Talcott Parson and Ronert Merton: Structural Functionalism

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Talcott Parson and Robert Merton are the central tenets of structural-functionalist. According to Calhoun “Functionalism (sometime called “structural –functionalism’) refers to the body of theory first developed in the 1930s and 1940s that treats society as a set of interdependent system. Theory rest on an organic analogy that likens a social system to a physical body, in which each subsystem is necessary to maintain the proper functioning of the entire organism. From a functionalist point of view, the key to understanding a social subsystem is thus to trace its function in the working of the whole.”(calhoun489) Structural functional theory describes society to be a complex system with various interdependent parts that work together to maintain stability. Each part of society has each of which have their own functions and work hand in hand to maintain social stability in the world.
Talcott Parsons have some of the same views of sociology as Durkheim, he believed that social life is categorized by social cooperation. Parsons also believed that commitment to common values maintains or...

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