SOCI 3430 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Talcott Parsons, Émile Durkheim, Neofunctionalism
18 Jul 2016
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Document Summary
Survival of the fittest justifies why only the strong should survive. Societies evolve because they need to change in order to survive. Environmental pressures allow beneficial traits to be passed on to future generations. Social darwinism draws upon darwin"s idea of natural selection; asserts societies evolve according to the same principles as biological organisms. Laissez-faire approach (opposes regulation of or interference with natural processes) Human action originates in the collective rather than in the individual. Social facts are general social features that exist on their own and are independent of individual manifestations. Interested in explaining why people do what they do. Social action theory is a framework, which attempts to separate behaviours from actions to explain why people do what they do. Inclusion of a conflict orientation, emphasizing uncertainty and interactional creativity. Overemphasis on the extent to which harmony and stability actually exist in society. Assimilation of people of colour and immigrants into the mainstream society.
