SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS - Jonathan Campbell, Natural Therapy
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Transcript SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS - Jonathan Campbell, Natural Therapy
The Early Functionalists
1850-1920
Functionalism
The analysis of society as a system
composed of parts
that affect each other
and the system as a whole
Functions = purposes or
consequences
Functionalism
System – analogy of a living
organism
If the society is orderly
the organism will be healthy.
Universal Consensus
(shared values)
keeps the society orderly
Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)
19th-Century Liberal
– believed in the freedom
of business
from government control
Laissez-faire
– “unseen hand” (Adam Smith)
Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)
The good of society
would best be served
if each man looked out
for himself.
No program for social change
No program for maintaining
social order
Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)
Two major contributions
to sociology:
Organic analogy
Evolutionary view of history
Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)
Two major contributions
to sociology:
Organic analogy
− Society is a system
− Functions like a living body
− Solidarity derives from the
interdependence of the parts
Evolutionary view of history
− Darwin’s theory of natural selection
applied to society
Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)
Social Darwinism
(“survival of the fittest”)–
People are poor
because they cannot
adapt to the social environment
Rich men rise to the top
because of natural talents
(genetic superiority)
Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)
Opposed public education
– because poor people
would not make good
use of it
Opposed women’s suffrage
– because women might not be
sufficiently evolved to make
political judgments
Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)
Emphasized a scientific
approach –
Social problems should
be carefully studied,
rather than letting “do-gooders”
rush in to “fix” them.
Spencer later reversed some of
his most conservative ideas.
Vilfredo Pareto (1848-1923)
Emphasized a scientific,
mathematical approach
Viewed society as a
system in equilibrium
– a change in one part will lead
to changes in other parts
– final result: stability
Vilfredo Pareto (1848-1923)
What appears to be social
change is really a “circulation
of elites”:
Lions – honor, duty, tradition,
property, nationalism,
and maintaining power by force
Foxes – innovation, imagination,
democratic sentiments,
and maintaining power by manipulation
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)
Established sociology
as an academic field
Showed its unique
contribution as distinct
from psychology
Influence of Comte’s Positivism
− emphasis on scientific method
− concern about social order
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)
Collective Conscience
– shared values (similar to
universal consensus)
– produces social solidarity
– derived from a society’s
division of labor
Disagreed with Spencer:
Durkheim did not see solidarity
as resulting spontaneously from
individual actions,
but as collectively maintained.
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)
Two kinds of solidarity:
Mechanical
Organic
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)
Two kinds of solidarity:
Mechanical
– characteristic of small-
scale societies with a
simple division of labor
(men hunt, women forage)
same tasks similar positions
similar views social stability
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)
Two kinds of solidarity:
Organic
– characteristic of largescale modern societies
with complex division
of labor
– derives from interdependence
of roles (like a living organism)
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)
Two kinds of solidarity:
Organic
– more difficult to maintain
than mechanical solidarity
– can result in anomie
Anomie
– the absence of norms
– results from breakdown in
social solidarity
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)
Religion
– expression of the
collective conscience
– traditional source of
shared values
– less influential in modern societies
Future source of solidarity:
scientific education
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)
Research Method
The Whole = more than
the sum of its parts
(Society is more than a
collection of individuals.)
Sociology is the study
of social facts.
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)
Social facts are
THINGS.
Criteria:
External (to the individual mind)
– objective
Coercive (at least potentially)
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)
Study of social facts
requires:
objectivity
experiment
comparison
Comparative method:
studying the same elements in
different societies
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)
Evolutionary view:
societies develop from
simple to complex
(progressive differentiation)
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)
Evolutionary view:
societies develop from
simple to complex
(progressive differentiation)
Unilinear process
(straight line
– going in one
general direction)
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)
Evolutionary view:
societies develop from
simple to complex
(progressive differentiation)
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)
Evolutionary view:
societies develop from
simple to complex
(progressive differentiation)
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)
Evolutionary view:
societies develop from
simple to complex
(progressive differentiation)
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)
Evolutionary view:
societies develop from
simple to complex
(progressive differentiation)
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)
Study of Suicide
Showed difference between
sociology and psychology
Focused on rates of suicide
between societies
and sectors of societies,
rather than on individual reasons
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)
Study of Suicide
Typology showed
relationship of suicide
to the individual’s
connection to society:
Altruistic suicide (for the group)
Egoistic suicide (isolation)
Anomic suicide (social/moral breakdown)
Fatalistic suicide (person blocked by society)
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)
Summary:
Functionalist
−society as a system
−evolutionary view
−concerned about social order
and anomie
Wholistic:
Whole = more than sum of parts
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)
Summary:
Scientific approach
Research – objective
and comparative
Method focused on the study
of social facts (“things”
– external and coercive)