Theories and Methods - Society as a Functional Unit

Durkheim and Social Facts

• Durkheim believed that sociology should be the study of social facts
• Social facts are objective, external and constraining
• Society has a distinct quality that cannot be reduced to the motives of individuals
• In his theory of suicide, Durkheim was arguing that the level of external constraint in society could shape behaviour
• His main concern was how society hangs together through shared values
• This is the collective conscience

Parsons and Society as a Social System

• Society is a functional unit
• People have the capacity to make decisions
• Core values and norms create social integration
• Society has three systems - the personality system, the social system and the cultural system
• The social system is the central system, for it to function and survive it must fulfill the functional prerequisites
• These are - adaption, goal attainment, integration and pattern maintenance
• The systems are interconnected
• However Parsons is keen to link social structure to social action and suggests people can choose their own…