Functionalist Theory

Emile Durkheim

History

• Functionalist theory is the first of the three classical theories we’ll be talking about in the next few weeks. It developed in the late 19th century in Europe, as that region was transitioning from an agricultural to industrial society, and was primarily concerned with how so-called “modern” societies differed from traditional ones.

Basic Tenets

• The basic tenet of functionalism is that society is like a complex organism. Every part of the body has a specific role to play in the functioning of the whole. So last week, when I asked you to theorize why we have grades, you all gave me functionalist answers. You answered the question of what grades are for- to make us study, to make it easier for potential employers to evaluate us.

Basic Tenets

• In a functionalist system, all the parts have to work together in order for social order to exist. Functionalists believe that societies work well when everyone accepts their role, and the need to contribute to the whole. If any part malfunctions, or becomes dysfunctional, functionalists believe that pathological symptoms would occur.

Basic Tenets

• For functionalists, society basically exists in a state of equilibrium and order. It is the nature of society to deal with pathologies as they emerge, and to return to a state of order and health.

Functionalism

• Functionalists tend to believe that things some of us may see as dysfunctional are really functional for society, or at least for some of the more powerful people within it.

Functionalism

• For example, a functionalist might believe that gender discrimination is functional because its better for women to be home caring for their children.

Reflection question

• How might each of the following be perceived as functional?

• Immigration• Gangs• Crime

Emile Durkheim

• The originator of functionalism was Emile Durkheim, who is also a key figure in establishing sociology as a discipline. Durkheim lived from 1858 to 1917, as the son of a French Rabbi.

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Emile Durkheim

• Durkheim was inspired by the political upheavals of his day, most notably the Franco-Prussian War, and hoped that sociology could help stabilize and revitalize the society in which he lived.

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Emile Durkheim

• In an age in which philosophers tended to talk about society quite generally- in terms of broad statements about human nature or society—Durkheim was among the first to study social life in terms of specific empirical measurements. In this work, he distinguished sociology from both philosophy and psychology.

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Emile Durkheim

• Durkheim argued that social order was only possible because people worked together. In order to work together, he argued, groups need some kind of social solidarity.

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Social Solidarity

• Social solidarity is the degree or type of integration in a society- the feeling that we’re in this together

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Social Solidarity

• What are some social groups to whom you feel solidarity? For each- why do you feel solidarity with them.

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Social Solidarity

According to functionalist theory, social solidarity corresponds to the divisions of labor in a given society.

Social Solidarity

• The division of labor is simply the separation and specialization of work among people. As industry and technology proliferate, and population increases, society must be become more specialized if it is to survive. In modern society, this is especially evident. Labor has never before been as specialized as it is now, and the current trend is toward even further increased specialization

Social Solidarity

• Durkheim was not merely concerned with what the division of labor was, but how it changed the way people interacted with one another. He was concerned with the social implications of increased specialization.

Social Solidarity• As specialization increases, Durkheim argued, people are increasingly

separated, values and interests become different, norms are varied, and subcultures (both work-related and social-related) are formed.

Social Solidarity

Durkheim theorized that social solidarity corresponded to the division of labor in a society. In traditional or tribal societies, solidarity is usually based on kinship ties or familial networks. Durkheim calls this mechanical solidarity.

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Social Solidarity

Mechanical solidarity comes from homogeneity, when people feel connected through similar work, educational and religious training, and lifestyle.

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Social Solidarity

The other kind of social solidarity is organic solidarity.

Organic refers to the interdependence of the component parts. Thus, social solidarity is maintained in more complex societies through interdependence.

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Social SolidarityBecause people are forced to perform distinct, separate, and specialized tasks, they come to rely on others for their very survival. While shoemakers and carpenters may be functioning fine, if farmers stop working, everyone starves. If the carpenters quit, no one has any shelter. If the garbage haulers don't show up, the streets become dumps and diseases spread. Durkheim saw that without one another in a highly specialized society, no one can survive. In organic societies, social solidarity is based on interdependence, not homogeneity.

