Encyclopedia, Difference between revisions of "Talcott Parsons" - New World
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| − | '''Talcott Parsons''' ([[December 13]], [[1902]]–[[May 8]], [[1979]]) was | + | '''Talcott Parsons''' ([[December 13]], [[1902]]–[[May 8]], [[1979]]) was an [[American]] [[sociologist]]. Parsons worked at [[Harvard University]]. His work was enormously influential through the [[1950s]] and well into the [[1960s]], particularly in America, but fell gradually out of favour from that time on. |
| − | Parsons | + | == Life == |
| + | Talcott Parsons was born December 13, [[1902]] in [[Colorado Springs]], [[Colorado]]. He graduated from [[Amherst College]] with a major in [[biology]] and [[philosophy]]. After Amherst, he entered the [[London School of Economics]], where he was exposed to the work of [[Harold Laski]], [[Richard Tawney]], [[Bronislaw Malinowski]], and [[Leonard Hobhouse]]. He then moved to the University of Heidelberg where he received his Ph.D. in sociology and economics.After a year as instructor of economics at Amherst, he joined Harvard as an instructor of economics in 1927. He worked at Harvard from [[1927]] until [[1973]]. Parsons died in [[1979]]. | ||
| + | ==Work== | ||
| + | Parsons served on the faculty of [[Harvard University]] from [[1927]]-[[1973]]. A central figure first in Harvard's Department of Sociology, and then in its Department of Social Relations (created by Parsons to reflect his vision of an integrated social science). For many years he was one of the best-known sociologists in the world. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Parsons' analysis was largely developed within his major published works: | ||
* ''The Structure of Social Action'' ([[1937]]), | * ''The Structure of Social Action'' ([[1937]]), | ||
* ''The Social System'' ([[1951]]), | * ''The Social System'' ([[1951]]), | ||
| Line 15: | Line 20: | ||
* ''Politics and Social Structure'' ([[1969]]). | * ''Politics and Social Structure'' ([[1969]]). | ||
| − | + | Parsons was an advocate of "grand theory," an attempt to integrate all the social sciences into an overarching theoretical framework. His early work—"The Structure of Social Action"—reviewed the output of his predecessors, especially [[Max Weber]], [[Vilfredo Pareto]], and [[Émile Durkheim]], and attempted to derive from them a single "action theory" based on the assumptions that human action is voluntary, intentional, and symbolic. Later, he became intrigued with, and involved in, an astonishing range of fields: from medical sociology (where he developed the concept of the sick role to psychoanalysis—personally undergoing full training as a lay analyst) to anthropology, to small group dynamics (working extensively with [[Robert Freed Bales]]), to race relations and then economics and education. | |
| − | + | Parsons contributed to the field of [[social evolutionism]] and [[neoevolutionism]]. He divided evolution into four subprocesses: 1) division, which creates functional subsystems from the main system; 2) adaptation, where those systems evolve into more efficient versions; 3) inclusion of elements previously excluded from the given systems; and 4) generalization of values, increasing the legitimization of the ever-more complex system. Furthermore, Parsons explored these subprocesses within three stages of evolution: 1) primitive, 2) archaic and 3) modern (where archaic societies have the knowledge of writing, while modern have the knowledge of law). Parsons viewed the Western civilisation as the pinnacle of modern societies, and out of all western cultures he declared the United States as the most dynamically developed. For this, he was attacked as an ethnocentrist. | |
| − | + | Parsons wrote President [[Dwight Eisenhower]]'s ''bon mot'' that freedom means the freedom to fail as well as to succeed. | |
| + | |||
| + | Parsons had a seminal influence and early mentorship of [[Niklas Luhmann]], pre-eminent German sociologist, originator of systems theory. | ||
| − | Parsons | + | Parsons says that we are actors playing in a theatre of social systems, personality systems, cultural systems, and a physical environment. |
| − | Parsons | + | ===Functionalism=== |
| + | Parsons produced a general theoretical system for the analysis of society that came to be called ''[[structural functionalism]]'' in which every group or society tends to fulfill four "functional imperatives." | ||
*adaptation to the physical and social environment; | *adaptation to the physical and social environment; | ||
*goal attainment, which is the need to define primary goals and enlist individuals to strive to attain these goals; | *goal attainment, which is the need to define primary goals and enlist individuals to strive to attain these goals; | ||
