Contemporary Sociological Theory – Wallace (1)

It is more centrally a social process, a process of self­ interaction in which the human actor indicates to himself matters that con­ front him in the situation in which he acts, and organizes his action through his interpretation of such matters. The actor engages in this social interaction with himself, according to Mead, by taking the roles of others, addressing himself through these roles, and responding to these approaches. This concep­ tion of self-interaction in which the actor is pointin21 out things to himself lies at the basis of Mead’s scheme of social psychology.

The self, then, is active and creative; there are no such ingredients as social, cultural, or psychological variables that “determine” the actions of the self. Blumer often depicted social scientists’ different views of the self in his own classroom teaching by means of a drawing like Figure 4-1, as he enthusiastically transmitted Mead’s ideas to his students. Here one can see what the symbolic interactionists are rejecting in the functionalists’ view of the individual. Functionalists like Parsons tend to look at human beings as passive agents impinged upon by social and psychological forces.

According to Blumer, “the process of self-indication by means of which human action is formed cannot be accounted for by factors which precede the act.”25 In Blumer’s estimation, social exchange theorists like George Homans share this passive view of human beings. Blumer writes: The self, or indeed human being, is not brought into the picture merely by introducing psychological elements, such as motives and interests, alongside of societal elements.

Such additions merely compound the error of the omis­ sion. This is the flaw in George Homans’ presidential address on “Bringing Men Back In.”26 24Herbert Blumer, “Comments on ‘Parsons as a Symbolic Interactionist,”‘ Sociological Inquiry, 45 (1975), 68. 25BJumer, Symbolic Interactionism, p. 82. 26lbid., p. 64. We discuss Homans’ address in Chapter Six, p. 291. 190 Symbolic lnteractionism In contrast to this passive view of the individual, Mead stresses peo­ ple’s ability, through the mechanism of self-interaction, to form and guide their own conduct. Mead’s position is that individuals act on their own environment, and in so doing they create the objects that people it.

He dis­ tinguishes between “things,” or stimuli that exist prior to and independent of the individual, and “objects,” which exist only in relation to acts.

Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 07632 _____ .. .._ . .. .. ____ – Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wallace, Ruth A. Contemporary sociological theory : continuing the classical tradition / Ruth A. Wallace, Alison Wolf,-4th ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-13-036245-X 1. Sociology. 2. Sociology-Philosophy. I. Wolf, Alison. II. Title HM51.W15 1995 301′.01-dc20 To Our Families and Students Editor in chief: Nancy Roberts Associate editor: Sharon Chambliss Editorial/production supervision, interior design, and electronic page makeup: Mary Araneo Buyer: Mary Ann Gloriande Editorial assistant: Pat Naturale Copyeditor: Hemy Pels Cover designer: Carol Ceraldi 94-43559 CIP Ill © 1995, 1991, 1986, 1980 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.

A Simon & Schuster Company Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 07632 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher. Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ISBN □-13-036245-X Prentice-Hall International (UK) Limited, London Prentice-Hall of Australia Pty.

Limited, Sydney Prentice-Hall Canada Inc., Toronto Prentice-Hall Hispanoamericana, S.A., Mexico Prentice-Hall of India Private Limited, New Delhi PÐentice-Hall of Japan, Inc., Tokyo SÑon & Schuster Asia Pte. Ltd., Singapore Ed1tora Prentice-Hall do Brasil, Ltda., Rio de Janeiro \ Contents m Preface CHAPTER ONE m The Understanding of Society The Structure of Sociological Theory, 3 Theory and Understanding: The Examples of Formal Education and the Role of Women in Contemporary Society, 14 CHAPTER TWO m Functionalism Introduction, 1 7 Intellectual Roots: The Influence of Emile Durkheim, 19 PART ONE: Talcott Parsons: Grand Theory, 26 Background, 26 Parsons’ System Levels, 28 Parsons’ Theory of Action, 30 The Pattern Variables, 31 ix 1 16 iii ,,– iv Contents The Functional System Problems-AGIL, 37 Social Change, 46 PART lWO: Robert K.

Merton: Middle-Range Theory, 54 Background, 54 Theories of the Middle Range, 55 Clarifying Functional Analysis, 56 Merton’s Theory of Deviance, 64 The Role Set, 66 PART THREE: Neofunctionalism, 68 Conclusion, 7 3 CHAPTER THREE ¥ Conflict Theory Introduction: The Two Traditions, 76 Intellectual Roots, 78 PART ONE: Conflict Theory and the Critique of Society, 88 Marxist and Neo-Marxist Sociology, 90 Critical Theory: The Frankfurt School and Jiirgen Habermas, 111 C.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

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