Key Elements Of Parsons Concept Of Society Sociology Essay

Key Elements Of Parsons Concept Of Society Sociology Essay The society is regarded to be the key element of research of such science as history, sociology, philosophy, economics, etc., but there is no one theoretical understanding of this concept yet so far. Since the times of Plato and Aristotle the society was identified with the state and this concept was true up to the New Time (Hobbes Th., Locke J.). Only in the works of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Kant I., Hegel G. there starts the separation of these concepts, when the society is regarded independently and perceived as the idea of mankind and moral-political unity. Gradually within the frames of sociology the definition of the society, that becomes the classical and universal one, is fixed. The key criterion of the concept of society is the presence of people and certain communication between them. In other words, the society is considered as a community or union of people that possesses such features as territory, developed culture, political independence, etc. But this definition is cont roversial as primitive societies do not have developed culture, and nomadic societies do not have single territory. So the question arises how is it possible to define the society? There are many attempts and directions in studying and systematizing sociological opinions and outlooks of the concept of society. Modern western sociology is presented by abundance of different schools and trends, and each of them has its own approaches and theoretical views on the concept of society. The school of structural functionalism turned out to be one of the most fruitful in this trend, with the American sociologist Talcott Parsons as its representative. He uses a system approach while analyzing the society and considers the society as a social system which, in its turn, is a subsystem of the system of social act. In the theory of social action, the society is analyzed as a complex system along with other subsystems such as culture, personality and organism. All these subsystems interact with e ach other and with subsystem of the society. At the same time the society is regarded as the system that rises over individuals and does not depend on their thoughts and acts; individuals come and go, they are born and die, but nevertheless the society exists, keeps on functioning, developing and evolving. The main function of the society is using of the balanced combination of mechanisms of the control in the course of the relation with five environments surrounding it, and also a degree of internal integration. This can explain the self-sufficiency and isolation of the society as a complex system. This work concludes that the key elements of Parsons concept of society is the Theory of Action, that is the bench mark for further development of the whole concept of society; structural functionalism as the key tool that reveals the essence and interaction of the elements of the society from the point of view of their functioning; and the concept of social order, which is a kernel of s ociety as a system. Parsons uses a system approach to analyze the society as a type of social system. He regards the society as a system consisting of different interrelated elements that make integrity. At the same time the society as a system possesses a certain structure and function. Comparatively firm tie of the elements in the system and relations between the system as a whole and its parts make the structure of the system. The function of the system is in the role that the element performs; the contribution that a certain activity makes into common activity. In its turn, each element of the system can form a new system and as a result within one system there can be several subsystems. The system is the integral unit and it can interact with environment and in the process of interaction it can be an active side. Parsons (1966) noticed that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the society is a special kind of social systemà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ treat the social system as one of the primary subsystems of the human action system , the others being the behavioral organism, the personality of the individual, and the cultural system (p. 5). The system is understood as something integral that confronts its environment, that is segregated from its environment and that exists independently from other things. The society of Parsons (1966) is a  «self-sufficient » social system isolated from other subsystems (p. 9). As a self-sufficient system it must possess certain features. Parsons (1966) explains self-sufficiency as the function from balanced combination of control mechanisms over the relations of the society with the environment and the degree of its inner integration. The society is able to institutionalize some elements of culture that are specified from outside by the system of culture; to grant a wide spectrum of the roles of the individual and also to control economic complex and territory. The period from the Second World War until 1960s, as notes Alexander (1987): was marked by the emergence of structural-functional theory (p.35). Structural functionalism while considering the society underlines that any system aims at balance as it is characterized with concordance of the elements; it always affects the deviations the way to adjust them and return to equilibrium position. Any dysfunctions are overcome by the system, and each element contributes something into supporting its stability. While analyzing the society Parsons constantly feels instability that was intrinsic to a social system and while writing his works he concentrated on problems of supporting the balance, self-regulation and self-organization of the society. As Edward C. Devereux notes (1961): One cannot ever take for granted, Parsons argues, that the motives, goals, capacities and values of individual actors will automatically move them toward the sorts of adequate role performances necessary for the fun ctioning of this or that particular social system (Black, p. 35). He is not interested in what processes exactly influence the society and overbalance it, or break the relations of separate elements and subsystems in the whole system. He pays attention to the way the system eliminates the negative interference in the processes of its functioning, how the system manages to survive and function in the complicated and changing conditions. How and to what extent the system manages to preserve its ability to self-healing. According to Edvard C. Devereux, Parsons does indeed postulate an equilibrium-seeking