Functionalism And Robert Merton's Model Of Functionalism

Sociology is the study the different aspects of humanity and society. It encompasses a very broad and varying range of topics. It can be studied on a large world-wide scale spanning across several countries, which is called Macrosociology. It can also be studied on a small scale looking at only individual families or neighborhoods, which is called Microsociology. Not only does it peer into humans’ interactions with each other but examines why they act the way they do. It considers the environment, as well as how access to different luxuries can contribute to the people that we become. In this fascinating field there are three primary views on exactly what the fundamental driving force behind society is. Symbolic Interactionalism, the belief that symbols and the meaning that they are given, define how we will perceive life, in this philosophy these meanings are influenced by society and the events of individual lives. Functional Analysis, views society as any other organism, in this theory all parts of the whole must work together cohesively to function. Conflict theory takes a somewhat opposite view than Functionalism, this perspective suggests that rather than wanting to work in unison, society’s underlying motive is a power struggle for resources. Over the course of this paper the reader will explore these different perspectives.

Theories have been composed and exposed by various philosophers to clarify their reasoning about the mind. Dualism, Behaviorism, and Identity Theory, are well-known theories supported by well-written explanations. A modern theory, Functionalism provides ample insight to the main problem philosophers deal with, the mind/body problem.

Sociology can be seen through three perspectives: functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. The three perspectives are similar; they all describe how society works. However, each perspective mentions a different mechanism of society evolves. An excerpt from the book Teenage Wasteland: Suburbia’s Dead-End Kids, written by Donna Gaines, and an article from the Sociological Inquiry called “Working at Bazooms: The Intersection of Power, Gender, and Sexuality”, written by Meika Loe, can be read with each perspective applied.

Over the years, more people have become pro-choice because of the many circumstances under which a woman might need to have an abortion. Pro-Life and Pro-Choice supporters are almost 50/50 in the U.S., now. Today, many government officials are in the process of trying to shut down Planned Parenthood, which is where many women, and even men, go when they cannot afford to see another physician, or just because Planned Parenthood gives exceptional health care. If this business shuts down, many lower income individuals will have no way of seeing a doctor if they think they are pregnant, need an STI screening, need to have an abortion, etc. While these people will have no way of paying for a doctor, middle and upper class individuals will still be able to afford going to another doctor for these types of issues. This means the middle/upper class would have less unwanted babies, allowing them to push off having a child until they are financially and emotionally prepared, while the lower class will have higher numbers of unwanted babies because they could not afford an abortion. It is possible that some type of dialectical model could be created that would appeal to both groups, but as the conflict theory states, there will always be some disagreement.

Social issues that are discussed in the issue of abortion are the effects of abortion on society and the ideas of social justice and equality. Supporters of abortion claim that a ban on abortion has serious negative effects on the poor. More than two hundred thousand women die annually in developing nations as a result of illegal abortions because they could not afford or access abortion services. Furthermore, if woman delivers the child because she did not have access to services that terminated her unwanted pregnancy, that child may be abandoned, which poses more problems for children and society. To counter this, abortion advocates proposed that every woman, regardless of status, should have equal access to basic services. Restrictions of abortion deny poor, less-educated women equal access to these facilities, which increases their risk of performing illegal abortions or having unwanted children that they cannot provide for

Abortion has taken the lives of more than 50 million babies since 1973 (“About Abortion”). The issue of abortion is one of the most common controversial issues in American politics and culture. In modern society, many women that have an unintended pregnancy and they result to abortion without researching other options. Abortion is not a substitute for birth control and this issue should be taken seriously. The individual woman needs to understand that by agreeing to have an abortion she is agreeing to kill an innocent fetus. Abortion rips the unborn child from his or hers right to life. Society needs to let women see through the eyes of the fetus and find alternative ways to raise the baby. Abortion should be

Out of all modern social controversies, perhaps the most heated controversy is that of abortion. In today’s society you are either a Pro-life or a Pro-choice, there is not a middle ground. Pro-life are individuals who believe abortion is immoral and should be stop for the wellbeing of women and unborn babies. In contrast, the Pro-choice individuals do not necessarily promote abortion, they just believe women should be the ones to make decisions over their bodies and health. Although the two main sides of the abortion debate have concerns for human life, pro-life activists worries more about the fetus and morals, a clear difference from the pro-choice that worries more for the women and their rights. Based on the points I explored, the pro-choice arguments are stronger than pro-life arguments. Most of both groups arguments comes from peer-reviewed researches from well-known sources to support each individual concept. Effects on women,socio-politics, and fetus are some of the main point of conflicts between the pro-life and pro-choice advocates.