*integration, the coordination of the society or group as a cohesive whole; | *integration, the coordination of the society or group as a cohesive whole; | ||
*latency, maintaining the motivation of individuals to perform their roles according to social expectations. | *latency, maintaining the motivation of individuals to perform their roles according to social expectations. | ||
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=== Gloss === | === Gloss === | ||
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[[Social constructionism]] is an approach which seeks to uncover the ways in which individuals and groups participate in the creation of their perceived reality. | [[Social constructionism]] is an approach which seeks to uncover the ways in which individuals and groups participate in the creation of their perceived reality. | ||
| − | == Pattern variables == | + | === Pattern variables === |
| − | Parsons asserted that there were two dimensions to societies: instrumental and expressive. By this he meant that there are qualitative differences between kinds of social interaction. Essentially, he observed that people can have personalized and formally detached relationships based on the roles that they play. The characteristics that were associated with each kind of interaction he called the ''pattern variables''. | + | Perhaps the most noteworthy theoretical contributions from Parsons were the formulations of ''[[pattern variables]]'', the [[AGIL Paradigm]], and the [[Unit Act]]. Parsons asserted that there were two dimensions to societies: instrumental and expressive. By this he meant that there are qualitative differences between kinds of social interaction. Essentially, he observed that people can have personalized and formally detached relationships based on the roles that they play. The characteristics that were associated with each kind of interaction he called the ''pattern variables''. |
Some examples of expressive societies would include families, churches, clubs, crowds, and smaller social settings. Examples of instrumental societies would include bureaucracies, aggregates, and markets. | Some examples of expressive societies would include families, churches, clubs, crowds, and smaller social settings. Examples of instrumental societies would include bureaucracies, aggregates, and markets. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Legacy== | ||
| + | Parsons was one of the first iconic figures in American sociology. | ||
| + | |||
| + | His theory of [[functionalism]] is one of the major schools of thought within sociology. Functionalism is often associated with conservative political ideologies and [[free market]] [[capitalism]]. Parsons' late work focused on a new theoretical synthesis around four functions common (he claimed) to all systems of action—from the behavioral to the cultural, and a set of symbolic media that enable communication across them. His attempt to structure the world of action according to a mere four concepts was too much for many American sociologists, who were at that time retreating from the grand pretensions of the 1960s to a more empirical, grounded approach. Parsons' influence waned rapidly in the U.S. after 1970. The most prominent attempt to revive Parsonian thinking, under the rubric "[[neofunctionalism]]," has been made by the sociologist [[Jeffrey Alexander]], now at [[Yale University]]. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Parsons' son [[Charles Parsons (philosopher)|Charles Parsons]] is a distinguished figure in philosophy of mathematics. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Parsons was criticized by his contemporary, [[C. Wright Mills]] for his grand theory. Mills believed grand theory was not based on enough fact and was the product of sociologists attempting to impose their will upon data. | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 22:23, 17 June 2006
Talcott Parsons (December 13, 1902–May 8, 1979) was an American sociologist. Parsons worked at Harvard University. His work was enormously influential through the 1950s and well into the 1960s, particularly in America, but fell gradually out of favour from that time on.
Life
Talcott Parsons was born December 13, 1902 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He graduated from Amherst College with a major in biology and philosophy. After Amherst, he entered the London School of Economics, where he was exposed to the work of Harold Laski, Richard Tawney, Bronislaw Malinowski, and Leonard Hobhouse. He then moved to the University of Heidelberg where he received his Ph.D. in sociology and economics.After a year as instructor of economics at Amherst, he joined Harvard as an instructor of economics in 1927. He worked at Harvard from 1927 until 1973. Parsons died in 1979.
