390100
Description
Mind Map by Daniel Johnston, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by Daniel Johnston
almost 11 years ago
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Criticisms of
Functionalism
- The error of reification
- Do social institutions have "needs" and
"purposes" in the way as human beings?
- Ontological argumen
- Organic Analogy
- Do social institutions have "needs" and
"purposes" in the way as human beings?
- Sharrock et al. (2003)
(Non - Functionalist)
- "The level of consensus in society is overemphasized!"
- ""Organisms exist as biological entities, whereas society is a
concept, which has no natural cycle or natural form"
- "Functionalists have problems explaining social change!"
What about Parsons??
- "Parsons seems to ignore differences in power"
- Human beings in the Parsonian model of society, seem
rather like puppets having their strings pulled by
all-powerful societies via pattern variables.
- "The level of consensus in society is overemphasized!"
- Robert Merton (1957)
(Functionalist)
- Criticised Parsons!
- "Parsons ignored that some institutions
can be both functional & dysfunctional for
society" E.g. Religion
- ""Parsons failed to realiize the distinction
between manifest functions and latent
consequences of these actions."
- Criticised Parsons!
- Very much of the research is based on the same social groups of
the writers. (White, middle-class, American males!)
- There is no recognition of difference
by class, region or ethnic group.
- The functionalist picture is simply reflective of
happy middle-class American families.
- Deterministic
- Ideas almost portray
humans as being autonomous and that
only socialisation determines our lives.
- Ideas almost portray
humans as being autonomous and that
only socialisation determines our lives.
- Durkheim
- Too optimistic
- Maintains the idea
of social solidarity as
the main theme
- Too optimistic
- Marxism
- Accuse functionalists for ignoring
the fact that power is not equally
distributed in society
- " Partisan to advanced
welfare capitalism "
- Justifying institutions
- Accuse functionalists for ignoring
the fact that power is not equally
distributed in society
- Feminism
- Criticise functionalists for
ignoring male dominance that
often is present in society.
- Criticise functionalists for
ignoring male dominance that
often is present in society.
- Epistemological argument
- "Functionalism is tautologous"
- Attempting to account for the
development of social institutions
solely through recourse to the effects
that are attributed to them
- Attempting to account for the
development of social institutions
solely through recourse to the effects
that are attributed to them
- "Functionalism is tautologous"
- It can be argued that
functionalism does not explain the
original cause of a phenomenon
with reference to its effect, and is
therefore, not teleological.
- It cannot explain why individuals
choose to accept or reject the accepted
norms, why and in what circumstances
they choose to exercise their agency
- Conflict theorists
- "Concept of systems as giving far too much
weight to integration and consensus"
- "Neglecting independence and conflict"
- "Neglecting independence and conflict"
- "Parsons’ theory missed the
concept of system contradiction."
- "Concept of systems as giving far too much
weight to integration and consensus"
- Jeffrey Alexander (1985)
- Sees functionalism as a broad school
rather than a specific method or system
- Sees functionalism as a broad school
rather than a specific method or system
- Conservative
- Ambiguous
- Lacks in adequate methods
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