Functionalist sociology studies how shared beliefs and actions build and sustain societies, emphasizing cohesion, stability, and usefulness. It operates on a structural functionalist philosophy that considers how all parts of a structure work together. Critics argue that it ignores conflicts and radical social changes, leading to the emergence of conflict sociology and interactionism.
Sociology involves the study of the behaviors of groups of people. Several fields of sociology strive for this understanding, including functionalist sociology. The theory operates on a structural functionalist philosophy, which considers how the various parts of a structure work together to make that structure operable. In sociological terms, individuals create shared traditions and behaviors that ultimately build and sustain groups such as civilizations or societies. Perspective emphasizes cohesion, stability, and usefulness.
The term functionalist sociology is an offshoot of a broader social science theory of structural functionalism. At a basic level, this theory holds that the whole is the sum of its parts. Any structure, be it a physical structure such as a building, a biological structure such as a body, or a social structure such as a civilization, can only function or function properly when all of its interconnected parts work together. Furthermore, every part of a structure, good or bad, serves an ultimate purpose and creates solidarity.
In the case of sociology, these separate parts usually consist of the aspects of a society that humans have built to create cohesion between peoples. Each culture, for example, typically has customs that most individuals in that culture perform. These shared behaviors could include large-scale behaviors such as work or minor traditions such as specific ceremonies or celebrations. Shared belief systems are another common unit of groups of people. Similar values and beliefs lead to the emergence of institutions such as religion and legal or political systems.
Shared beliefs and actions, according to functionalist sociology, are what ultimately build and sustain civilizations. Behaviors that create cohesion are rewarded and anti-group behaviors are punished. Since sociology is the study of human groups, it is essential to understand the conditions that unite and stabilize those groups. The same principles can be applied to the study of past civilizations in anthropology, which is why structural functionalism is a prominent theory in that social science as well.
Critics have attacked functionalist sociology on two main points. For one, they argue, the theory somewhat ignores the conflicts that arise within societies. While functionalists emphasize harmony and balance within groups, wars and countless other small physical and philosophical battles occur every day because of individual differences. Furthermore, functionalist sociology praises a view of the status quo of society without considering the often radical social changes that can take place within a society or group at any given time. Two other major branches of sociology—conflict sociology and interactionism—arose as a response to perceived gaps in functional sociological theory.
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