Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
TalcottParsons
PersonalBackground
BorninDecember13,1902inColoradoSprings,ColoradoUSA
Father:EdwardSmithParsons
acongregationalminister,professor,collegepresident
Mother:MaryAugustaIngersoll
Brother:CharlesEdwardParsons
aphysician
GraduatedinAmherstcollegein1924,majorinPhilosophyandBiology
ContinuedstudiesinLondonSchoolofEconomics
Methiswife,HelenWalker,inLondon
Theyhad3children:
AnneParsons
CharlesDacreParsons
SusanParsonsCramer
ReceivedafellowshipinuniversityofHeidelberg
WrotehisdoctoraldissertationontheconceptofCapitalisminrecentGermanScholarship
BecameaprofessorofEconomicsatHarvardin1927
WithotherprofessorsfrompsychologyandanthropologyestablishedtheDepartmentofSocialRelationsin1946
BecamepresidentoftheAmericanSociologicalAssociationin1949
RetiredfromHarvardin1973
DiedinMay8,1979inMunich,
German
ybecauseofheartfailure.
Works
TheStructureofSocialAction1937
TheSocialSystem1951
EssaysinSociologicalTheory1964
Societies:EvolutionaryandComparativePerspectives1966
PoliticsandSocialStructure1965
BriefHistoryofAmericanSociology
SocialsciencegrewintheUnitedStatesduringthewakeoftheCivilWarandtheeconomicrecessionsandthegreat
migrationsofthepopulation.
SociologygrewasthePhDgrantingresearchuniversitiesdevelopedinthelatenineteenthcentury.
UniversityofChicago(1892)FirstGreatInstitutionalBaseofSociologyinAmerica
TheEarlyAmericanSociology
Thewordsociologywasfirstusedin1854byGeorgeFitzhughandHenryHughes
EarlyAmericanSociologycontextcamefromtheevolutionarytheory.
MostoftheearlyAmericansociologistswereinfluencedbyHerbertSpencer.
AccordingtoSpencer,sociologyisapartofaholistic,evolutionarynaturalscience.
TheFirstAmericanSociologists
LesterFrankWard(TheFirstGreatAmericanSociologist)
startedinthefieldofbiology
humanaffairsshouldbegovernedbytheblindnecessityofnature
biologygavehumanbeingsintelligence
WilliamGrahamSumner
advocatedlaissezfaire
marriedevolutionarytheorytoeconomicliberalismandargumentsforaminimalstate
theoriginalsocialDarwinist
triedtoreplacesociologywithsocietology
FranklinH.Giddings
stressedmoreonsocialorganizationratherthanbiologicaldeterminism
differentiatedhumanassociationfromanimalsthroughthespeechandconsciousnessofhumanbeings
KeyPremises
Socialsystembasedonsubjectiveconsciousnessandrationality
Structuralfunctionalistframeworktoattempttoaddresstheproblemoforderinsociety(Parsonsmainconcern
sharedwithDurkheim)
largeattemptsatempiricism
systemtheoreticalconceptandthemethodologicalprincipleofvoluntaryaction
expectationsandbehavior
KEYTHEORIES
GENERALTHEORIESOFACTION
TheIdeaofSocialAction
"unitactbasicunitofactionsystems
Anactshouldinvolvethefollowing:
Actor
anagent
End
afuturestateofaffairtowardwhich
theprocessofactionisoriented
Situation
ofwhichthetrendsofdevelopmentdifferinoneormoreimportantrespectsfromthestateofaffairsto
whichtheactionisoriented
Twoaspects:
1.Conditionsofaction
2.Meansofaction
NormativeOrientation
Withintheareaofcontroloftheactor,themeansemployedcannot,beconceivedeitheraschosenat
randomorasdependentexclusivelyontheconditionsofaction
SystemsofSocialAction
Structuralsociallifeasasystemwithanetworkofdifferentparts
Functionalistsocialsystemsashavingneedstosurvive,andpartsthatfunctiontoattaintheneed
Emphasisonstabilityandorder
ThePatternVariables
Gratification/disciplineactorsemotionalinvolvement
Private/collectiveneedstoindividualorwiderpopulation
Universalism/particularismactiontoparticularperson
Achievement/ascriptioninteractionandachievements
Specificity/diffusenessrangeofrolesanactorhas
Parsonslaterturnedawayfromactiontheorytowardastructuralfunctionalismthathadatitscoretheconceptsof
functionalimperatives,statusroles,needdispositions,andvalueorientations.
