Methods of micro sociology include symbolic interactionism, phenomenology and ethnomethodology. However there is opposing argument as macro sociologists think the opposite as although they concentrate on individuals as well they also look at families and other larger groups in society in which an individual is part of. Weber a social action theorist believes people hold meanings about the world and consciously act on the basis of meaning. He saw behaviour in terms of the meanings people action to actions and classified them into four types. Instrumentally rational action is when a goal is not desirable but an induvidual still works out the best way to reach it.
The functionalist believe that the understanding of deviance is the function for society rather than individuals themselves. Even though they believe that consensus is a function required for society. Functionalists therefore, argue that it is important for society to maintain society and the social control. However, the strain theory which is Merton's theory is based upon the theory of functionalist as they encourage anomie of deviance. Merton 1930,highlights the strains between the cultural goals of society and legitimate and regular ways to achieving the goals of success.
Functionalism is a macro theory, which looks at society as a whole rather than focuses on each individual. It is a theory that concentrates on the harmony between social institutions in society that is based on a consensus view rather than a conflict view as a Marxism theory. As a comparison to society as a whole, Functionalists use an organic analogy as an example. Each organ of the human body has a different job to do and if one part became ill or diseased, the rest could be contaminated or will produce changes in other parts. Similarly the operation of any society is dependent on its social institutions as they provide vital functions which maintain harmony, stability and solidarity within a society.
Rudolf von Jhering, a German jurist recognised law as a means of ordering society in a situation where there are many competing interests, not all economic. His view was that legal developments were driven by the constant tussle between individuals and groups within society to have their interests portrayed and supported by the law. He expressed that law could be used in self-interest by individuals and groups in order to achieve advances in their own purposes. As a result, the law acts to determine the true balance between different interests by examining the value of each. The American legal scholar, Roscoe Pound, was influenced by Jhering.
Abstract In the discipline of Sociology, Structural Functionalism, often referred to as functionalism, centres on the structure and functioning of society. Functionalist theorists view society as constructed of interdependent structures that work together for the benefit of society as a whole. The structural functionalist approach has its detractors, but it still remains the most effective framework for characterising the art of living together in a community. Introduction Structural functionalism has its origins in history with many theorists making significant and often controversial contributions. In this article an attempt is made to define the theory focusing on the structure of society as it has originally been equated to the human body.
Many sociologists have given alternate views about the main function of education. Functionalists argue that the main function of education is to maintain a value consensus – agreed social values – whereas Marxists argue that education transmits values that benefit the ruling class. Durkheim (1903), a functionalist, argues that society needs a sense of social solidarity because without it, social life and cooperation would be impossible as individuals would pursue their own selfish desires. The education system helps create social solidarity by transmitting society’s culture from one generation to the next so the main function of education is to maintain a value consensus in society. However, Marxists criticise this and argue that education in capitalist society only transmits the ideology of the ruling class and not the shared values of society.
The first is, Max Weber who was a German Conflict theorist who in part responsible for the development of the Symbolic Interactionist paradigm because he argued that meaning requires understanding. He is also recognized for the importance of economic conditions in producing inequality and conflict in society. Weber felt that sociologists should not let their own personal biases affect the research process. He stressed that researchers should stay neutral and objective, or “value-free.” He added power and prestige to inequality which I think also falls under Functionalism with power being evenly distributed among his own society. My second choice is Emile Durkheim, he was a French order theorist who argued that society is characterized by stability and strong integration based on mutual benefit.
− Is it necessary? − Constructing hierarchy − Constructing inequality through ideology − ideology: a set of beliefs and values − typically, that are a worldview, or that explain a worldview − often (not always) characteristic of a culture: shared ideas about how the world works, and shared values about what is good, bad, appropriate, etc. − Most or all societies have an ideology that naturalizes their social organization − makes it seem normal, reasonable, necessary, natural − ideologies are emic − they are ideas that the people in a society have about their own society − how they see their own cultural world − Some societies have ideology of equality − such as the Ju/’hoansi − most societies societies today have ideologies of inequality Intro to Cultural Anthro S 2011 / Owen: Social and economic hierarchies p. 5 − that is, they have an ideology that naturalizes inequality − makes differences in status, prestige, wealth, power, etc. seem normal, right, natural, inevitable − that allow people to construct and think about ranked categories in ways that
Firstly is social interest, such as health and safety and public order, whilst individual interests include privacy and domestic relations. Pound believed where possible the law should create a level playing field of these interests meaning social interests should be weighed against social interests and individual interests against individual interests as a failure to do this will result in a bias in favour of social interest. Karl Marx believed the law was part of the ‘repressive state apparatus’ used to ensure the continuing exploitation of the working class members of society by the upper and ruling classes. For Marx, the law treated as lesser the interests of the lower classes to those of the upper classes and so did not and would not truly
‘Assess the usefulness of Social Action Theory to our understanding of Society’ (33 marks) Social action theories are radical opposites of structural theories. Structural theories commonly view people as ‘puppet’s’ of the social system, passively and unthinkingly playing out their lives as determined by pre-existing social laws. The main disagreements between this social structure is that Functionalists emphasise the benefits for the entire society, whilst others believe that it is only beneficial to one type of group, via means of production; these are Marxists or Feminists. Social action theories have an issue with determinism, they alternatively believe that people within society are social actors and have free will, consciousness, meanings and motives. Social action theorists believe that illusion of a stable and constant society is slightly more than hundreds of individual interactions each carried out by choice and interpretation.