 |
| Introduction to Sociology |
Introduction
to Sociology SOC101
VU
Lesson
3
THEORETICAL
PARADIGMS
Theory
is a statement of how and why
specific facts are related.
The
job of sociological theory is
to
explain
social behavior in the real
world. For example why
some groups of people have higher
suicide rates
than
others?
In
building theory, sociologists
face two basic facts:
What issues should we study?
How should we connect
the
facts? How sociologists
answer these questions
depends on their theoretical "road
map" or paradigm.
(It
is pronounced as para-daia-um.)
Paradigm
is a basic image of society. A
theoretical paradigm provides a
basic image of
society
that
guides thinking and research.
For
example: Do societies remain
static? Do they continuously keep
changing?
What keeps them stable? What
makes societies ever
changing?
Salient
Paradigms
Sociology
has three major paradigms reflecting
different images of
society:
1.
The
Structural-Functional
2.
The
Social-Conflict
3.
The
Symbolic-Interaction
1.
The Structural-Functional Paradigm:
It
is a framework for building
theory that sees society as a complex
system whose parts work together to
promote solidarity
and
stability.
The
paradigm is based on the idea
that:
1.
Our
lives are guided by social
structure i.e.
relatively stable patterns of social
behavior. Social
structure
gives our lives shape,
whether it be in families, the workplace, or the
classroom.
2.
Social
structures can be understood in terms of
their social functions, or consequences
for the
operation
of society as a whole. All social
structures from simple
handshake to complex religious
rituals
function to keep society
going.
All
social structures contribute to the
operation of
society.
Herbert
Spencer (1820-1903) compared
society to the human body.
The structural parts of human
body
the
skeleton, muscles, and
various internal organs
show interdependence, each
contributing to the survival
of
the entire organism. Similarly various
social structures, such as the
family, educational system,
and the
economy
are interdependent, working in concert to
preserve the society.
Talcott
Parsons (1902-1979) saw
society as a system, and
sought to identify the basic
tasks that any and
all
societies
must perform to survive and the
way they accomplish these
tasks.
Robert
K. Merton (1910-2003) looked at
functions in a different
way:
1.
The
consequences of any social
pattern are likely to differ
for various categories of
people.
For
example conventional family pattern
provides for the support and development of
children,
but
it also confers privileges on men
while limiting the opportunities
for women.
2.
People
rarely perceive all the
functions of a social structure.
He therefore
distinguishes
between
manifest
functions
the
recognized and intended
consequences of a social
pattern
---
and
latent
functions
the
largely unrecognized and
unintended consequences. Manifest
functions of
educational
institution imparting knowledge, preparing young
people for job market
Latent
function
could be keeping so many young people out
of the labor market.
7
Introduction
to Sociology SOC101
VU
3.
Not all the effects of
any social system benefit
everyone in society. There could be
social
dysfunctions
i.e.
undesirable
consequences for the operation of
society. Not
everyone agrees on what is
beneficial
and what is harmful. Is women
empowerment functional?
Critical
Evaluation
The
chief characteristic of
structural-functional paradigm is its
vision of society as orderly, stable,
and comprehensible. Goal
is
to
figure out `What makes the society
tick.'
How
can we assume that society
has a "natural" order? If
that is natural then there should be no
variation
in
the social pattern of people at different
places, and there should be no
change over time.
How
about the inequalities in society
that generate tension and
conflict?
Approach
appears to be conservative.
2.
The Social-Conflict Paradigm
The
social conflict framework
sees
society as an arena of inequality
that generates conflict
and
change.
Unlike
structural-functional paradigm, which
emphasizes solidarity, this approach
highlights
division
based on inequality.
Factors
like gender, ethnicity,
social class, and age
are linked to the unequal
distribution of money, power,
education,
and social prestige.
A
conflict analysis suggests that, rather
than promoting the operation of
society as a whole, social
structure
typically
benefits some people while depriving the
others
There
is an on-going conflict between
dominant and disadvantaged
categories of people rich
and
poor, white and the colored,
men in relation to
women.
People
on top strive to protect their
privileges, while the disadvantaged
try to gain more
resources
for themselves.
Schooling
perpetuates inequality by reproducing the
class structure in every new
generation.
Who
goes to school, to college, to
university, to vocational training
institution?
How
do the structural-functionalists look at the above
analysis? Structural- Functionalists assert
that such
tracking
benefits all of society because
students receive training
that is appropriate to their
academic
abilities.
Conflict
sociologists counter the argument saying
that `tracking' often has
less to do with talent than
with a
student's
social background, so that the well to do
are placed in higher tracks
and the poor children end
up
in
lower tracks.
Young
people from privileged families
gain the best schooling,
and, when they leave
college, they pursue
prestigious,
higher income careers. That is
not the case for children
from poor families. In both
cases the
social
standing of one generation is passed on
to another, with the schools
justifying the practice in terms
of
individual
merit.
Conflict
sociologists not only try to
understand the inequality in society
but also try to influence to
reduce
inequality
in society. They want to change the
system.
8
Introduction
to Sociology SOC101
VU
Critical
Evaluation
This
school of thought has a
large following.
This
paradigm highlights inequality
and division in society, but
it largely ignores how
shared values and
interdependence
can generate unity among
members of a society.
To
a great extent, this paradigm has
political goals, therefore it cannot
claim objectivity. Conflict
theorists
counter
that all approaches have
political consequences.
3.
The Symbolic-Interaction
Paradigm
The
structural-functionalists and social-conflict
paradigms share a macro-level
orientation, meaning
a focus
on
broad social structures that
shape society as a whole.
The
symbolic interaction paradigm provides a
micro-level
orientation, meaning
a focus
on social interaction in
specific
situations.
The
symbolic-interaction
paradigm sees society
as the product of the everyday interactions of
individuals. "Society"
amounts
to the shared
reality that
people construct as they interact with
one another.
Human
beings are the creatures who
live in the world of symbols,
attaching meaning
to
virtually
everything.
Symbols
attached to reality (material or non
material).
Meanings
attached to symbols.
Symbols
are the means of communication.
Therefore:
Symbols
as the basis of social
life
·
Without
symbols we would have no
mechanism of perceiving others in terms
of relationships
(aunts
and uncles, employers and
teachers). Only because we
have these symbols like
aunts and
uncles
that define for us what such
relationships entail. Compare these
symbols with symbols
like
boyfriend
or girlfriend; you will see
that the relationships change quite
differently.
·
Without
symbols we cannot coordinate our actions
with others; we would be
unable to plan for a
future
date, time, and place.
Without symbols there will
be no books, movies, no schools,
no
hospitals,
and no governments. Symbols
make social life
possible.
·
Even
self is symbol, for it
consists of the ideas that we
have about who we are.
May be changing.
As
we interact with others we may constantly
adjust our views of the
self, based on how we
interpret
the reactions of others.
We
define our realities. The
definitions could vary. The definitions
could be subjective. For example
who
is
a homeless? Who is a police officer
a provider of security or creator of
anxiety. It has a subjective
meaning.
Max
Weber is an exponent of this paradigm. He
emphasized the need to understand
any social setting
from
the
point of view of the people in
it.
A
person is the product of his
experiences with
others
Critical
Evaluation
Without
denying the usefulness of abstract social
structures like the family,
and social class this
paradigm
reminds
us that society basically
amounts to people
interacting. How
individuals experience
society.
This
approach ignores the widespread
effects of culture as well as factors
like social class, gender,
and race.
9