TheFunctionalPrerequisitesofSystemsofAction
SocialSystemsmustbestructuredsothattheyoperatecompatiblywithothersystems
Thesocialsystemmusthavetherequisitesupportfromothersystemstosurvive.
Thesystemmustmeetasignificantproportionoftheneedsofitsactors.
Thesystemmustelicitadequateparticipationfromitsmembers.
Itmusthaveatleastminimumofcontroloverpotentiallydisruptivebehavior.
Itmustbecontrolledifconflictbecomessufficientlydisruptive.
Asocialsystemrequiresalanguageinordertosurvive.
AGILParadigm
AGILrepresentsthefourbasicfunctionsthatallsocialsystemsmustperformiftheyaretopersist.Itwasoneof
thefirstopensystemstheoriesoforganizations.
UnliketheMarxists,whofocusedontheoccurrenceofradicalchange,Parsonsexploredwhy
societiesare
stableandfunctioning.
Whyarepeoplemotivatedtobehaveacertainway?
Adaptation
Theproblemofgettingadequateandsufficientresources.
Distributingthoseresourcesthroughoutthesystem.
ECONOMY
BusinessFirms
Howweusenaturalenvironmenttoproducethingsthatarebeneficialtous.
ForParsons,adaptationworkedsmoothly.
2. GoalAttainment
PolicyDecisionsdecidingwhatgoalstopursueandhowtheywillbeattained
AllocativeDecisionsallocationofresourcesandresponsibilitiesamongpersonnel
CoordinativeDecisionshowpersonnelwillbemotivatedandcontributionscoordinated
SupportingValuesvaluesthatservetolegitimateandauthorizedecisionmakingrightsinsystem
1.
Integration
Theproblemofmaintainsolidarityorcoordinationamongthesubunitsofthesystem.
Implementsnorms,controls,andregulatesaction.
LEGALSYSTEMS
Courts,politicalparties,socialcontrolagencies
Whydoweintegrate?
Theneedforthesystemtoregulateus.(integrativeorganizations)
Controlbadorunappealing
4. Latency
Theproblemofcreating,preserving,andtransmittingthesystem'sdistinctivecultureandvalues.
Howdothesecomponentsdriveustodecisionmaking?
Arethesecomponentsmakingourdecisionsforus?
Needstofunctiontokeepsocietyintact.
MORALCOMMITMENT
Family,Religion,Education,Museums
HOWOURVALUESAREINFLUENCEDBYSOCIETY
3.
Individualdecisionscanbepredictedbythestructureofsociety.
TheSubsystemsofAction
Basicsubsystemsofthegeneralsystemofactionconstituteahierarchicalseriesofsuchagenciesofcontrolover
thebehaviorofhumansororganisms:
Behaviorsystemispointofarticulationofthesystemofactionwiththeanatomicalphysiologicalfeaturesofthe
physicalorganismandisitspointofcontactwiththeenvironment
Personalitysystemisasystemofcontroloverthebehavioralorganism(thesocialsystem)overthepersonalitiesof
itsmembersandtheculturalsystemisasystemofcontrolrelativetosocialsystems
KatzandKahn:OrganizationalSubsystems
KatzandKahn(1978)elaborateParson'ssystemanddescribeorganizationsashavingfivesubsystems:
1.Production:(throughput,transformationofmaterials)
2.Supportive:(garnerinputresources,dealwithoutput,gainlegitimacy)
3.Maintenance:(recruitment,socialization,training,preservingthesystem,rewards)
4.Adaptive:(senseenvironmentalchangesanddeterminemeaningfororg,strategyproductresearch,
marketresearch,longrangeplanning,etc.)
5.Managerial:(control,coordinateanddirectsubsystems,developpolicies,usebothregulatory
mechanisms(feedback)andauthoritystructuresdecisionmakingandimplementation).
Theyalsoseethreemainfunctionsofthesupportivesubsystemsprocurementofmaterialsandresources,
disposalandmarketingoftheproduct,andaninstitutionalsubsystem(alaParsons)thegarnerslegitimacyand
supportfromtheenvironment.
TheDynamicsoftheSystemsofAction
Parsonsworkledtotheaccusationthatheofferedastructuraltheorythatwasunabletodealwithsocialchange.
