In this essay we will rely on some of the key writings of Talcott Parsons, especially with regards to his epistemological dispute against empiricism, to show his own inconsistencies and go beyond him ...in proposing a new form of theoretical work for the social sciences: systematic and dynamic-structuralist theorizing, as distinct from functional-structural systemic theory. The main idea is to transcend the representationalist and anti-theoretical positions in favour of a view of theory open to criticism and self-criticism. In this way, and against those outlooks that confuse the different dimensions of the empirical-metaphysical continuum without giving them their relative analytic autonomy, that think in terms of functions and systems when talking about models of society, that consider each concept to be a representation of the social world, and that believe theories can be closed for good, our own outlook seeks to distinguish dimensions, complement plural traditions, and stay open to external critique and self-criticism.
A critical elaboration of Parsons's ideas, reevaluating his influence on modern sociology & pointing out his relevance for modern society, in 5 Chpts, with an authors' Introduction. The Chpts were ...developed from a series of public seminars at Flinders U, South Australia, & include a contribution by Roy Fitzhenry. Robert J. Holton & Bryan S. Turner -- Reading Talcott Parsons: Introductory Remarks -- discusses the reappraisal of Parsons since his death in 1979, & sets out the aim of the book, which is to extend rather than interpret Parsons's ideas, while avoiding critical extremes. Parsons has been accused of excessive optimism, but ultimately his argument is in favor of social change; his perspective is less romantic than Marxist approaches. Parsons's intention was to define what is "social," & to justify Parsons's sociology is to defend sociology itself. (1) Robert J. Holton -- Talcott Parsons and the Theory of Economy and Society -- challenges the predominance of modern political economic approaches; claims that Parsons offered a powerful theoretical apparatus capable of analyzing the relationship between economy & society at a sophisticated level; & argues that Parsons's economic sociology is well suited to operationalization in empirical research. (2) Bryan S. Turner -- Sickness and Social Structure: Parsons' Contribution to Medical Sociology -- examines Parsons's theoretical contribution to the analysis of illness & of the medical professions & institutions, including his parallel between medicine & religion. Parsons's approach to the sick role concept & motivation in sickness are discussed. Parsons's main perspective was that sickness is a social condition, which he concluded was a form of "normalized deviance" in some ways comparable with crime. (3) Roy Fitzhenry -- Parsons, Schutz and the Problem of Verstehen -- investigates the role of Verstehen (subjective understanding) in Parsons's concept of social action. Critiques of Max Weber by Parsons & Alfred Schutz are compared; their differences are illuminated by the correspondence between them. Weber's category of action was a point of departure for each. (4) Bryan S. Turner -- Parsons and His Critics: On the Ubiquity of Functionalism -- discusses & categorizes the major criticisms against Parsons, including those of Robert K. Merton, C. Wright Mills, & Nicos Poulantzas. In a defense of Parsons, it is shown that critics of his structural functionalism are themselves functionalist. (5) Robert J. Holton & Bryan S. Turner -- Against Nostalgia: Talcott Parsons and a Sociology for the Modern World -- discusses sociology's attitude to the processes of industrialization, democratization, & rationalization & to the tension between traditional & modern values. Classical sociology (eg, Marx, Weber) wants a paradoxical combination of some modern values (science, reason) & some traditonal ones (order, community). Parsons's twentieth-century optimism, with its liberal-democratic politics, has been accused of complacency; but, in fact, it is a balanced approach that rejects both romantic, utopian sociology & crass economic individualism. The charge of anachronism is also refuted, showing the relevance of Parsons's ideas for modern movements such as peace, ecology, & feminism. Bibliogs: Talcott Parsons & General.
On the Other Side of Values Martin, John Levi; Lembo, Alessandra
The American journal of sociology,
07/2020, Volume:
126, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
The concept of values is currently enjoying renewed interest in sociology; indeed, many claim that it must be treated as central to any theory of action. As introduced to American sociology from ...Europe by Parsons, it was transformed from a condition of possibility into an intrinsic element of the action system that could link abstract cultural imperatives to patterns of concrete behavior. When Parsons’s system dissolved, the notion of values fractured, some scholars treating values as abstract imperatives and others as behavior patterns, but they foundered on issues of the separation of validity and existence. Subtracting the notion of validity from values returns us to the concept of interests, dyadic relations between actors and objects characterized by intention, attention, and extension—in other words, investment of self. This notion of interests lacks the explanatory instability characteristic of that of values. Recasting discussions of values in terms of interests can clarify issues central to our discipline.
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Socialization is a key mechanism of social reproduction. Yet, like the functionalists who introduced the concept, socialization has fallen out of favor, critiqued for ignoring power and agency, for ...its teleology and incoherence, and for a misguided link to "culture of poverty" arguments. In this review, we argue for a renewed, postfunctionalist use of socialization. We review the concept's history, its high point under Parsons, the reasons for its demise, its continued use in some subfields (e.g., gender, race and ethnicity, education), and alternative concepts used to explain social reproduction. We then suggest that something is lost when socialization is avoided or isolated in particular subfields. Without socialization, conceptions of social reproduction face problems of history, power, and transferability. We close by outlining a postfunctionalist agenda for socialization research, providing a framework for a new theory of socialization, one that builds off of cognitive science, pragmatism, the study of language, the reinterrogation of values, and the development of ideology in political socialization.
