Functionalism Flashcards
What is the organic analogy in functionalism according to Parsons?
Parsons identifies 3 similarities between society and a biological organism: 1) a system made up of interrelated, interdependent parts, 2) system needs similar to biological needs, and 3) functions that meet system needs.
What are the 4 basic needs identified by Parsons?
1) Adaptation: meets members’ material needs through the economic subsystem.
2) Goal attainment: society must set goals and allocate resources for people to achieve them.
3) Integration: different parts of a system must integrate through shared goals.
4) Latency: processes that maintain society over time.
What does Merton criticize about Parsons’ assumptions?
Merton critiques 3 assumptions:
1) Everything is indispensable in its existing form; merton points to ‘functional alternatives’, eg primary socialisation may be efficiently carried out by a lone parent family.
2) Society is tightly integrated with knock-on effects; merton explains how modern complex societies have many parts and some have ‘functional autonomy’ from others
3) Everything performs a positive function- merton states that some things may be beneficial for some and not others.
What is the postmodernist critique of functionalism?
Postmodernists argue that functionalism doesn’t account for the diversity and instability in today’s postmodern society, as it attempts to create a model of society’s workings as a whole.