1960shecouldresisttheattacksnolongerandmadeamajorshiftinhisworktothestudyofsocialchange
socialevolution
ParsonsEvolutionarytheoryhedevelopedaparadigmofevolutionarychange
Differentiation
anysocietyiscomposedofaseriesofsubsystemsthatdifferinboththeirstructureandfunctionalsignificancefor
thelargersociety
newsubsystemsaredifferentiatedassocietyevolves
Adaptiveupgrading
associetyevolves,itgrowsgenerallybetterabletocopewithitsproblems
Integration
groupsformerlyexcludedfromcontributingtothemustbefreedfor
inclusionasfullmembersofthesociety
GeneralizationofValues
legitimizethewidervarietyofgoalsandfunctionsofitssubunits
Parsonsdidnotviewevolutionasaunilinearprocess
Somesocieties,foravarietyofreasons,coulddeteriorateorcollapse
Threebroadevolutionarystages:
1.Primitive
2.Intermediate
3.Modern
TheCyberneticHierarchy
SystemsarerelatedthroughexchangeofsymbolicinformationThroughexchangeofsymbolicresources,
equilibriumismaintained
Anysystemiscontrolledbyasubsystem,containshighestinfoandlowestenergy(thushierarchy)
Direction:Lowerpushupenergy,higherpassdowninfo
Equilibriumvia
(1)homeostaticloopchangeinonesubsystemaffectsothers,returnstothefirstandreturntooriginalsituation,
and
(2)feedbackmechanismhighersubsystemscontrolsubordinatesubsystems
SOCIALSYSTEMSANDSOCIETY
SociologyandtheSocialSciences
THEPOSITIONOFSOCIOLOGICALTHEORY
1. Mustberecognizedasfundamentallyimportanttoanyscience.
2. Musthavesocialsystems.
3. Mustconformtothestructuralfunctionaltype.
4. Mustbeformulatedwithinanactionframeofreference
5. Mustbeframedintermsofgenuinelyoperationalconcepts.
FUNDAMENTALIMPORTANCE
Whenpeoplerecognizefundamentalimportance,socialsciencewillmatureandhavemorepredictivepowerin
thesciencerealm
Someofthehighestlevelsofscientificdevelopmentneedthetheoreticsysteminordertoconceptualizeideas
SOCIALSYSTEMS
theoreticalschemewhicharticulatesourownfieldwithotherswhichareequallypartofthesamebroader
fundamentalsystem.
STRUCTURALFUNCTIONALTYPE
aframeworkforbuildingtheorythatseessocietyasa
complexsystem
whosepartsworktogethertopromote
solidarityandstability.
Organsinabody.(Spencer)
Functionalismaddressessocietyasawholeintermsofthefunctionofitsconstituentelementsnamely
norms
,
customs
,
traditions
,and
institutions
.
For
TalcottParsons
,"structuralfunctionalism"cametodescribeaparticularstageinthemethodological
developmentof
socialscience
,ratherthanaspecificschoolofthought.
ACTIONFRAMEOFREFERENCE
Cannotbecompletelybehavioristic
Excludingpointofviewofactor
Essentialinordertounderstandthefoundationofmotivationalcategories,whichinclude:attitudes,
sentiments,goals,complexes,etc.
GenuinelyOperationalcomplexes
havetheoreticalcategoriesofsuchacharacterthattheempiricalvaluesofthevariablesconcernedarethe
immediateproductsofourobservationalprocedures
ECONOMICSAlfredMarshall
analyzedmarginalutility(utilitytheory)
wantssatisfactionhedonism(pursuitofpleasure)
focusesontheimportanceofactivities
activitiesprogressivedevelopmentofcharacter
newrangeofeconomicforces
humanaffairsintofunctionalrelationwiththepricesystem
lateronconsidereditthehalfoftheanalysiswhichwasnotasimportantashumancharacter
Marshall'sassumptions:
1.Theedificeisbuiltessentiallyonacompetitivebasis.Heconsidersmonopoly,butseparately.Themostusual
connotationoftheterm"normal"forhimis,atleastinarelativesense,"competitive"
2.Itassumesthatwantsaregivenindependentlyoftheutilityaspectsofprocessesleadingtotheirsatisfaction,
i.e.,thattheyareconstantsintheproblemofeconomicequilibrium.Thewholeconcepthasreferencetothe
satisfactionofgivenwantsandnottotheexplanationoftheirexistence.
3.Itassumesthatallmovableeconomicresourcesareeffectivelymobileanddivisible.
