Talcott Parsons . American sociologist. He was one of the great representatives of structuralist functionalism, whose most notable contribution was the dissemination of the concept of “social action.” His theories about the mechanisms of social action and the organizational principles underlying social structures contributed to the development of sociology .
Summary
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- 1 Biographical synthesis
- 1 Biographical synthesis
- 2 Work history
- 2.1 Integrative efforts
- 2.2 Social action
- 2.3 Structural functionalism
- 2.4 Social system
- 3 Death
- 2 Considerations
- 3 Fundamental works
- 4 Source
Biographical synthesis
He was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado , United States in 1902 .
Biographical synthesis
He graduated from Amherst College in 1924 and did his doctoral courses at the London School of Economics. The following year he moved to Heidelberg , Germany .
Career path
Max Weber spent a good part of his academic career in Heidelberg, and although he had been dead for five years when he arrived, his influence could still be felt. Weber’s work greatly influenced his work, who wrote his doctoral thesis in Heidelberg, dedicated, in part, to analyzing Weber’s ideas. Parsons became a Harvard tutor in 1927 and although he changed departments several times, he remained there until his death in 1979 .
He did not progress in his career rapidly as he did not achieve permanent professor status until 1939 . Two years before this date he had published The Structure of Social Action, a book that not only introduced the most relevant sociological theorists like Weber to countless sociologists, but also laid the foundations for the development of his own theory.
After the publication of this work, his academic progress accelerated. He was director of the Department of Sociology at Harvard in 1944 and two years later he formed and directed the new Department of Social Relations, which included not only sociologists but also laid the foundations for the development of his own theory. After the publication of the work (The Social System), Parsons academic progress accelerated.
However, in the late 1960s the nascent radical wing of American sociology began to attack him. They described him politically as a conservative. His theory was also considered very conservative and little more than a sophisticated categorization scheme. But during the late 1980s it resurfaced interest in Parsons ‘ theory not only in the US but also in many other countries of the world.
Integrative efforts
He was one of the most explicit sociologists in his intention to develop an integrated approach to sociological theory. Several facts prove it. First, he founded the Department of Social Relations at Harvard University with the intention of unifying the different social sciences. Its integrative objective knowledge included fields such as psychology clinical, behavioral psychology , the anthropology and sociology.
Second, in his own theorizing, he developed a clear notion of the different levels of social analysis, especially exemplified by his notion of the four systems of action: the behavioral organism, the personality, the social system, and the cultural system. Finally, Parsons asserted in one of his most important works, The Social System, that the integration of levels of social analysis is of utmost importance in the social world.
His work was clouded by certain basic confusions, in particular by an uncomfortable mix of action theory and structural functionalism. Starting from the analysis of thinkers that he considered relevant in the history of sociology, in his theory of action Parsons initially elaborated what seemed a micro orientation.
This is clearly seen in the emphasis he placed on act of unity and voluntarism in his early work. However, over the years, unity act and voluntarism faded from Parsons theory as well as action theory. Instead he developed a structural-functional theory in which the actors did not act voluntarily, but were basically constrained by social structures and culture.
Social action
It has its origin in the work of Max Weber on social action. He chose the term action because it had a different connotation than conduct. Behavior involves a mechanical response to stimuli, while action involves an active and creative mental process. Parsons was careful to explicitly distinguish action theory from behaviorism.
Three concepts lie at the core of action theory: the act of unity, voluntarism, and verstehen. The most basic phenomenon of the theory of action is what he called the unity act, which is defined by its four components:
- It first implies the existence of an actor.
- Second, the act of unity supposes an end, or a future state towards which the action is oriented.
- Third, the action takes place in a situation that involves two elements: the things that the actor cannot control (conditions) and those that he can control (means).
Finally, norms and values serve to determine the actor’s choice of means to ends. Voluntarism refers to the choices that actors make in the social situations in which they find themselves. This does not mean that the actors are totally free to make their choice, the concept of voluntarism implies a mind, a conscience, and individuals who make decisions. Finally there is the concept of verstehen or the need to analyze action from a subjective perspective.
Structural functionalism
For him, structural functionalism ensures that societies tend to self-regulation, as well as to the constant interrelation of all its elements ( values , goals, functions, etc.). The self-sufficiency of a society is marked by the basic needs among which can be found the preservation of the social order, education as socialization , etc.
This theory assumes that individuals act in a rational way selecting the most suitable means to achieve an end. Institutions are not alien to rationality; they coexist with the means and the ends. If the end of the structure in general is the maintenance of social order, all the institutions and actions of the subjects will correspond to this end. This theory also explains the concept of structure and its functionality considering the structure as a set of stable organisms. When society is able to establish patterns of behavior that guarantee its balance.