Work
Parsons served on the faculty of Harvard University from 1927-1973. A central figure first in Harvard's Department of Sociology, and then in its Department of Social Relations (created by Parsons to reflect his vision of an integrated social science). For many years he was one of the best-known sociologists in the world.
Parsons' analysis was largely developed within his major published works:
- The Structure of Social Action (1937),
- The Social System (1951),
- Structure and Process in Modern Societies (1960),
- Sociological Theory and Modern Society (1968),
- Politics and Social Structure (1969).
Parsons was an advocate of "grand theory," an attempt to integrate all the social sciences into an overarching theoretical framework. His early work—"The Structure of Social Action"—reviewed the output of his predecessors, especially Max Weber, Vilfredo Pareto, and Émile Durkheim, and attempted to derive from them a single "action theory" based on the assumptions that human action is voluntary, intentional, and symbolic. Later, he became intrigued with, and involved in, an astonishing range of fields: from medical sociology (where he developed the concept of the sick role to psychoanalysis—personally undergoing full training as a lay analyst) to anthropology, to small group dynamics (working extensively with Robert Freed Bales), to race relations and then economics and education.
Parsons contributed to the field of social evolutionism and neoevolutionism. He divided evolution into four subprocesses: 1) division, which creates functional subsystems from the main system; 2) adaptation, where those systems evolve into more efficient versions; 3) inclusion of elements previously excluded from the given systems; and 4) generalization of values, increasing the legitimization of the ever-more complex system. Furthermore, Parsons explored these subprocesses within three stages of evolution: 1) primitive, 2) archaic and 3) modern (where archaic societies have the knowledge of writing, while modern have the knowledge of law). Parsons viewed the Western civilisation as the pinnacle of modern societies, and out of all western cultures he declared the United States as the most dynamically developed. For this, he was attacked as an ethnocentrist.
Parsons wrote President Dwight Eisenhower's bon mot that freedom means the freedom to fail as well as to succeed.
Parsons had a seminal influence and early mentorship of Niklas Luhmann, pre-eminent German sociologist, originator of systems theory.
Parsons says that we are actors playing in a theatre of social systems, personality systems, cultural systems, and a physical environment.
Functionalism
Parsons produced a general theoretical system for the analysis of society that came to be called structural functionalism in which every group or society tends to fulfill four "functional imperatives."
- adaptation to the physical and social environment;
- goal attainment, which is the need to define primary goals and enlist individuals to strive to attain these goals;
- integration, the coordination of the society or group as a cohesive whole;
- latency, maintaining the motivation of individuals to perform their roles according to social expectations.
Gloss
Parsons used the word "gloss" to describe how mind constructs reality. As Carlos Castaneda explained,
"A gloss is a total system of perception and language. For instance, this room is a gloss. We have lumped together a series of isolated perceptions—floor, ceiling, window, lights, rugs, etc.—to make a totality. But we had to be taught to put the world together in this way. A child reconnoiters the world with few preconceptions until he is taught to see things in a way that corresponds to the descriptions everybody agrees on. The world is an agreement."
It is this sort of consensus reality that many disciplines, Zen for example, strive to overcome. Studies have shown that our brains "filter" the data coming from our senses (see, for example, the work of Norwood Russell Hanson). This "filtering" is largely unconsciously created and determined by biology, cultural constructs including language, personal experience, belief systems, etcetera. And different cultures create different glosses, all called reality. Failure to recognize 'glossing', then, may explain what happens when cultures collide.
Many cognitive psychologists hold that, as we move about in the world, we create a model of how the world works. That is, we sense the objective world, but our sensations map to percepts, and these percepts are provisional, in the same sense that scientific hypotheses are provisional (cf. in the scientific method). As we acquire new information, our percepts shift. (See article Perception.)
Social constructionism is an approach which seeks to uncover the ways in which individuals and groups participate in the creation of their perceived reality.