4.Actionmustberationallydirectedtowardwantsatisfaction.Itistobenotedthatitisthewantstopeopleas
consumersandnotasproducerswhichareconsideredasbeingsatisfied,andthatunderacompetitiveorderthe
twofactors,forceandfraud,areruledout,partlybycompetitivepressure,partlybyalegalauthoritywhichsets
uprulesofthegameandpenalizesinfractionsofthem.
Utilitytheoryaccomplishes:
1.Providesanexplanationofwhyeconomicprocessestakethecoursetheydo
2.Providesanormofeconomicefficiency,intermsofanoptimumdistributionofresourcesandamaximumof
possiblewantsatisfactionundertheconditionsgiven
wantsvisavisrationality
money
wantsatisfactiononlyonedimensionofutilitytheorylessimportantpart
moreimportantrelationofeconomicconditionstohumancharacter
degradingeffectofpovertyoncharacterandthroughitonindustrialefficiency
eg.modernassemblyline
valuetheory=wantsisnottheultimatedata
Marshall'spositivetheoryofconsumptionmarginalutilityandconsumer'ssurplus
"standardoflife""thestandardofactivitiesadjustedtowants"
riseinthestandardoflife"anincreaseofintelligenceandenergyandselfrespectleadingtomorecareand
judgmentinexpenditure,andtoanavoidanceoffoodanddrinkthatgratifytheappetitebutaffordnostrengthandof
waysoflivingthatareunwholesomephysicallyandmorally"
SOCIALEVOLUTION
removalofbarriersandthedevelopmentofcertainarrangementsfacilitatingexchange,communications,etc.
(technology)
evolutionaryprocessofnewactivities
growthofrationality
evolutionofneeds(eg.Maslowshierarchyofneeds)
Marshallisforfreeenterprise
freeenterprisenotanunmitigatedstruggleofexistence
regulation
Marshallisnotforsocialism
hebelievesitdestroyswellbeing
hebelievesithasnoefficiency
"Economicsmustbemerelytheapplicationtoaparticularbodyofconcretephenomenaofthegeneralprinciplesnecessary
forunderstandinghumanconduct."
SocialInteraction
Roleistheessentialstartingpointforindividualinteraction
Inorderforinteractiontobestable,rolesandactionsmusthavemeaningsandbegovernedbyunderstood,shared
rules.Rulesdefinegoalsandtheconsequencesofandgivenmovebyoneplayerforthesituationinwhichtheother
mustmakehischoice.
Astablesystemofinteractionorientsitsparticipantsintermsofmutualexpectations,whichalsoexpressnormative
evaluations
TheConceptsofRoleandCollectivity
Sincethenormalindividualparticipatesinmanycollectivities,itiscommonplace,thoughacrucialone,thatonlyina
limitingcasedoesasingleroleconstitutetheentireinteractivebehaviorofaconcreteindividual
Rolesaresectorsofthebehavioralsystem
TheSocialSystemanditsEnvironment
Weconceivesocialsystemstobe"open,"engagedincontinualinterchangeofinputsandoutputswiththeir
environments.
Weconceivethemtobeinternallydifferentiatedintovariousordersofsubcomponentswhicharealsocontinually
involvedinprocessesofinterchange.
Socialsystemsarethoseconstitutedbystatesandprocessesofsocialinteractionamongactingunits.
Thebasicunitofthesocialsystemofactionistheunitactundertakenbyanactor.
Theunitactinvolvesanactive,consciousagent,whohasparticulargoalsorendsthatheorsheisattemptingto
meet,arangeofpossiblechoices,anenvironmentexercisingvariousconstraints,andanormativeorientation.
asocialsystemisasystemofprocessesofinteractionbetweenactorsitisthestructureofthe
relations
between
theactorsasinvolvedintheinteractiveprocesswhichisessentiallythestructureofthesocialsystem.Thesystemis
anetworkofsuchrelationships(Parsons,
TheSocialSystem,
p.25).
TheStructureofSocialSystems
Values:takeprimacyinthepatternmaintenancefunctioningofsocialsystems
Norms:functionprimarilytointegratesocialsystems,arespecifictoparticularsocialfunctionsandtypesofsocial
situations.
Collectivities:typeofstructuralcomponentthathavegoalattainmentprimacy.
Roles:thetypeofstructuralcomponentthathasprimacyintheadaptivefunction,weconceiveasdefiningaclassof
individualswho,throughreciprocalexpectations,areinvolvedinaparticularcollectivity.