tendency as a property of systems of any sort, partly as a generalization from experience, but more particularly for heuristic purposes (Black, 1961, p. 33). In his works Parsons pays special attention to the problem of order that is closely connected with preserving the society in the stable condition and achieving the balance. According to Parsons (1966), the core of any society as a system is a special organized normative order with the help of which a collective life of people is organized. Obeying the norms and laws that exist in this society by each member of the society, is understood under the social order, i.e. the individual should perform the roles that are expected of him. Within the social system Parsons (ibid.) distinguishes one of four subsystems societal community which represents the single collective that obeys certain established normative order, some set of statuses, rights, and obligations. By means of police functions and various sanctions are implemented the control over observance a normative system of order by collective. The collective forming the societal community represents an association of the people rallied on a basis of the accepted order. According to Parsons (ibid.), integration of people is the basic function of the given subsystem, that is, the process of association of different elements into a single whole. To achieve and p reserve the balance and order in the social system it is necessary to solve some functional problems that arise in the process of existence and functioning of any system. Parsons calls these problems motivational problem of order, their solution is in satisfaction of biological and psychological needs of the individuals, in effective activity of organs of social control and in coincidence of personal motivations of the individual with the norms of the society with the aim to perform the roles and objectives prescribed by the society (Black, 1961, p. 35). The concept of the social order characterizes the society as an internally interrelated and self-sustained social system that works and functions in external environment. Proceeding from the structural-functionalism Parsons (1966) defines five types of the system that surround the society as a social system: ultimate reality includes religious and moral norms, cultural system value-normative structures, personality system needs and interests, system of organism instincts, temperament, etc., and physical-organic environment geographical conditions for the society to exist and national environment. In his work The Social System while analyzing interaction of the society and the systems that surround it Parsons faces the problems in building and defining surrounding systems, depending on the level they enter the social system from. This scheme gets even more complicated when these interrelated systems function differently, i.e. each of the systems performs different function in the total system of action. Parsons uses structural-functional approach while analyzing the society. This approach bases on the ideas of Durkheim E. and Marx K. and analyzes t he structures and systems of the society at macro-level. Structural functionalism presents the society as a system consisting of large subsystems economics, politics, law, religion, family, etc. These subsystems are interrelated and mutually dependent. Representatives of structural- functional approach analyze social subsystems and basing on this analysis reveal how these subsystems are mutually dependent, what good or harm they do to the society. Proceeding from Parsons structural-functional analysis each social system has a number of functional requirements or prerequisites that are met within the frameworks of social subsystems: Considering a whole society (e.g., the United States) as a type of social system, Parsons imagined four subsystems emerging to satisfy the four functional needs. Thus, the economy specializes in securing the material conditions of society (adaption); political institutions prioritize the goals of society and ensure that they are attained by mobilizing social resources (goal attainment); the legal system plays a key role in maintaining social regulation and solidarity (integration); and the family, religion, and education aim to produce individuals who have the appropriate needs, values, motives, and skills (pattern maintenance) (Seidman, 1998, p, 109). Thus, the system must adjust to the environment, achieve the aims, have inner unity and be able to preserve this state, to reproduce the structure and relieve a stress in the system. Thanks to the defining these four functions it became possible to analyze the systems of any level in terms of functional subsystems. Talcott Parsons has developed very difficult and extensive concept of society. It is based on a paradigm of social action which Parsons worked all long life in a science. He used a system approach for understanding the society as entire system. At the very high level there is a system of social act a self-organizing system, the specific character of which, unlike the system of physical or biological action, is expressed in the presence of symbolism in the first place (language, values, etc.), secondly, of norms, and finally of irrationality and independence from environment conditions. In this system of social act Parsons defines four subsystems: organism subsystem that ensures the adaptation function and gives the system physical and energy resources to interact with the environment; personality subsystem ensuring achieving the aims; social system that is responsible for integration of the actions of lots of individuals; cultural system that contains values, beliefs, knowledge, e tc. Proceeding from structural functionalism, within the frameworks of the social system Parsons, in his turn, also defines four subsystems and each of them performs one of four main functions: economic one called on to ensure the system adaptation to the environment, political one, the meaning of which is to achieve the aim, societal community, that ensures inner unity and performs the function of integration, and cultural subsystem the function of which is to preserve institutional cultural models, that is responsible for legitimization of normative order and preserving the state of unity. Thus, each subsystem specializes in performing certain function and the results can be used by another, wider system. Besides, each subsystem depends on other subsystems; they exchange the results of their activity. Talkott Parsonss theoretical works do not differ by a surface, the heritage of the classical period of sociology is characteristic for them, which topical in our days too.