He turned, as his career progressed, the theory of action towards structural functionalism. A function is a complex of activities directed towards the satisfaction of one or more needs of the system. Parsons believed that there were four necessary functional imperatives of any system. Parsons, developed the system of structural functionalism, for whose understanding his name scheme is indispensable. AGILE. The acronym AGIL corresponds to what Parsons considered four necessary functional imperatives in any system:
- Every system must satisfy external demands. You must adapt to your environment and adapt the environment to your needs.
- Every system must define and achieve its primary goals.
- Every system must regulate the interrelation between its constituent parts.
- Latency Every system must provide, maintain and renew the motivation of the individuals and the cultural patterns that create and maintain motivation.
At their most general level, the four functional imperatives are linked to these four systems of action. The biological organism is the system of action that fulfills the function of adaptation by adjusting or transforming its external world. The personality system performs the goal achievement function by defining the objectives of the system and mobilizing resources to achieve them. The social system deals with the function of integration, by controlling its constituent parts, and the cultural system fulfills the function of providing actors with the norms and values that motivate them for action.
The main postulates by which structural functionalism tries to explain the development of social life are:
- Establish an analogy of organic life and social life. takes as a model the functions of biological organisms to apply social organisms.
- The functions performed by social groups tend to become more specialized, interdependent and efficient as they are carried out at more complex levels of organization.
- The conscious and unconscious actions of individuals provoke a modality and function of society. This postulate refers to how the action or function performed by an individual, depending on the social status, the prevailing culture and the social group to which it belongs make up the series of functions that an individual performs within society.
- For structural functionalism the important thing is the individuals.
Social system
He contemplated the social system as an interaction system, as the basic unit of the system, he used the role-status concept. Status refers to a position in the structural system and the role to what the actor does in that position. The actor is considered as a set of status and roles. Parsons defined a series of functional prerequisites of any social system:
- Social systems must be structured so that they are compatible with other systems.
2. The social system must have the support of other systems.
3. It must satisfy a significant part of the needs of the actors.
4. It must encourage sufficient participation in its members.
5. Must exercise control over potentially disintegrated behaviors.
6. If a conflict arises you must control it.
7. It requires a language to survive.
For the integration of the social system it is necessary that a series of norms and values be internalized in the individual, through which an effective internalization process is carried out that becomes part of the consciousness of the actors. In this way, when actors pursue their particular interests, they serve the general interests at the same time.
Socialization is defined as a conservative process in which the dispositions of necessity unite children with the social system. He viewed this socialization as a lifelong experience, although it must be supplemented with more specific socializing experiences. In addition to socialization, social control constitutes a complementary defense system of the social system; although a system works better the less it resorts to social control. The system must tolerate some deviation in order to provide role opportunities that allow a range of personalities to be expressed without threatening the integrity of the system.
A very important social system is society, which for Parsons has four subsystems that emanate from AGIL functions:
- The economy (A); It is the subsystem that fulfills the function of adapting society to the environment through work, production and distribution.
- The policy (G); seeks the achievement of goals through the pursuit of social objectives and the mobilization of resources for this purpose
- The societal community (I); performs the function of integration, is in charge of coordinating the parts of society.
- The fiduciary system (L); In other words, socializing institutions fulfill the function of latency when dealing with the transmission of culture, norms and values.
All these systems and subsystems make up society, seen as a relatively self-sufficient collectivity whose members can satisfy all their individual and collective needs and live within its framework.
Death
He died on 8 as maypole as 1979 , in the United States .
Considerations
He is described primarily as a structural functionalist. The more famous it became, the more force structural-functional theory acquired in the United States . His work lies at the heart of this theory, although his students and disciples also strove to further develop the theory and to increase its dominance in the United States. Although he played several important and positive roles in the history of American sociological theory, his work also had some negative consequences. First, his interpretations of European theorists seemed to reflect his own theoretical orientation rather than theirs.
Many American sociologists were exposed to a misinterpretation from European teachers. Second, early in his career Parsons ignored Marx , so that Marx’s ideas remained for years outside of sociology. Third, the development of his theory shows important weaknesses, despite the fact that the preeminence of the figure of Parsons in American sociology served for many years to silence or silence criticism. It would not be for many years later that the weaknesses of Parsons theory and, in general, of structural functionalism were aired.
Fundamental works
- The structure of social action.
- The social system.
- Towards a general theory of action.
- Social structure and personality.
- The system of modern societies