In the world of sociology there are many different ways that humans interact with the world. Although we are all human beings, we do not always see the world the same way that others do. Even though not many are aware of the different ways they can see the world, there are three sociological perspectives. Using structural functionalism, the conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism one will be able to decide which view best represents the way they see this world. When asked about my perspective on the world, I view it using the conflict theory due to the examples that society gives us based on events that happen frequently. Even though all three of these theories are socially correct, the conflict theory defines my view of the world more than structural functionalism and symbolic interaction.

The Rational Choice Theory views social order as the unplanned outcome of acts of exchange between members of society (Encyclopedia.com, 2016). When it comes to having abortion or even considering, the decision falls under what society think is morally right. Sometimes not being educated can lead to African American women making outlandish decisions. Time limits on abortion are set to prevent a viable fetus from being aborted and avoid risks to the mother's health. From state to state abortion limitations vary. It goes by the fetal age of viability which is around 24 weeks (Dehlendorf, C., Rodriguez, M. I., Levy, K., Borrero, S., & Steinauer, J. , 2010). African American adolescent women who are not familiar with abortion and the laws associated make a decision on having an abortion when the fetus is considered a human. This results in fearful African Americans women turning to back alleys to abort their fetus because they believe it's their only choice to not be stereotyped. Politics also influences women in choosing this option due to politicians feel empowered to limit access to abortion and discriminate against abortion providers (Baum, S., Herold, S., Grossman, D., Blanchard, K., Upadhyay, U., & Cockrill, K., 2014). The Hyde Amendment prohibits federal Medicaid funds from being used to pay for abortion except in rare circumstances (Dehlendorf, C., Harris, L. H., & Weitz, T. A., 2013). While

Comparing and Contrasting How the Three Sociological Theories View the World Steven Spears Southern New Hampshire University Abstract In the world of sociology, there are three views, the conflict, functionalist, and interactionist. Each theory can be used to view the world and its social structure. Though they can be considered independent, it behooves us to examine, additionally, the combining of these views to better elaborate on the social constructs we are witness to.

The issue of a woman’s right to her own body, within the last few decades, has become a progressively intriguing social dilemma in American society. More specifically the topic of abortion is not as taboo as it was thirty years ago although the debate has continued as to whether or not the decision should rest solely on the woman. Merriam Webster defines abortion as the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus as induced expulsion of the human fetus. This is a controversial subject that can be argued quite effectively for or against a woman’s right to choose. The three major sociological perspectives of conflict theory, symbolic interactionism, and functionalism

Sociological theory creates ways to understand the social world by having different theories to explain understand social life. It aids to make sense of this social world. It draws together a wide range of perspectives to help provide the fullest picture. (Macionis & Plummer p.36) It shows that one theory can explain something that another cannot. My aim is to answer this question with reference to both functionalism and conflict theory. This will be done by comparing and contrasting both theories in relation to their perspectives on both suicide and gender discrimination as social issues relevant to this day and age. Functionalism and conflict perspectives are both macro theories. This means that they focus on the big picture, for

Sociology is the function of the human society, and social problems among us. There are three different theories that I will be discussing in this essay. The theories are symbolic interactionism, The conflict theory and functional analysis perspectives. These perspectives help make up the way society thinks as a whole. All three of these perspectives are alike, as much as they are different.

Functionalist theory is one of the major theoretical perspectives in sociology. It can be argued that the functionalist theory has made a significant contribution to the study of society. It originates from the work of Emile Durkheim who suggests that social order is possible and society remains stable due to the functioning of several institutions. Everything has a specific function in society and society will always function in harmony. The main institutions studied by functionalism are the family, the education system, religion and crime and deviance.

Functionalist and Marxist are macro sociological theories that give a better understanding of the society. Functionalist theory is referred to as the consensus whilst the Marxist theory is known as the conflict theory. Key features of both theories are going to be identified and discussed.