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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neofunctionalism_(sociology)
Neofunctionalism (sociology)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Neofunctionalism is the perspective that all integration is the result of past integration. The term may also be used to literally describe a social theory that is 'post' traditional structural functionalism. Whereas theorists such as Jeffrey C. Alexander openly appropriated the term,[1] others, such as the post-structuralist philosopher Michel Foucault, have been categorized as contemporary functionalists by their critics.[2]
Contents
1 History 2 Parsonian Thinking 3 Niklas Luhmann's Objection 4 See also 5 Notes
History
Functionalism in international relations theory was developed by David Mitrany. International relations neofunctionalism was developed by Ernst Haas in the 1960s to give a formal explanation to the work of Jean Monnet (18881979). Functionalism and neofunctionalism in the theory of international relations is politically purposive, and therefore unrelated to the sociological functionalism described in the rest of this article.
Parsonian Thinking
In sociology, neofunctionalism represents a revival of the thought of Talcott Parsons by Jeffrey C. Alexander, who sees neofunctionalism as having 5 central tendencies: to create a form of structural functionalism that is multidimensional and includes micro as well as macro levels of analysis to push functionalism to the left and reject Parsonss optimism about modernity to argue for an implicit democratic thrust in functional analysis to incorporate a conflict orientation, and to emphasize uncertainty and interactional creativity. While Parsons consistently viewed actors as analytical concepts, Alexander defines action as the movement of concrete, living, breathing persons as they make their way through time and space. In addition he argues that every action contains a dimension of free will, by which he is expanding functionalism to include some of the concerns of symbolic interactionism.[3] Neil J. Smelser sets out to establish the concept of ambivalence as an essential element of understanding individual behavior and social institutions. His approach, based on Freuds theory, takes intrapsychic processes rather than roles at the starting point. He sees ambivalence (to hold opposing affective orientations toward the same person object or symbol) as most applicable in situations where persons are dependent on one another. The common element of dependency is in his opinion that freedom to leave is restricted because it is costly either politically, ideologically or emotionally. Thus dependence entails entrapment. Following his views on ambivalence, Smelser argues that attitude surveys should be seen as distorted
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See also
Marxism Critical theory Positivism Antipositivism Structure and agency Auguste Comte mile Durkheim Herbert Spencer Bronisaw Malinowski Anthony Giddens Jrgen Habermas
Notes
1. ^ A. Ruth Wallace & Alision Wolf, Contemporary Sociological Theory , New Jersey, Pearson Education, 2006 (6th ed.) 2. ^ Habermas, Jrgen, The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity: Modernity's Consciousness of Time, Polity Press (1985), paperback, ISBN 0-7456-0830-2, p268 3. ^ A. Ruth Wallace & Alision Wolf, Contemporary Sociological Theory , New Jersey, Pearson Education, 2006 (6th ed.), p. 59.
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