Functionalism is a consensus theory which originated with functionalist writers (Durkhem and Comte) in the 19th century. They were influenced by what they SAW as the progress which was made during the industrial revolution. Functionalists believe in two important concepts - Social Systems‚ were just like the natural world‚ society is a complex system and also - Organic Analogy‚ were they compare society to an organism‚ such as the human body‚ which is a complex system which fits together. They
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Criticisms of Parsons: -Like Durkheim‚ Parson fails to give adequate consideration to the possibility that the values transmitted by the educational system may be those of a ruling minority rather than of a society as a whole. Criticisms of Parsons: -Like Durkheim‚ Parson fails to give adequate consideration to the possibility that the values transmitted by the educational system may be those of a ruling minority rather than of a society as a whole. Criticisms of Durkheim: -Assumes societies
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A Comparison of Marxist and Functionalist Views on Society There is a division between functionalists and Marxists over the functions of the society. Marxism was founded by Karl Marx. Marx saw society as divided into two major parts‚ the economic base otherwise known as the infrastructure and the super-structure. Functionalists see society as a set of parts which work together to form a whole. Functionalism is also called a consensus theory. Marxism and functionalism are similar
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“assess the view that in todays society the family is losing its functions” (24 marks) There are many different sociologists who look in the families place in today’s society and assess the level of function to family has today. From Murdock to parsons‚ feminist and warm bath theory there is many different views and opinions on this statement. One of the more famous sociologists who looked at the family is G.P.Murdock; he compared over 250 societies and claimed that the nuclear family was universal
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institutions and organic analogy is what keeps the society in agreement and working properly. Religion plays a big part in the family and society; if a family is religious this will be taught to the new members of family‚ the family may choose to send a child to a religious school‚ which is the family teaching the child the role of religion due to there choice. Law is also an agent of the family’s role‚ the family all have to abide by certain rules there for the offspring and new members will be
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Deviance is an action or behavior that violates social or cultural norms. It can be categorized into two categories‚ formal and informal. Formal deviance is a criminal act as dictated by the law. Social norms dictate informal deviance. The functionalist perspective of deviance is that crime is inevitable because not everyone can or will be equally committed. A lot of social change seems to begin with a form of deviance. For example‚ the Civil Rights Movement. People such as Rosa Parks who spoke
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For the Functionalists‚ education performs a positive function for all individuals in society and has a powerful influence over it. The education system serves the needs of an industrial society by providing a more advanced division of labour; socialising new generations into societies shared norms and values and‚ according to meritocratic criteria‚ allocates roles in. Education supposedly meets societies through three related economic roles; socialisation; allocation and vocational training.
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Assess the functionalist view of the medical profession. Functionalists have a consensus view on the medical profession; they support the occupation‚ as they believe all groups in society work together like a human body. Other groups such as feminists and Marxists believe that the medical profession does not take into account the social model. Both Marxist and feminists have a more conflict approach around the medical occupation. Functionalists believe that doctors and the likes of have an
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Assess the strengths and weaknesses of the functionalist view on society. Functionalism is a consensus perspective‚ whereby society is based on shared values and norms into which members are socialised. For functionalists‚ society is seen as a system of social institutions such as the economy‚ religion and the family all of which perform socialisation functions. A strength of the functionalist theory is that it a macro level structural theory which uses an organic analogy- using the body as
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Assess the usefulness of the Functionalist view of the family (24 marks) Functionalism is a macro theory and so looks at things on a large scale they consist of structural theorists. They see society as being similar to a human body‚ in that the essential organs in the body perform specific functions. This is like society as one of the essential organs in society is the family‚ as it performs essential functions which serve the needs of the family. And that each part of the body works in harmony
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