Parsons Grand Theory Essay Research Paper Talcott

Parsons: Grand Theory Essay, Research Paper

Talcott Parsons’ Grand Theory is based in the perspective which is commonly referred to as

“structural functionalism.” Parsons himself, however, preferred the term “functional analysis”

after it was suggested by his student, Robert Merton(Coser 1975). For the most part, “structural

functionalism” is the preferred label. Its focus is on the functional requirements, or needs, of a

social system that must be met for the system to survive and the corresponding structures that

meet those needs. The social systems we are referring to tend to perform the tasks that are

necessary for their survival. Sociological analysis comes into play as a search for the social

structures that perform those tasks or meet the needs of the social system(Wallace and Wolf

1999). A basic definition of functionalism would be the study of the social and cultural

phenomena in terms of the functions they perform. The society conceived in functionalism is a

system of interrelated parts that are interdependent of one another. If a change in one part takes

place, then their is a change in the system and reorganization occurs in an effort to once again

achieve equilibrium(Wallace and Wolf 1999). It is this strive toward equilibrium that Parsons is

most concerned with in his Grand Theory. While Parsons’ contributions are great, there were

many who paved the way before him.

Intellectuals such as Auguste Comte, Herber Spencer, Vilfredo Pareto, and Emile

Durkheim laid much of the ground work. Comte, Spencer, and Pareto contributed the concept of

the interdependence of parts of the social system, while Durkheim emphasized integration or

solidarity. Both ideas Parsons incorporated into his paradigm. It was Comte who introduced the

concept of equilibrium to functionalism, which he borrowed from biology’s treatment of

homeostasis. Spencer’s differentiation, as in the mutual dependence of unlike parts of the system

brought about inevitably by an increase in a society’s size, is thought of today as an important

aspect of a social system’s interrelatedness and integration. By integration we mean the

incorporation of individuals into the social order, which is essential to the maintenance of social

equilibrium. It was Durkheim, the most important forerunner of modern functionalism, who

championed integration and conceptionalized the function of the division of labor(Wallace and

Wolf 1999). Parsons was greatly influenced by these two concepts.

Durkheim viewed social evolution as a movement from the mechanical solidarity of tribal

societies to the organic solidarity characteristic of industrial societies. At the heart of both

societies is the collective conscience, which he defined as “the totality of beliefs and sentiments

common to average citizens of the same society.” Primitive societies with mechanical solidarity

had a strong collective conscience but little individualism. As the division of labor increased, so

did individualism. This, in turn, led to a corresponding decrease in the collective conscience and a

shift to organic solidarity. With this foundation of great ideas, and his own experience in the

biological studies, Parsons was ready to form his own functionalism perspective. His

contributions include: his system of action, his action schema, the pattern variables, and the

system problems.

For Parsons, the system was the center of his thinking from a very early age(Wallace and

Ruth 1999). His general theory of action includes four systems: the cultural system, the social

system, the personality system, and the behavioral organism system. Each system in turn has a

basic unit of analysis, or variable by which it is measured. For the cultural system it is “meaning”

or “symbolic systems” like national values, religious beliefs, or languages. In Parsons view,

cultural traditions are made up of shared symbolic systems, with the focus on shared values. An

important concept for the cultural system in socialization, or the process where societal values are

internalized by a society’s members. For Parsons, socialization is an important force in

maintaining social control and holding a society together(Wallace and Wolf 1999). The next level

in Parsons’s scheme is the social system.

The social system’s basic unit is “role interaction”, which refers to how individual actors

interact in relation to their roles in society. Parsons defined the social system as two of more

individuals, or collectivities, interacting in a situation which has at least a physical of

environmental aspect, whose actors are motivated toward personal gratification, and whose

relation to their situations, including each other, is defined and influenced by the cultural system.

The basic unit of the personality system is the individual actor, or human. The main focus

at this level is on the individual’s “motivation toward gratification,” which Parsons emphasizes in

his definition of the soci

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