Pattern variables
Perhaps the most noteworthy theoretical contributions from Parsons were the formulations of pattern variables, the AGIL Paradigm, and the Unit Act. Parsons asserted that there were two dimensions to societies: instrumental and expressive. By this he meant that there are qualitative differences between kinds of social interaction. Essentially, he observed that people can have personalized and formally detached relationships based on the roles that they play. The characteristics that were associated with each kind of interaction he called the pattern variables.
Some examples of expressive societies would include families, churches, clubs, crowds, and smaller social settings. Examples of instrumental societies would include bureaucracies, aggregates, and markets.
Legacy
Parsons was one of the first iconic figures in American sociology.
His theory of functionalism is one of the major schools of thought within sociology. Functionalism is often associated with conservative political ideologies and free market capitalism. Parsons' late work focused on a new theoretical synthesis around four functions common (he claimed) to all systems of action—from the behavioral to the cultural, and a set of symbolic media that enable communication across them. His attempt to structure the world of action according to a mere four concepts was too much for many American sociologists, who were at that time retreating from the grand pretensions of the 1960s to a more empirical, grounded approach. Parsons' influence waned rapidly in the U.S. after 1970. The most prominent attempt to revive Parsonian thinking, under the rubric "neofunctionalism," has been made by the sociologist Jeffrey Alexander, now at Yale University.
Parsons' son Charles Parsons is a distinguished figure in philosophy of mathematics.
Parsons was criticized by his contemporary, C. Wright Mills for his grand theory. Mills believed grand theory was not based on enough fact and was the product of sociologists attempting to impose their will upon data.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Alexander, J.C. 1982. Theoretical Logic in Sociology. Vol. I. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
- Alexander, J.C. 1984. “The Parsons revival in German sociology”, Pp. 394-412 in R. Collins (ed.). Sociological Theory 1984. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
- Cohen, I.J. 1996. “Theories of Action and Praxis”, Pp. 111-142 in B.S. Turner (ed.). The Blackwell Companion to Social Theory. Oxford: Blackwell.
- Connell, R.W. 1997. “Why Is Classical Theory Classical?” American Journal of Sociology 102:1511-1557.
- Fararo, Thomas J. 2001. Social Action Systems: Foundation and Synthesis in Sociological Theory. Westport, CT: Praeger.
- Grathoff R. (ed.). 1978. The Theory of Social Action: The correspondence of Alfred Schutz and Talcott Parsons. Bloomington and London: Indiana University Press.
- Hamilton, Peter. 1983 Readings from Talcott Parsons. London: Tavistock Publications. 33-55.
- Haralambos, M. and Holborn, M. 1995. Sociology: Themes & Perspectives. London: Collins Educational.
- Lackey, Pat N. 1987 Invitation to Talcott Parsons’ Theory. Houston: Cap and Gown Press. 3-15.
- Levine, Donald N. 1991. “Simmel and Parsons Reconsidered.” American Journal of Sociology 96:1097-1116.
- Luhmann, Nicklas. 1995. Social Systems. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
- Parsons, Talcott. [1937] 1967. Structure of Social Action: Vol. II. Free Press.
- Parsons, Talcott. 1951. The Social System. Free Press.
- Perdue, William D. 1986. Sociological Theory: Explanation, Paradigm, and Ideology. Palo Alto, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company. 112-119.
- Rocher, Guy. 1975. Talcott Parsons and American Sociology. New York: Barnes & Nobles.
- Sewell, W.H. Jr. 1992 “A Theory of Structure: Duality, Agency, and Transformation.” American Journal of Sociology 98:1-29.
- Turner, Jonathan H. 1998. The Structure of Sociological Theory. Cincinnati, OH: Wadsworth.
- Wallace, Walter L. 1969 Sociological Theory: An introduction. London: Heinemann Educational Books.
- Weber, Max. 1947. The Theory of Social and Economic Organizations. Free Press.
- Zeuner, Lilli 2001. “Social Concepts between Construction and Revision.” Danish National Institute for Social Research. Copenhagen.
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