Assignment No. 1: Response Paper 1 Question 2: There are various perspectives which can be useful in building hypotheses and theories to describe different aspects of the society. The most popular theoretical perspectives are functionalism, conflict theory and symbolic interactionism. Amongst these, functionalism and conflict theory are the macro-approaches to describe a society, whereas, symbolic interationism is the micro-approach, which deals with an individual. Most of the functionalists relate the society to a living organism.
Each social problem is also related to specific social conditions or elements such as institutions and transitions (Frank, 1925). Similarly, constructivists view social problems as being embedded in a complicated organizational and cultural competition between social arenas and models. Different arenas and models play different roles in framing and presenting social problems and have different focuses (Goode, 1994). Collectively, these social dynamics constitute conditions that are constructed as social problems, reflecting the complex interlocking system involving social problems, which is also seen in realist
When it comes to Critical Social Theory and The Sociological Imagination, there are so many social issues that people are unclear on solving and that’s the reason Sociological Imagination is made, to convey attention to issues and taking a gander at the world sociologically, making sociological inquiries and giving sociological answers. The term Critical Social Theory is a very important term not only in Sociology but also in the world. The term was coined in Frankfurt, Germany in the 1930’s (Appelrouth and Edles 2012). Basic Social Theory was made to realize change in the public eye. It is utilized to look at society in general and achieve change in social issues.
In other words, it is a sociological viewpoint that suggests that society functions in a cooperative manner meant to build and uphold itself, the key focus being how society attempts to preserve itself and evolve: group survival. Religion, in functionalist terms, is a tool by which society produces unity, which reduces conflict within a society and promotes longevity and cooperation. A functionalist sociologist might point to how many of the most successful societies in human history have been founded on the principles of a religion, or how religion can be used as a means of giving a community common ground and shared thoughts. Functionalist sociologists likely question where the concept of religion originated from, as well as research how religious institutions operate. They want to know exactly what the
Around the same time, a new school known as functionalism began to develop. Rather than focus on the structure of mental experience, functionalists look at the mind’s adaptive functions. Although the contrast between these two schools of thought is less relevant
The functionalist’s perspective of division between classes has also been criticised for perpetuating the position of the privileged elite who already hold power, prestige and money (Lockwood, 1956). Functionalists have a tendency to mistake the legitimisation employed by elites in society for social reality (Harré, 2002). The
A proponent of structural functionalism would say mass incarceration is meeting a social need. It is a tool used to keep “the body” of society functioning properly. Durkheim suggests that crime and punishment serve a function in society like a social fact and that it helps maintain societies moral balance. Structural functionalist would believe in incarceration as a key element in maintaining an equilibrium in society. A proponent of conflict theory would see mass incarceration as another blatant example of class warfare.
In order to explore the function of system and subsystem we need to use a different methods so that we can understand the function of the system in day to day basis. Theoretical Perspective Theoretical perspective is the different perspective of social world, with this theories are generated in order to give an answer to the questions of the social problem. There are three major theoretical perspective: a) the structural functionalist perspective b) the conflict perspective and c) symbolic interactionist perspective. a) The structural functionalist perspective The structural-functionalist perspective is largely based on the works of Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons, and Robert Merton. The structural-functionalist perspective
Radcliff’s (1988) essay analyses four sociological theories (the symbolic interactionist theory, the exchange theory, and the functionalist and conflict theory) in terms of three Christian doctrines: the creation, the fall and redemption. In the beginning, God created human beings in His image; thus God constructed through creation and so too, we, as humans, construct meaning through social interactions (symbolic interactionism). Social structures can only be functional if they are structured within God’s plan (functionalism). Thus, our ultimate purpose is to glorify and serve God and as we do so, we are naturally drawn to seek rewards and avoid pain (exchange
In conclusion, the four major theoretical perspectives described above can be said that structure functionalist would focus on what is common practice in a certain society and would analyze the function symbol used to interact and communicate in that society. Whereby, symbolic interaction try to determine how individuals of a certain society interpret the environment or what others have on the development of an individual self-image. Meanwhile, conflict theorist would look at the power differences between various groups of a society, where they come from and what effect they have on