Sociological Perspective On Society And Society

There are three theories that sociologist hold responsible to explain and describe what’s going on in the world. The three theories are functionalist theory, conflict theory and symbolic interactionism theory. Each theory has a different perspective for how the world works. Functionalist look at different parts of society to see how each part of society can function effectively. By looking at different parts of society functionalist try to achieve balance and harmony. The conflict theory sees society as being in a competition for scarce resources. Conflict theorists consider everything that is limited not just money. Lastly, the Symbolic interactionism theory sees society as being recreated everyday by having social interactions with one another. Symbols are what make society what it is. For instance Language is a symbol used constantly to communicate with one another. From what I have learned this semester in sociology, I believe that the Functionalist theory explains how the world works. Without one of the five basic social institutions: family, economy, education, religion and government, society would fall apart. Religion and education shapes families and depicts ones morals and values. Religion also plays a role in families political views. Without politics there would be no government and without government there would be no economy. Each social institution plays a huge effect on one another.

Functionalism is a theory by Durkheim that conveys that all aspects of a society serve a function and are necessary for the survival of that society. In this way, society is like an organism. If all institutions work properly it contributes to the

Sociologists employ three major theoretical perspectives in sociology today. They are the structural-functionalist perspective, the conflict perspective, and the symbolic interactionism. The structural-functionalist perspective is done at a macro level and its focus is on the relationships between the parts of society. The Conflict perspective is done at a macro level and its main focus is on how the wealthy controls the poor and weak.

Functionalists believe that you can compare society to a living organism, in that both a society and an organism are made up of mutually supporting working parts and systems that must function together in order for the body to function. An example of this can be found in the theory of Emergence. Functionalist sociologists say that the different parts of society e.g. the family, education, religion, law and order, media etc. have to be seen in terms of the contribution that they make to the functioning of the whole of society. This sees the different parts of society working together to form a social system in the same way that the different parts of an organism form a consistent functioning body.

Think about putting a child through school. The child gets the education needed provided by the state, in return we pay for taxes to the state to keep the education funded. The significance of functionalism is it keeps everything balanced. When schools run out of money the budgets must shrink and activities would be cut to balance out the lack of funds. The last factor is conflict theory in which there is a competition for scarce resources (Three Major Perspectives in Sociology). Sociological perspective invites us to look for the connections between the behavior of individual people and the structures of the society in which they live (Henslin 17). The sociological perspective is a particular way of approaching a phenomenon common in sociology, by applying all three factors that have been discussed. It involves maintaining independence, not by stripping oneself of values, but by critically evaluating and testing ideas, and accepting what may be surprising or even displeasing based on the evidence. (Henslin 18). The sociological perspective often assumes that “official” explanations are incomplete or self-serving. It involves a conscious effort to go beyond the obvious and question what is accepted as true or common sense. This is important because common-sense assumptions are usually based on very limited observation. Moreover, the premises on which common-sense assumptions are based are seldom examined. 
The sociological perspective

Functionalist perspective is a macro level of analysis which refers to the bigger picture of the society. “According to functionalism, society is a system of interconnected parts that work together in harmony to maintain a state of balance and social equilibrium for the whole (Mooney 2007).” The society believes that it is like a clock work. All the gears are well lubricated and aligned with each other so it functions well. Like the example of mechanism in a clock, each person knows what s/he needs to do in the society for it to all work together.

Functionalism. Theory that various social institutions and processes in society exist to serve important and necessary functions in order to keep society running. Conley (2013) refers to Emile Durkheim and Talcott Parsons’ belief that the best way to analyze society is to identify the roles that different aspects or phenomena play.

Functionalist one of the “theories” of sociology are mainly concerned with the function of education to society and to seek solution to the following questions, “what is the relevance of education to the social system and “what are the relationship between education and economic system”.

Functionalism: According to the functionalist perspective of sociology, each aspect of society is interdependent and contributes to society's stability and functioning as a whole. For example, the government provides education for the children of the family, which in turn pays taxes on which the state depends to keep itself running. The family is dependent upon the school to help children grow up to have good jobs so that they can raise and support their own families.

Functionalism is one of the major theoretical perspectives in sociology which explains how social order is possible or how society remains relatively stable.

Functionalism is a consensus perspective, whereby society is based on shared values and norms into which members are socialised. For functionalists, society is seen as a system of social institutions such as the economy, religion and the family all of which perform socialisation functions.

There are three major social theories that help sociologist take a deeper look into society as a whole and understand why things may be the way they are. These theories are known as Theoretical Paradigms and it consists of structural functionalism, social conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. Structural functionalism is the blueprint for these theories, it envisions society as a complex system whose elements operate together to encourage solidarity and stability. Its main focus is “focusing on social structures as well as the functions that such structures perform” (Ritzer 29). Robert Meron, a structural functionalist, developed the concepts for this theory especially the central concept, functions. “These are the observable, positive consequences of a structure that help it survive, adapt, and adjust.” (Ritzer 29). Like all the other theories and studies in the world of sociology, structural functionalism comes with its own strengths and weaknesses. Exceptionally, the functionalist theory is the foundation for everything, it defines that everything has a purpose, job, or function in our society. What that recognizes is that society is constructed of integrated parts that are drawn together, consequently, if something is wrong with one it will affect the other. The functionalist theory neglects to explain opposition to social

The structural-functional theory also known as functionalism is sociological theory that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability. Functionalists view education as a contribution to the smooth inner working of society. Education is a lifelong process, we are constantly learning new things and deepening our knowledge of things we already know. The education system works to prepare individuals to become fully functioning members of society. It works to teach people certain skills that will help them to be successful in life. However, education not only teaches people the skills they will need to be successful in life, but it also teaches them how to be decent citizens and to work well with others. Many people view education are a service to the overall function of society.

Within taking the course of Sociology I believe that the relationship that I have had with society has definitely strengthened and improved. As time goes on, knowledge grows and that is completely how I feel since taking this course and learning all these new concepts. How I perceive a lot of situations in life has definitely changed, from how I handled or viewed something before vs now is a total 360 degree change. Each and every chapter I am enlightened with new thoughts and views in and around the society I live in today. The concepts within the units we have learned in class that has made me have a better understanding with myself and society include, blah blah, blah, and blah blah. There are many more lessons that I have been taught about, but to condense them all down I believe these three topics have impacted me the most. There is also a key concept within the past few chapters that I hope will stick through me for years to come as well.

Sociology is an important term to understand as it explains social life, behavior, and change. Everything that individuals, groups, companies, and even nations do shapes our world and how we interact with others. With that in mind, there are many things that shape society and the groups within it like culture, race, gender, family, groups and organizations, education, and the ever changing norms that we associate with in everyday life. A lot of these norms are influenced by the media. Television shows, movies, music, and celebrities impact individual lives every single day and because of our interaction with other people, media can easily change our society. As it can have such an impact, it is good to look into the sociology that is hidden in movies so we can understand the changes that happen around us. Even though some movies are very realistic and true to the world we live in, some are not, but this does not mean that we cannot sociologically study it. Lilo & Stitch is one example of a movie that is not very realistic but there are many aspects in the movie that are true to society that can be illuminated sociologically.