FUNCTIONALISM

The functions of the family in a highly differentiated society are not to be interpreted as functions directly on behalf of the society, but on behalf of personality. Talcott Parsons Society exists for the benefit of its members, not the members for the benefit of society. Herbert Spencer

Main points to take into consideration

Functionalism is a consensus theory of how society functions. It focuses on the ways social institutions fill social needs. Functionalism is associated with Emile Durkheim and more recently with Talcott Parsons . Talcott Parsons believed that order, stability and cooperation in society are based on value consensus that is a general agreement by members of society concerning what is good and worthwhile.

No one has seen a society. Only small parts of it can be observed at one time. Functionalists observe patterns of behaviour that they think help maintain the life of a certain communitythey have a function. By observing things on a smaller scale, a wider picture of how society works can be created.

Organic Analogy
Many functionalists argue that social institutions are functionally integrated to form a stable system and that a change in one institution will precipitate a change in other institutions. This is expressed by Durkheim and others as an organic analogy.

The idea behind the organic analogy is that societies can be compared to the way a biological organism works. With society the organs would be institutions such as the family, education, work, religion, etc. While norms and value bind society, just like skin binds all the organs, there are no social equivalents to things such as DNA.

Mechanical Analogy
Another way to look at society similar to the organic analogy is to compare it to a mechanism, like a clockwork watch, where all the small parts have to function together to achieve a common goal.

Parsonian Functionalism
Parsons' theory is a part of the sociological paradigm of structural functionalism. Society, in this paradigm, is defined as a social system, that meets the essential functional prerequisites that provide the system for long term continuity. AGIL scheme outlines four core functions, that are prerequisites for any society to be able to persist over time. Each of the four functions act as institutes in social system, each of the institutes having its own task.

AGIL
Adaptation- societies must have ways of adapting to change Goal Attainment- social aims which everyone desires thus determining the direction society is headed Integration- ways of binding members of society to identify with the collective goals Latency- ways in which societys way of living can be passed down to other generations

Manifest and latent functions

Manifest functions are the consequences that people observe or expect. It is explicitly stated and understood by the participants in the relevant action. The manifest function of a rain dance, used as an example by Merton in his 1967 Social Theory and Social Structure, is to produce rain, and this outcome is intended and desired by people participating in the ritual Latent functions are those that are neither recognized nor intended. A latent function of a behavior is not explicitly stated, recognized, or intended by the people involved. In the example of rain ceremony, the latent function reinforces the group identity by providing a regular opportunity for the members of a group to meet and engage in a common activity.
While Talcott Parsons tends to emphasize the manifest functions of social behavior, Merton sees attention to latent functions as increasing the understanding of society

Criticism on functionalism
Functionalist ideas almost portray humans as being autonomous and that only socialisation determines our lives. They do not really see humans as the unpredictable creatures they are, not possible to stray away from the predictable ideas that functionalists have of people. There is no recognition of difference by class, region or ethnic group. The functionalist picture is simply reflective of happy middle-class American families. Further criticisms have been levelled at functionalism by proponents of other social theories, particularly conflict theorists, Marxists, feminists and postmodernists. Conflict theorists criticised functionalisms concept of systems as giving far too much weight to integration and consensus, and neglecting independence and conflict. Too much stress is placed on harmony and the potential for conflict and its affects are generally ignored. Does everything in society have a function? The usual justification for this belief is expressed in the idea that: "We know something is functional to society because it exists; it exists because it is functional". The technical term for this justification is a tautology (a statement that contains its own proof). In non-technical terms we can think of it as a circular argument.

Can we talk about social institutions having "needs" and "purposes" in the way that human beings can be considered to have such things?

Thank you for watching ^___^

Presentation done by Ankhurr, Kris, Mizna, Shiraz, Shweta, Wayne