La forma de la teoría del sistema general de acción que Talcott Parsons dejó tras de sí está determinada por la historia de su propio desarrollo. No obstante, es posible reconocer claramente las ...decisiones básicas con las que podría enlazar la investigación ulterior: los puntos de apoyo para una teoría del sistema se obtienen del análisis del concepto de acción. De cara a la continuación de la teoría podrían originarse problemas, sobre todo, en dos aspectos: Uno de los puntos se refiere a la reespecificación de las decisiones básicas. Para este propósito Parsons eligió la forma de la tabulación cruzada. Cabe cuestionar cuánto conocimiento básico depurado pueda aportarse de esta forma a la teoría. El otro punto se refiere a que existen nuevos desarrollos teóricos importantes que son difícilmente enlazables con la teoría de Parsons. Esto es especialmente cierto de aquella posición que mantiene que en toda teoría universalista aparece el problema de la autorreferencia; la teoría debe ser capaz de considerarse a sí misma como parte de su objeto. Además, los problemas de la complejidad y de la actividad selectiva que ésta determina están contemplados apenas de manera suficiente en el diseño de la teoría (funcionalismo estructural, tabulación cruzada), pero no en el objeto de ésta (sistema de acción).
Talcott Parsons did not leave us with a global and consistent sociology of education. Instead, different aspects can be found in Parsons's oeuvre in different theoretical contexts. This paper ...summarises these different parts of Parsons's sociology of education - his writings on the concepts of education and socialisation, the university, the school, the professions, and modernisation - and discusses central criticisms and perspectives for further theoretical development. The paper goes on to argue that the value of cognitive rationality serves as a common basis of Parsons's sociology of education and that Parsons's sociology of education should be characterised as normative functionalist. Since the current sociology of education does not deal very intensely with Parsons's theoretical approach, the paper also considers references to other authors and the relevance for current questions and research in the sociology of education.
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ZusammenfassungDieser Artikel der Zeitschrift Gruppe. Interaktion. Organisation. (GIO) schlägt ein neues Verständnis von Talcott Parsons’ Theorie der (Bildungs‑)Organisation vor, indem sie als ...normativfunktionalistisch betrachtet wird. Ausgangspunkt ist die Annahme, dass normative Kultur fundamental für Parsons’ gesamte Theorie ist. Darauf aufbauend wird Parsons’ Theorie der (Schule als) Organisation aufgearbeitet, für die das normativkulturelle Verhältnis von Akteur*innen, Organisation und Umwelt zentraler Analysefokus ist. Schließlich wird am Beispiel von Inklusion gezeigt, dass dieser organisationstheoretische Zugang für die Analyse von Spannungen, mit denen Schule im Zuge von Inklusion konfrontiert ist, instruktiv ist.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Este artículo constituye un material didáctico dirigido a la docencia y a los estudiosos de la sociología para realizar un recorrido rápido por los aspectos principales del fundador del estructural ...funcionalismo Talcott Parsons. El objetivo es demostrar que la intención inicial de este fue sintetizar las perspectivas teóricas macro-objetivas y micro-subjetivas existentes principalmente en Emile Durkheim y Max Weber, entre otros, pero que tan sólo fueron reinterpretadas en una sociología extrema del orden y el equilibrio social que negaba en lo fundamental el cambio social y el espíritu activo de los sujetos en la construcción de los diferentes sistemas sociales en que se insertaban. Aquí se encuentran los elementos críticos de esta teoría sociológica.
En este artículo se presenta el resultado de una investigación teórica sobre la categoría de exclusión social realizada desde el año 2022 hasta principios de 2023. A partir de las críticas relativas ...a la ausencia de una base teórica para dicha categoría, el objetivo fue identificar, mediante la revisión documental, con qué cuerpo teórico puede relacionarse. Se argumenta que el estructural funcionalismo es una alternativa de fundamentación teórica, pues en las aportaciones de Robert K. Merton se encuentra que la exclusión social es un problema que se abordó mediante el concepto de la anomia en su sociología de la desviación.
Sustainability has become a key term for linking environmental, economic and social issues, in both the sciences and politics. Conceptions and frameworks of sustainability have thus arisen to ...evaluate agricultural systems on their sustainability. Within these conceptions and in political and scientific discourses, what can be understood as the social pillar of sustainability in agriculture varies greatly, especially in regards to the scope and the sustainability standards applied. While rural inhabitants have been subject of various ‘sustainability studies’, the consideration of the social dimension in agriculture is still rather underrepresented. Our conceptual framework can contribute to enhance the understanding of the social dimension of sustainability by utilizing a social science-based approach to comprehend the complexity of social interaction in agriculture: Based on Parsons' system approach, we capture the components of a social system that encompasses agriculture and its embeddedness in society. This includes all major actors, their interactions and institutions. Further, we develop Maslow's hierarchy of needs as well as the rights approach into a sustainability scale. We call the conceptual framework the sustainable agricultural social system. This general framework can later be adapted to local cultural and social settings, serving as a more comprehensive and flexible sustainability framework.
•We identify problems in measuring social sustainability in agriculture.•We use the system approach to capture all social actors related to the farm.•We determine the social system's sustainability based on actors' needs and rights.•We merge the agricultural social system with the needs and rights approach to create and provide a conceptual frame for determining sustainable agricultural social systems.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
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