Structural Functionalism : A Complex System

Functionalism views society as the stability and assimilation of a range of forces that function within it. While society is a separate entity with a life of its own, there are individual elements contributing to that stability. Functionalism as a sociological theory emphasizes assimilation rather than the dissociation of society. Therefore, the society is seen as a whole that is compromised of parts which give one another their identity and their function. The part, whether that is education, such as a school, or sports, such as a football team, operates in relation to the other parts, and cannot be entirely understood in isolation from the other parts. All the parts are interrelated, and when there is a disturbance in any one of the

Structural Functionalism aims to understand society in an objective way. It views society as an entity that is “objectively real”. It emphasizes the unity of society, and how individuals perform roles and how these roles are vital in meeting the needs of the collective whole. For instance, because every society has stratification, stratification must have certain functions and these functions can contribute to the survival of the social system as a whole. Furthermore, structural

To begin with, structural functionalism looks at the society as a bundle of a complex system with different parts that work to support the whole. It stipulates that a society is a combination of interrelated components, which work independently, but seek to achieve a common goal, which supports the growth of the whole system. Some of the systems in the society include the government, schools, businesses, and families. In essence, all these different components are fundamental in the society as they serve different functions to develop the society. On the other hand, social conflict theory looks at the society as a system with equal components, but within the endeavors to grow to find themselves in conflicting paths. Thinking about the society, some of the trends lead to conflict among the people living together. For example, ageism,

Race and ethnicity are two things that have been around since before the colonist journeyed over to America. But what do these two words mean? It is easy for people to confuse them and think that the two definitions can overlap. Race, in sociological terms, is a social concept. The majority of race is concerned with biology and the physical characteristics or hereditary traits a person might have. For example this could be skin, hair, or eye color, or bone structure. Ethnicity is cultural factors that a person would be able to conform to. These factors are shared by people in the subgroups and can be accepted or rejected. Examples of this would be languages, religion, food, and nationality.

Both race and ethnicity are both socially constructed and are a cultural category instead of a biological reality. Race and ethnicity are contrasts between people that we perceive. Race is nearly impossible to exactly define someone as white or black because people are so many different shades of color which makes everyone unique. Ethnicity is socially constructed because the boundaries that make someone a particular ethnicity are fairly flexible. Both of these concepts are used to describe differences between humans and ways that people are identified in society.

Race is defined as a category or group of people widely perceived as sharing socially significant physical characteristics or hereditary traits that set them apart. It is commonly accepted myth that the human species is composed of physically different groups and that these differences are assumed to be genetic. Race is supposed to be based on biological factors. However, the myth is debunked; it is scientifically proven that race is a social construction; although it is based on physical characteristics that presume biological base, most important biological differences between people are invisible and do not play any role in the definition of racial categories. There

Race and Ethnicity – Race is a concept used to differ population groups on the basis of physical characteristics. Races used by the government for statistical purposes are Alaskan Native, American Indian, Asian or Pacific Islander, Black, White, and Unknown. Ethnicity is a concept used to differ population on the basis of cultural characteristics or geographical origins. Ethnic designations used by the government for statistical purposes are of a Hispanic origin o nor of Hispanic origin, and Unknown.

Ethnicity and race are ways to differentiate a group of person from another; therefore, in the 21th century this terms has acquired a powerful meaning in society. A few months ago, I learned how significant this terms are.

Race and ethnicity are the occasionally have been used interchangeably. Race is described as a person’s physical appearance such as skin color, eye color, hair and many other biological traits and characteristics. Race mainly refers to the differences in skin color in the contemporary world. When we say that person is fair skinned or is black we are referring to the race of that person. Ethnicity is the cultural aspect of a an individual or a group such as the nationality of the person, the language they use to communicate, their descendants , the particular region they inhabit for example American, African, African Americans, etc. In a nutshell race is an overview of how you look and ethnicity is the social and cultural aspect of grouping you are born into.

Structural Functionalism is defined as, “a society which is a whole unit made up of interrelated parts that work together” and “ its society as a living organism/ machine that has multiple organs and parts and people to fulfill their individual functions; working together to make it happen ” (Henslin 2015, Smith 2017).

First of all, according to the functionalism, society is a complex system whose part interconnect to promote a stable society. The structural functionalism falls under the macro perspectives, it’s based on the works of Emile Durkheim, who wanted to prove that the social forces can affect people’s behavior. The parts of the society are composed of the social institutions, they are identified with a social purpose and permanence, each one of them has a different objective and role in the functioning of the society. All the institutions depend on each other and if one of them stops doing their job, all the society will be affected. The reason for the existing of social issues is the changes that happens in the society, changes in traditions, changes in norms and values. For example, the rates of suicide increased during the war and economic depression because people found it hard to lose everything during these two events, so they thought that the only solution for this problem is the suicide. Some people find it hard to adapt to these changes; this failure leads to social problems. For example, some people commit suicide because of other people bullying and or cyberbullying. Another reason that may cause one to take

James M. Henslin defines race as “a group of people with inherited physical characteristics that distinguish it from another group” (2014). Meanwhile, ethnicity “refers to cultural characteristics” (Henslin, 2014). The difference mostly relies in a similar argument to the classic nature versus nurture argument. Race is what a person genetically inherits. Whether it may be skin tone or anatomical features, they are dictated by something outside of a person’s personal preference. An example of race is that a person could be caucasian or latino. They do not get to choose, they are simply given the traits of that race through their bloodline.

People are usually categorized in terms of race and/or ethnicity. Race is a term typically used to classify people according to similar and specific physical characteristics. Ethnicity is a term more broadly used that connects people according to an inherited status such as: a shared ancestry, language, history, religion, cuisine, art, clothing style, and/or physical appearance, etc.

Structural functionalism is a macro level approach to study sociology (Browning, 2015). Structural functionalists believe social consensus is what holds society together; social consensus being a condition in which most members of the society agree on what would be good for everyone. Structural functionalists view society as a web of social structures, each structure being functional to fulfill it’s own needs, but dependent on all other structures for survival (Vago, 2012).

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.