However, how can a society be democratic without being majoritarian? How is a dictated policy not mandated? At what point do an individual’s needs outweigh the needs of the many. Communitarian views also hold to the beliefs that ‘exclusive pursuits of private interests’ is destructive to and erodes the experiment called democratic self-government. Further it contends that individual rights cannot remain intact without a communitarian perspective; that human dignity and the social dimension are recognized equally.
The impact on the personality of the individual, it has the characteristics of participation in the life of the community. The variety of contacts, relationships and active participation in the life of the surrounding general give shape to the human personality. There are two types of social structure, macro and micro which allows the individual to notice, whatever man is constantly in contact, which affects the shape of humans’ personality. One of the most important perspectives of sociological theories is the distinction between structural and social action. Structural action, in other words structuralism, is a perspective which is concerned with the overall structure of society and sees individual behavior molded by social institutions like the family, the educations, the mass media and work.
The functionalist perspective recognises that families perform vital functions for their members and for their society, to ensure stability and harmony in order to achieve social order (Giddens, 2009). Functionalists say that society is held together by social consensus, in which members of the society agree upon, and work together to achieve, what is best for society as a whole. Emile Durkheim suggested that social consensus takes one of two forms, one of which is Mechanical Solidarity – the sense of togetherness within a society
Order and predictability are important if society is to exist. Without mutual understanding, social encounters would be chaotic and demoralizing. Functionalists believe that without collective conscience it is impossible to achieve social and social order is crucial to making sure that the society runs smoothly. Talcott Parson believes that social order is achieved through the existence of shared value system called the value consensus whereby. A culture is a set of norms, values, beliefs and goals shared by the members of society, whereby value consensus is the glue that holds the society together.
Culture is defined as the learned, shared behaviour of the members of a society including values, norms and meanings. It’s a focal point of our being and has the ability to unite or damage a society and furthermore a nation. There are many theories surrounding the importance and functionality of culture and in this essay, I will be assessing the Functionalists’ theories and contrasting it with alternative sociological points of view. Similar to their theory of socialization, Item A reveals the functionalist theory of everything in society performing a function in order to create a value consensus. Durkheim is a firm supporter of this theory and believes that social order is held together by attitudes of solidarity which play the role of ensuring the survival of a well integrated society in which everything and everybody is a piece of a jigsaw that fits together to create a bigger picture.
They suggest norms and values are flexible guidelines. We apply meanings to social behaviour and are aware of how others see that behaviour and how we should act in a given situation. ----------------------- Social action theory Phenomenology Symbolic interactionism Ethnomethodology Structuration theory Weber Blumer Meaning Goffman Cooley Mead Schutz Garfinkel Giddens Structural and action approaches are both important to fully understand human behaviour. To get a full sociological explanation involves two levels: The level of cause and the level of meaning. (E.g.
There are two major aspects in regards to the sociological perspective, the first being interaction between social structure and an individual and the idea of two levels of analysis. When it comes to the interaction of social structure and the individual, sociologists tend to concentrate not so much on the characteristics of an individuals behavior but rather on the precedents that are collective amongst individuals in regards to society and groups around them. The key to grasping sociology comes from the inevitability and repetition, which are seen in customary social behaviors throughout society and individuals. Social structures are socially embodied in the actions, thoughts, beliefs, and long-lasting temperaments of individual human beings. The typical being often has a
Neofunctionalism is essentially a separate theory all together from structural functionalism. Neofunctionalism states that social structures mold individual behavior, ideas can be rational or irrational, and individuals in nature are conflicted. Furthermore, neofunctionalism argues that structural functionalism is too conservative because it hinders societal progress and is too concerned with the collective conscience. Parson theorized society could only be understood when the system was whole. If the system was missing part or parts, the society could not be understood.
This is because they claim that there is no such thing as the truth and therefore all knowledge is uncertain. Sociologists of course stand up for sociology over common sense. Sociology is more important than common sense as it is evidence based and challenges common sense views of the world and enhances human life and freedom. Giddens claims that sociological knowledge often
1. (a) What is meant by the term socialisation? [2] Two marks for a clear and accurate definition, such as: ‘the social process by which people learn norms and values and a distinct sense of self’. One mark for a partial definition. (b) Describe two examples of gender socialisation within the family.