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Book No. – 002 (Sociology)
Book Name – Sociology (C.N. Shankar Rao)
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1. TALCOTT PARSONS [1902-1979)
1.1. Biographic Sketch of Parsons
1.2. Intellectual Influence of Weberian Thoughts on Parson
1.3. Parsons’ Professional Life
1.4. Cold War Between Sorokin and Parsons
1.5. Waves of Criticisms About Parsons Views and Thoughts
1.6. Death of the Epoch-Maker in Sociology
1.7. Main Works of Talcott Parsons
2. MAIN CONTRIBUTIONS OF TALCOTT PARSONS TO SOCIOLOGY
2.1. PARSONS THEORY OF SOCIAL ACTION
2.2. PARSONS’ CONCEPT OF SOCIAL SYSTEM
2.3. PATTERN VARIABLES
2.4. FUNCTIONAL PRE-REQUISITES OF SOCIAL SYSTEM
3. ROBERT K. MERTON (1910-2003)
3.1. A Brief Biographic Sketch of Merton
3.2. Merton’s Educational and Professional Life
3.3. Merton and Lazarsfeld Form the Brilliant Team at Columbia University
3.4. Social Thinkers who Influenced R.K. Merton
3.5. Major Contributions of Merton
4. MAJOR CONTRIBUTIONS OF R.K. MERTON
4.1. SOCIAL CONFORMITY AND DEVIANCE
4.2. MERTON’S THEORY OF ANOMIE OR DEVIANCE OR MERTON’S STRAIN THEORY
4.3. MANIFEST AND LATENT FUNCTIONS
4.4. CONCEPT OF DYSFUNCTION
4.5. REFERENCE GROUP THEORY
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Talcott Parsons and Robert K. Merton : Their Contributions
Sociology
Chapter – 60
TALCOTT PARSONS [1902 – 1979]
- Talcott Parsons was the most influential American sociologist of the 20th century and a leading exponent of functionalism.
- For 20-30 years after World War II, Parsons was the major theoretical figure in America and the English-speaking world, dominating sociological thought.
- Parsons was a theorist, not part of the dominant tradition of American empirical research.
- His work was often criticized but also supported, remaining central in debates on sociological theory until the mid-1970s.
- Although Parsons has fewer followers today, he is recognized as the greatest spokesman of functionalism and a key figure in theoretical sociology.
- He introduced the works of Durkheim and Max Weber to American readers and laid the foundation for the modern “functionalist perspective”.
- As a professor at Harvard University, he influenced numerous students through his teachings and writings.
- Parsons was a prolific writer, contributing significantly to the history of sociology.
Biographic Sketch of Parsons
- Talcott Parsons was born in 1902 at Colorado Springs in America, into a family with a strong religious and intellectual background.
- His father was a congregational minister and a professor who later became the president of a college.
- Parsons’ father instilled a strong educational interest in him and helped develop his work culture.
- He completed his pre-degree from Amherst College in 1924.
- Parsons then moved to the U.K. to join the London School of Economics for further education.
- During his time in England, he came under the influence of Prof. Hamilton, L.T. Hobhouse, Morris Ginsberg, and B. Malinowski.
- His intellectual interactions with these scholars helped him develop a stronger interest in the functionalist method.
Intellectual Influence of Weberian Thoughts on Parson
- Parsons obtained his degree from the London School of Economics in 1926.
- In 1927, he joined Heidelberg University in Germany, where Weberian influence was dominant.
- Although Max Weber had passed away five years before Parsons’ arrival, his intellectual tradition was carried on by Weber’s wife, who organized discussions and debates at her home.
- Parsons attended these meetings and, unknowingly, came under the influence of Weberian thought.
- He earned his Ph.D. from Heidelberg University, and his thesis was titled “Max Weber and Sombart and Their School of Capitalism,” which was related to Weber’s works.
- Within a few years, Parsons translated Weber’s masterpiece, “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism,” from German to English.