Therealitysuigeneris
(ofitsownkind)
ofsocialsystemsmayinvolvetheindependentvariabilityofeachof
thesetypesofstructuralcomponentsrelativetotheothers.
Acollectivitygenerallyfunctionsunderthecontrolofalargenumberofparticularnorms.Italwaysinvolvesa
pluralityofroles,althoughalmostanymajorcategoryofroleisperformedinapluralityofparticularcollectivities.
Nevertheless,socialsystemsarecomprisedofcombinationsofthesestructuralcomponents.
Tobeinstitutionalizedinastablefashion,collectivitiesandrolesmustbe"governed"byspecificvaluesand
norms,whereasvaluesandnormsarethemselvesinstitutionalizedonlyinsofarastheyare"implemented"by
particularcollectivitiesandroles.
ADistinctionofLevelsofSocialSystem
Ithasbeenseenthroughoutthestudythatitisnecessarytodistinguishtwodifferentlevelsonwhichtheschemaof
actionwithallitsmainfeaturesmaybeemployed
DESCRIPTIVELEVEL
involvesanelementofselectionandemphasisamongthefactswhichamountstoajudgmentoftheirtheoretical
importance.
ANALYTICALLEVEL
permitstocollectandrelatesinglefactsandorganizethemcoherentlyinsubstantialtheories
TheSubsystemsofSociety
1.
Polity
performsthefunctionofgoalattainmentbydeterminingsocialgoalsandmobilizingresourcesfortheachievement
ofthesegoals
functionsasenforcement
ensuresthatcompliancetoestablishednormsandvaluesisbinding
2.
Fiduciarysystem(trusteebeneficiary,bydefinition)
performsthefunctionoflatencybyconveyingnormsandvaluesandsocializingpeople
establishedbyvaluecommitments
valuesystemsaregeneralized,sothattheycanregulateactionwithoutrelyingonspecificprohibitions
3.
SocietalCommunity
regulatestherelationshipbetweentheotherpartsofthesociety
accomplishesintegrationandunificationofindividualsintoagroupbydevelopingastructureofnorms
processofintegrationentailsreconcilinganddefiningthevariousloyaltiesindividualshave,asproducedby
rolepluralism
4.
Economy
performstheadaptationfunctionthroughlabor,production,andallocation
insistsuponefficientmanagementofresources
disapprovesofwastefulnessandcarelessness
containselementofwebersmoralelement,butismoregenerallybasedinrationality
TheSocietalCommunity
Parsonsgeneralconcernwastounderstandthefundamentalmechanismsmaintainingthestabilityofsocietal
communitiesasselfregulatingentities.
Parsonsarguedthatthesimilaritybetweenbiologicalandsocialclassesoflivingsystemsliesintheapplicabilityto
bothofthefundamentalconceptsofadaptationandintegration.
ParsonslaterwritingsonthesocietalcommunitysoughttocleansetheevolutionaryaspectsofSpencerian
sociologyoftheirassociationwithindividualismanddeterminism.
SystemsofExchange
Thefoursystemsofsocietymaintaintheirconnectionthroughtheexchangeofinputsandoutputs.
Thefunctionalinterdependenciescanbemappedasapatternofinputoutputrelations.
SymbolicMediaofExchange
regulatestheinterchangesofthesocietybecauseoftheirhighdegreeofstructuraldifferentiation
Money
nointrinsicvaluebutvalueinuse
measureofthevalueofgoodsandservices
makesiteasyforvaluetobestored
Power
capacitytosecureperformanceofbindingobligationsbyunitsofasystemofacollectiveorganization
Influence
meansofpersuasionbringingaboutadecisiononaltersparttoactinacertainwaybecauseitisfelttobea
goodthing
ValueCommitments
controlsthewayinwhichvaluesbecomeconcreteininteraction
CRITIQUES
Wecannotclaimthatsystemshaveneedsdifficulttogiveanexamplesomesocietieswereabsorbed,somewere
destroyed
Evenifthereareneeds,doesnotexplainhowneedsaremetnogoalslikehumans
Socialisationlearningtobesocial(e.g.childrenadoptingparentsattitudesastheirown)
Internalisationtheyidentifywiththeactor
Individualsworkoutabalancedpatternofexpectationsuntiltheyarriveatastablearrangement
SubsystemsinAGILoverlapfromtimetotime
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