Night Mother Essay

Night Mother is a screenplay of a mother who goes through a lot of problems before she finally ends up committing suicide. The woman in question is Jessie who is cast aside due to her poor parenting skills and her epilepsy. She was deemed an unfit parent and also a poor workforce member due to her disease. She does not meet any man and is even scared of venturing out and discovering new sights of the world. In her frustrations, Jessie ends her life. The culmination of events to the death of Jessie is explored in a chilly manner. The people surrounding her each play a different role in the ultimate outcome of her life. With a keener sense of reflection it is easy for one to know exactly why Jessie chose suicide over life. There is so much that is left hanging and in the balance by the demise of Jessie who most people would want to believe could have led life differently (The Internet Movie Database). Hope and love is a theme brought out clearly in the movie ‘Night, Mother. The conversations that Jessie had if they had been more enlightening and encouraging would have probably built her esteem towards life. Most of the talks Jessie has with her mother are redundant and insignificant hence the preference to her father’s silence while he was alive. She loved that her father was happy with the small things and was pleased by the keenness shown to his pipe. He loved his pipe cleaned and that was his biggest bother. If clean she was dotted with her father’s love and attention (Dolan 43). However, her mother acted like always wanted to manipulate Jessie. She barely loves Jessie and is more interested in sending her all over than in teaching her or caring for her. Her mother reveals to Jessie that she barely loved her father when she tells her how the love Jessie had for her father was enough for both of them. Yet Jessie yearns for love and affection and feels it would boost her thoughts about life. When her health improves, and the fear of epilepsy wanes she understands finally how her life revolved around her sickness. She feels her mother is justified in hating her as the sickness consumed all her time and her mother’s time too. She bemoans losing herself to the disease and eventually confesses to her mother that she would rather take her own life for she felt she had already lost it (Demastes 53). Another theme that is evident is role reversal of parent and child. With the use of medicine Jessie starts to feel as though the sickness is imposing too much on her mother. Each time she takes medicine her memory improves and she is able to recall the effort her mother puts into her health. It makes Jessie want to make more of the matter and she is frequently questioning if her mother is enough to take care of her. With this in mind Jessie takes it in her own hands to take care of herself whenever she can. She also cares for her father a role her mother carried out previously but stopped when Jessie started doing it. She is at her mother’s beck and call doing all that she requires yet she is the one that needs nursing and taking care of (De Fazio 72). Jessie finds more solace in helping out at home rather than trying to make friends like people her age. She is an isolated child, chained by the stigma that is her sickness. She readily sent and spends her time locked indoors for fear the epileptic attacks may occur during her walks outdoor. She doesn’t seek to venture out of the house and is spurned by neither nature nor adventure. She keeps to herself and no one questions her that way. She avoids conversation with most people and is seldom seen out of the house (The Internet Movie Database). There is no motivation from her mother to try and discover the world out there. She does not feel the need to do it either. The picture painted of Jessie is a bleak tale of separation from reality. What the mother feels as the prevention of pain and shame for her daughter is actually an ill that grows over time and goes unnoticed. She resents the world and her mother as a result (Brown 91). The family dynamics of this home are complex as they are depressing. The father is at comfort knowing his pipes are cleans and somehow derives gratification from this. It is like his measure of love for his daughter as he is seldom seen to display any form of unwarranted parent love or care. He just does what is needed, going through life as though it were motions. His daughter, Jessie, on the other hand, makes it her point to clean all the pipes as she desires the attention and care shown to her by her father. She is constantly checking to see that her father is fine and at peace (Flora & Taylor 74). The relationship Jessie has with her mother is tumultuous and rocky. Her mother treats Jessie more like a house servant than her own daughter. Jessie does not seem to realize this and is seen to gladly go whenever she is sent. She feels the need to help her mother, out of the guilt of not being able to assist her when she is unwell. She assumes most responsibilities in the house and is constantly making plans for the family like an adult. Jessie however does not entirely like her family. She complains that family usually knows too much to which her mother says it is only normal as the family rarely chooses each other and they are meant to love each other unconditionally (Flora & Taylor 116). In the life of Jessie there is recurrence of determinism and fate. Jessie’s mother feels that she is somewhat to blame for the way her daughter behaves and also for her