monday, november 16, 2015 © 1998-2006 by ronald keith bolender1 sya 3010 sociological theory:...

Thursday, April 20, 2023

© 1998-2006 by Ronald Keith Bolender 1

SYA 3010 Sociological Theory:

Talcott Parsons



Talcott Parsons

1902-1979



Talcott Parsons

Early Life Father

Minister in Colorado Springs, ColoradoAlso a professor of EnglishFather later became president at Marietta

College in OhioBelieved socialism and Christianity should be

one to meet the dynamics of changing cultureBelieved culture included doctrine and

education



Talcott Parsons

Education Undergraduate work at Amhest

University in biology and medicineDeveloped an interest in social sciences,

especially economics, under the teaching of Walter Hamilton

• During this period he read books by Sumner, Cooley, and Durkheim.



Talcott Parsons

Studied economics in the London School of EconomicsStrongly influenced by a social anthropologist

named Malinowski• Functionalist

Attended Heidelberg University, in Germany, on an educational exchangeAlfred Weber (Max Weber’s brother) was his

primary teacherAlso sat under the instruction of Karl Mannheim



Talcott Parsons

Grand TheoriesTalcott Parsons was probably the most

prominent theorist of this time, and it is unlikely that any one theoretical approach will so dominate sociological theory again (Turner 1998:28).

Parsons’ theory of society is plagued by an absence of clarity. His work abounds with ambiguities in both semantics and syntax (Perdue 1986:118).



Talcott Parsons: The System of Modern Societies

The System of Modern SocietiesA historical study of societal evolution as

evident in the stages of systematic development within Western history.

Parsons, Talcott. 1971. The System of Modern Societies. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.




Era One: Premodern Foundations of Modern Societies The Christian church was the first

crucible for Western culture Rome--created a highly developed

system of law Medieval society gave witness to the

decline of tribalism and the rise of feudalism




From feudalism to a differential and interdependent division of labor that marked the European system

During this process, feudal institutions came to be replaced by early capitalism with some growing centralization of political power

Then came the Renaissance and the development of secular culture within the framework of a still vibrant religious order




Reformation: During this period, the priesthood began to lose its exclusive entitlement to the keys to the kingdom, an event that signaled the advent of individualism




Era Two: First Crystallization of the Modern System Centered in the European northwest

(England, France, and Holland), which saw the centralization of a form of state power and the establishment of mercantile capitalism. One noteworthy development here was the coming of a pluralist political system in England.




Era Three: Age of Revolutions During this time, the industrial

revolution featured the expansion of financial markets, while the democratic revolution saw the spreading of the differentiation of rule by people throughout Western Europe.




Era Four: New Lead Society Parsons argued that the promise of the industrial

and democratic revolutions could not be realized in Europe because of its aristocratic, stratified, and monarchal traditions. Primarily because of the lack of such restrictions, together with its educational revolution and political pluralism, the “new lead society” is for Parsons none other than the United States. It is here in his native land that Parsons located the highest form of general adaptation, the embodiment of the evolutionary principle that drives systems and systematic theories.



Talcott Parsons: The Structure of Social Action

Review of Assigned Reading:

The Units of Voluntaristic

Action




The Structure of Social ActionVoluntaristic Theory of Action

Involves these basic elementsActors are individual personsActors are viewed as goal seekingActors also possess alternative means to

achieve goals




Actors are confronted with a variety of situational conditions, such as their own biological makeup and heredity as well as various external ecological constraints, that influence the selection of goals and means

Actors are governed by values, norms, and other ideas such that these ideas influence what is considered a goal and what means are selected to achieve it

Action involves actors making subjective decisions about the means to achieve goals, all of which are constrained by ideas and situational conditions



Talcott Parsons: The Social System

The Social System

How do social systems survive?How do social systems survive?

More specifically, why do More specifically, why do institutionalized patterns of institutionalized patterns of

interactions persist?interactions persist?

Parsons, Talcott. 1951. The Social System. Glencoe, IL: The Free Press.




Pattern Development and MaintenanceAdaptation

Involves securing sufficient resources from the environment and then distributing these throughout the system

Goal Attainment Refers to establishing priorities among system

goals and mobilizing system resources for their attainment




Integration Denotes coordinating and maintaining

viable interrelationships among system units




Latency Embraces two related problems

Pattern Maintenance• Pertains to how to ensure that actors in the social

system display the appropriate characteristics– Motives– Needs– Role-playing

Tension Management• Concerns dealing with the internal tensions and

strains of actors in the social system




Let us attempt to apply these

concepts in an oversimplified

application



Talcott Parsons: The Social System (WNBA)




How to Integrate the WNBA into the United States’ Sports Consciousness

Adaptation Resources are allocated to the WNBA

The United States is evaluated as ready for a women’s league similar to the NBA

Resources are deliberately allocated to help give the WNBA a structure similar to the NBA

Return on those allocated resources will not be immediate




Goal Attainment Priorities are developed to insure goals

are attainedMedia space (television) is given to the

WNBA even though the audience is not yet fully developed

Integration Coordinating various relationships

within the sports world




Latency (after the WNBA is integrated into the nation’s sports consciousness) Pattern Maintenance

Establishing proper roles and motives

Tension ManagementDealing with internal tensions and strains of

actors in the social system




If any of the four components “failed,” then

the WNBA will not be “integrated” into the social

system of the United States.

monday, november 16, 2015 © 1998-2006 by ronald keith bolender1 sya 3010 sociological theory:...

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