Suicide

• Durkheim’s most famous work was about suicide. He argued that suicide was related to dysfunctional levels of social solidarity.

Suicide

• Durkheim’s most famous work was about suicide. He argued that suicide was related to dysfunctional levels of social solidarity.

• In mechanical societies, people tend to commit what Durkheim called Altruistic suicide. In mechanical societies, the individual is extremely attached to the society and thus put the goals of the group above their own life.

Suicide

• Durkheim’s most famous work was about suicide. He argued that suicide was related to dysfunctional levels of social solidarity.

• In mechanical societies, people tend to commit what Durkheim called Altruistic suicide. In mechanical societies, the individual is extremely attached to the society and thus put the goals of the group above their own life.

• Individuals who commit suicide based on altruism die because they believe that their death can bring about a benefit to the society. In other words, when an individual is too heavily integrated into the society, they will commit suicide regardless of their own hesitation if the society's norms ask for the person's death.

Suicide

• Odd as it seems to call it altruistic, suicide bombers are an example of this. Their loyalty to their group is so strong that they value the group’s goals over their own life.

Suicide

• In organic societies such as ours, Durkheim argued that suicide was the result of anomie.

• Watch this clip featuring an example of anomie, and try to figure out what that word means:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4siTwwGvHLQ&feature=related

Suicide

• Durkheim defined the term anomie as a condition where social and/or moral norms are confused, unclear, or simply not present. Durkheim felt that this lack of norms--or pre-accepted limits on behavior in a society--led to deviant behavior.

Suicide

• Durkheim defined the term anomie as a condition where social and/or moral norms are confused, unclear, or simply not present. Durkheim felt that this lack of norms--or pre-accepted limits on behavior in a society--led to deviant behavior.

• Anomic suicide is there fore a condition or malaise in individuals, characterized by an absence or shrinking of standards or values (referred to as normlessness), and an associated feeling of alienation and purposelessness. He believed that anomie is common when the surrounding society has undergone significant changes in its economic fortunes, whether for good or for worse and, more generally, when there is a significant discrepancy between the ideological theories and values commonly professed and what was actually achievable in everyday life.

Reflection question:

• How is Durkheim’s analysis of suicide an example of the sociological imagination? How does it reflect a functionalist approach?

Contemporary Functionalists

• Contemporary functionalists have built upon Durkheim’s model, applying it to more contemporary situations. Robert Merton is a contemporary functionalist whose contribution was to specify various types of functions.

Contemporary Functionalists

• Contemporary functionalists have built upon Durkheim’s model, applying it to more contemporary situations. Robert Merton is a contemporary functionalist whose contribution was to specify various types of functions.

Contemporary Functionalists

• Contemporary functionalists have built upon Durkheim’s model, applying it to more contemporary situations. Robert Merton is a contemporary functionalist whose contribution was to specify various types of functions.

• Manifest functions and dysfunctions are conscious and deliberate, latent ones the unconscious and unintended.

• While functions are intended (manifest) or recognized (latent), and have a positive effect on society, dysfunctions are unintended (manifest) or unrecognized (latent) and have a negative effect on society

Manifest and laytent functions

• So for example, the manifest function of a rain dance, is to produce rain. A latent function might be to improve the social cohesion of those participating in the ritual. The manifest function of antigambling legislation may be to suppress gambling, its latent function to create an illegal empire for the gambling syndicates. Or Christian missionaries in parts of Africa manifestly tried to convert Africans to Christianity, latently helped to destroy the indigenous tribal cultures. Or the control of the Communist Party over all sectors of social life in Russia manifestly was to assure the continued dominance of the revolutionary ethos, latently created a new class of comfortable bourgeois bureaucrats.

Manifest and laytent functions

A minute ago, I asked you to think about the functions of immigration, gangs and crime. Are the functions you came up with manifest or latent functions?