The Early Functionalists

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The Early Functionalists

• 1850-1920

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Functionalism

• The analysis of society as a system
• composed of parts that affect each other and
  the system as a whole

• Functions purposes or consequences

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Functionalism

• System analogy of a living organism
• If the society is orderlythe organism will be
  healthy.

• Universal Consensus (shared values)
• keeps the society orderly

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Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)

• 19th-Century Liberal
• believed in the freedom of business from
  government control

• Laissez-faire
• unseen hand (Adam Smith)

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Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)

• The good of society would best be served if
  each man looked out for himself.

• No program for social change
• No program for maintaining social order

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Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)

• Two major contributions to sociology

• Organic analogy
• Evolutionary view of history

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Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)

• Two major contributions to sociology

• Organic analogy
• Society is a system
• Functions like a living body
• Solidarity derives from the interdependence of
  the parts
• Evolutionary view of history
• Darwins theory of natural selection applied to
  society

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Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)

• Social Darwinism (survival of the fittest)

• People are poorbecause they cannot adapt to the
  social environment
• Rich men rise to the top because of natural
  talents(genetic superiority)

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Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)

• Opposed public education
• because poor people would not make good use of
  it

• Opposed womens suffrage
• because women might not be sufficiently
  evolved to make political judgments

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Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)

• Emphasized a scientific approach

• Social problems should be carefully studied,
• rather than letting do-gooders rush in to
  fix them.
• Spencer later reversed some of
• his most conservative ideas.

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Vilfredo Pareto (1848-1923)

• Emphasized a scientific, mathematical approach
• Viewed society as a system in equilibrium

• a change in one part will lead to changes in
  other parts
• final result stability

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Vilfredo Pareto (1848-1923)

• What appears to be social change is really a
  circulation of elites
• Lions honor, duty, tradition, property,
  nationalism,

• and maintaining power by force
• Foxes innovation, imagination, democratic
  sentiments,
• and maintaining power by manipulation

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Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

• Established sociology as an academic field
• Showed its unique contribution as distinct from
  psychology
• Influence of Comtes Positivism

• emphasis on scientific method
• concern about social order

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Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

• Collective Conscience
• shared values (similar to universal consensus)
• produces social solidarity
• derived from a societys division of labor
• Disagreed with Spencer

• Durkheim did not see solidarity as resulting
  spontaneously from individual actions,
• but as collectively maintained.

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Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

• Two kinds of solidarity

• Mechanical
• Organic

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Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

• Two kinds of solidarity

• Mechanical
• characteristic of small- scale societies with
  a simple division of labor
• (men hunt, women forage)
• same tasks similar positions
• similar views social stability

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Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

• Two kinds of solidarity

• Organic
• characteristic of large- scale modern
  societies with complex division of labor
• derives from interdependence of roles (like a
  living organism)

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Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

• Two kinds of solidarity

• Organic
• more difficult to maintain than mechanical
  solidarity
• can result in anomie
• Anomie
• the absence of norms
• results from breakdown in social solidarity

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Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

• Religion
• expression of the collective conscience
• traditional source of shared values
• less influential in modern societies

• Future source of solidarity
• scientific education

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Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

• Research Method
• The Whole more than the sum of its parts
• (Society is more than acollection of
  individuals.)

• Sociology is the study of social facts.

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Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

• Social facts are
• THINGS.
• Criteria

• External (to the individual mind) objective
• Coercive (at least potentially)

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Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

• Study of social facts requires
• objectivity
• experiment
• comparison

• Comparative method
• studying the same elements in different societies

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Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

• Evolutionary view
• societies develop from simple to complex
• (progressive differentiation)

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Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

• Evolutionary view
• societies develop from simple to complex
• (progressive differentiation)

• Unilinear process
• (straight line
• going in one general direction)

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Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

• Evolutionary view
• societies develop from simple to complex
• (progressive differentiation)

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Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

• Evolutionary view
• societies develop from simple to complex
• (progressive differentiation)

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Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

• Evolutionary view
• societies develop from simple to complex
• (progressive differentiation)

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Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

• Evolutionary view
• societies develop from simple to complex
• (progressive differentiation)

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Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

• Study of Suicide

• Showed difference between sociology and
  psychology
• Focused on rates of suicidebetween societies
  and sectors of societies,
• rather than on individual reasons

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Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

• Study of Suicide
• Typology showedrelationship of suicideto the
  individualsconnection to society

• Altruistic suicide (for the group)
• Egoistic suicide (isolation)
• Anomic suicide (social/moral breakdown)
• Fatalistic suicide (person blocked by society)

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Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

• Summary

• Functionalist
• society as a system
• evolutionary view
• concerned about social order and anomie
• WholisticWhole more than sum of parts

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Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

• Summary

• Scientific approach
• Research objective and comparative
• Method focused on the study of social facts
  (things external and coercive)