affects the views of individuals of the family and the views of society.
Functionalism is a macro, structuralist theory. This means they see human behaviour being shaped as an influence of social forces. It is also seen as a consensus theory, as functionalists’ argue that, individuals are socialised into a shared value to ensure conformity and social order. However, this functionalists approach is criticised by action theorists, as they argue that individuals create society through their interactions. Unlike other functionalists, Parsons argues that individuals are integrated through socialisation and social order.
There are various ways to implement such things. In other words we can say some special type of behavior is expected from members of society. Such expected or controlled behavior is called social control. Social control refers to social mechanisms that regulate individual and group behavior, leading to conformity and compliances to the rules of a given society or social group. Many mechanisms of social control are cross-cultural, if only in the control mechanisms used to prevent the establishment of chaos or anomie.