sickness. She constantly question whether she might have dropped Jessie as a child or if she fed her the wrong kind of food. She confesses that she did not want any more children and she smoked and drunk while carrying Jessie awaiting conception. Jessie tries to reassure her mother saying that it’s just epilepsy and that there was nothing she did that would have lessened the situation. She is categorical in her stating that it was her fate to be epileptic and to commit suicide. She tries very hard to show her mother that the mother’s decision making affects little or even nothing of her current condition. She is but a mere observer to her state; for she believes either way she will die and is only trying to hasten the process (Flora & Taylor 124). A complex morality also plays a part in the unfolding of the story. Jessie’s mother finds a way to get her daughter guilty of committing suicide. She reminds Jessie of how she hates being alone or staying alone hence she feels Jessie should stay around for her. She then tries hard to coax Jessie into shelving her plans by asking her to consider the pain incurred when talking to her friends about Jessie. It is clear that her mother felt the gap that would be left was too huge to fill. Jessie then reminds her mother that the reason she choose to confide in her about committing suicide was so that her mother would be at peace and not have to worry and question herself or blame herself for it is beyond her power to change what she feels (Dolan 105). Jessie further emphasizes the need to know for her mother was her driving force to speak. Jessie does not appreciate how her mother makes it all about her. Even after her clarification, Jessie’s mother is still adamant saying how she is the one whom society will continually shower with sympathy she doesn’t need. She tries more cheap shots at Jessie by telling her how her son will sell all the belongings and go use drugs with that money for lack of guidance. To wish Jessie replies with an equally chiding remark that she will be happy if he found good drugs not cheaply prepared drugs (Demastes 89). From greatness to fall shows how Jessie envisioned her life with her mother. She always thought she was the prized child but in her death she realizes just how estranged she was from her parents and how she is not a befitting parent to her son either. Thelma, Jessie’s mother, asks her to extend her stay by putting away her suicide attempt to which Jessie responds with an astute no. In her plea, Thelma promises to be a better parent and make a better listener than she usually is. Jessie is sure she knows enough not believe her mother. She says she wants a dramatic exit where she leaves at the top (The Internet Movie Database). Just by saying this Jessie shows the viewer how out of touch she is with her son. She does not even put his interests into consideration when taking her life. Asked about contacting her brother, Jessie is shocked that her mother talks to her brother and somewhat irritated. She is heard mumbling about how she had been neglected and set aside as though she was not a member of that family. She quickly defends her rift with her son as an unfortunate occurrence brought about by disease. The children in this family seem to have grown up not knowing parental love or care and consequently lost touch of their togetherness. The sudden announcement of committing suicide spurns Thelma into action and for a moment she is willing to spend even an extra hour with her daughter. In the frenzy she is also trying to communicate with her son Dawson and his wife Loretta (The Internet Movie Database). Even amidst the turmoil of the realization that Jessie will eventually commit suicide the two women still find time to throw humorous statements at each other. At some point Jessie while making reference to her epileptic attacks says she did not even realize when they happened and was only alert when she woke up and found herself in a different set of clothing. She says they gave no warning and sometimes all it gave off was a light buzz to the head and her lights were out. Her mother later remarks, jokingly, that she had a splendid time watching as Jessie and her father turned on and off akin to light bulbs all through the night. They laugh at this rare moment and share glimpses of what could have been done all through their lives (Brown, 94). To break silence Jessie is quick to point out how large her sister in-law’s, feet are big and her mother counters by telling her the share a similar foot size with her in-law. Humor creates closeness and aids in filling the empty void of displeasure that Jessie has carried all her life (Brown, 133). The closeness and sentimentality is also seen where Jessie tells Thelma of how she wants all the night to herself. She just wants to be with her mother and no one else should disturb them. She calls the night a private moment for two. In the sentimentality there is a lot of thought provoking conversations that open the two to learning more of the other. Jessie for the first time gets to confirm that her mother lost all form of affection for her father a long time back. She is neither pleased nor sad at finally getting to hear those words uttered vocally by her mother. She also gets a half-baked confession from her mother who denies any knowledge of the suffering Jessie was going through. Jessie feels despised and takes offence that her own mother would not notice how alone she was yet she was there most of the time (Flora & Taylor 141).

