![]() ![]() It clearly does not hold for more complex heterogeneous societies. This may well be tenable in social anthropology, in which the analyst is chiefly concerned with highly integrated, homogeneous, non-literate societies. ![]() That the items are therefore necessary for the maintenance of that social system.ĩ Functional fallacies Merton examined each of these postulates in turn and found them inconsistent with logic and observation. ![]() That all such prevalent activities have sociological functions. These postulates are: That all widespread activities are functional for the entire sociocultural system. Merton suggested that this charge is due to the fact that analysts have adopted three postulates that are untenable and unnecessary to the functional orientation. Broadens the analysis to incorporate change as well as stability Makes critical distinctions between functions and personal motives Engages in analysis of a variety of sociocultural phenomena to demonstrate the utility of the perspective.ħ Functional analysis One of the charges hurled against functional analysis in the 1940s and 50s and still echoed today, is that functional analysis is an inherently conservative perspective devoted to preserving the status quo. Merton’s signal contribution to functionalism lies in his clarification and codification of functional analysis, Specifically, he: Strips bare the unexamined assumptions of many of its practitioners. Social scientists as diverse as Malthus, Marx, Durkheim, and Weber have engaged in describing the interrelationships between social phenomena. pdf file of the chapter on Merton, please write me at and put Merton.pdf in the subject line.ģ Functional analysis Robert King Merton ( ) is a self-styled “Durkheimian,” writing very much in the functionalist tradition.Ĥ Functional analysis In conceiving of society as a system it becomes natural to see it, like other systems, as composed of parts that are interrelated and whose operations have consequences for the system as a whole.ĥ Functional analysis The functional orientation has long been implicit in biology and physiology, as well as in the social sciences of anthropology, economics, and sociology. A complete summary of his and other macro-social theories can be found in Macrosociology: The Study of Sociocultural Systems, by Frank W. Merton’s Functional analysisĢ Note: This presentation is based on the theories of Robert King Merton as presented in his books listed in the bibliography. ![]()
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