functionalism

Question 1

explain the organic analogy

Answer 1

identifies 3 similarities between society and a biological organism
System - organisms such as the human body and societies are both self regulating systems of interrelated parts
System needs - needs, such as nutrition are held by humans while functionalists see the social system as having basic needs that must be met if it is to survive.
Functions - the function of any part of a systems is the contribution it makes to meeting its members needs.

Question 2

how is social order achieved according to parsons

Answer 2

the existence of a shared culture or, in his words, a central value system.

Question 3

give the two mechanisms for ensuring that individuals conform to shared norms and values and meet the system’s needs according to parsons

Answer 3

Socialisation
Social control

Question 4

what are the functional prerequisites

Answer 4

Adaptation - meets its members needs through the economic subsystem
Goal attainment - set goals and allocate resources to achieve them - political subsystems
Integration - different parts of the system must be integrated together to pursue shared goals - subsystem of religion, education and the media
Latency - kinship subsystem provides pattern maintenance (socialising individuals into performing roles) and tension management (a place to let off steam)

Question 5

what is change according to parsons

Answer 5

a gradual evolutionary process of increasing complexity and structural differentiation.

Question 6

explain durkheim’s theory of society

Answer 6

Concerned by rapid social change and the transition to modern industrial society
Traditional society based on mechanical solidarity
Collective consciousness bound them so tightly together that individuals in the modern sense did not really exist
Rapid change undermines old norms without creating new ones throwing people into a state of anomie

Question 7

explain merton’s internal critique of the functionalist perspective and of parsons himself

Answer 7

Indispensability - assumes that everything in society is functionally indispensable in its existing form. He points to the possibility of functional alternatives
Functional unity - some parts of society may have functional autonomy from others
Universal functionalism - everything in society performs a positive function. However, his idea of dysfunction introduces a neglected role into functionalism by suggesting that there may be conflicts of interest.

Question 8

explain the logical criticism of functionalism

Answer 8

Functionalism is teleological - the idea that things exist because of their function
A real explanation of something is one identifying cause
Criticised for being unscientific

Question 9

explain the conflict criticism of functionalism

Answer 9

Marxists criticise functionalism for inability to explain conflict and change
Society is not a harmonious whole
It is based on exploitation and divided into classes with conflicting interests and unequal power
Functionalism is a conservative ideology legitimating the status quo

Question 10

explain the postmodernist criticism of functionalism

Answer 10

Functionalists assume that society is stable and orderly
It cannot account for diversity and instability in today’s society

Question 11

explain the action criticism of functionalism

Answer 11

Wrong - functionalists over socialised or deterministic view of the individual. He describes functionalist view as follows: the social system uses socialisation to shape people’s behaviour so that they will meet systems needs. Action approach takes opposite view: individuals create society through interactions