Conformity and anarchy and through unusual language Essay

â€Å"Fight Club† by Chuck Palahniuk explores the theme of masculinity through clever characterisation, exploration of conformity and anarchy and through unusual language.  The traditional role of man was as the head of the family unit. Looking after and providing for his wife and children in the hunter-gatherer role. What if a man has no wife and children? What is his role? What if the man comes from a broken family where he had no father? How is he supposed to live a good male life if he has no good example to follow? These are some of the issues that Chuck Palahniuk confronts on the theme of masculinity in â€Å"Fight Club†. In this essay I will explore the author’s use of characterisation, conformity, anarchy and interesting and unusual language in support of this main theme. The characterisation of the main figure is executed particularly well. The characters of Joe and Tyler are cleverly interwoven throughout the novel until the reader’s realisation that they are both actually the same person. There are a lot of hints in the novel, which suggest this up until it is actually revealed. Several times the narrator, Joe, says,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"I know this because Tyler knows this.†Ã‚  This could be taken as meaning that they are very close friends and tell each other everything or that they are both the same person. The author also refers to the idea of multiple personalities in, â€Å"If I could wake up in a different place, at a different time, could I wake up as a different person?†Ã‚  I think that this illustrates the concept that Joe is a chronic insomniac and changes personality in his sleep.  There are many similarities between Joe and Tyler up until we discover they are the same person. They both love Marla but only Tyler sleeps with her. This provides comic moments when we realise that all through the book Marla has been talking to Joe as her lover but Joe has been talking to her as his friend’s girlfriend. Both Joe and Tyler end up looking like each other, â€Å"Tyler and I were looking more and more like Identical Twins. Both of us had punched-out cheekbones, and our skin had lost its memory, and forgot where to slide back after we were hit.† Tyler starts off looking beautiful, an idyllic version of Joe, he is what Joe wishes he could be. This is indicated in  Ã¢â‚¬Å"perfectly handsome and an angel in his everything-blond way.† He is smart, funny, and knows all of the interesting facts that Joe wishes he knew, like how to break security locks and make C4 explosives. Joe, after discovering how boring his life is asks,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Deliver me Tyler from being perfect and complete†,  In my opinion Tyler starts as an angelic, saviour figure and turns into an evil alter ego once Joe finds out the truth. The key â€Å"Fight Club† theme of masculinity is explored by examining the notions of, conformity and Anarchy. The theme of conformity and non-conformity is examined by the contrast between Joe’s boss and Tyler. Joe’s boss who wears a different tie for each day of the week plays the stereotypical male role. He contrasts directly with Tyler who squats in a house in the warehouse district, urinates in tomato soup at a hotel and splices single frames of pornography into family movies. He is the ultimate non-conformist. This is the exact opposite of  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Mister Boss with his midlife spread and family photo on his desk and his dreams about early retirement and winters spent at a trailer-park hookup in some Arizona desert.† I believe this represents the American Dream and conformity contrasted against Tyler’s vision of anarchy and chaos in a non-conformist nightmare. The language choice in this seems dismissive of the boss’ dream. â€Å"Some† suggests that the dream is irrelevant. The boss also represents Joe’s idea of his father. Joe believes that  Ã¢â‚¬Å"If you’re male, and you’re Christian and living in America, your father is your model for god. And sometimes you find your father in your career.†

Comparison of the British Parliament and the American...

Comparison of the British Parliament and the American Congress Nà ©meth Barbara Szombathely 2005 Introduction I write this essay with the aim of comparing the British Parliament with the American Congress. I personally think that everybody should know the major differences between political system of the US and the UK. First of all, I would like to describe my technical conception in my essay. I separated it in two columns and on the left side I write about the British Parliament and on the other side about the American Congress. I tried to draw a parallel between the two systems and the columns, which are next to each other, examine the two institutes from the same aspect. After each section I summarized what has been written. Of†¦show more content†¦The British Parliament is often called the Mother of Parliaments, as the legislative bodies of many nationsÂâ€"most notably, those of the members of the CommonwealthÂâ€"are modeled on it. However, it is a misquotation of John Bright, who had actually remarked on 18 January 1865 that England is the Mother of Parliaments, in the context of supporting demands for expanded voting rights in a country which had pioneered Parliamentary government. The Congress of the United States is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States of America. It is established by Article One of the Constitution of the United States, which also deliniates its structure and powers. Congress is a bicameral legislature, consisting of the House of Representatives (the Lower House) and the Senate (the Upper House). The House of Representatives consists of 435 members, each of whom is elected by a congressional district and serves a two-year term. Seats in the House are divided between the states on the basis of population, but each state is entitled to at least one seat. In the Senate, on the other hand, each state is represented by two members, regardless of population. 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