0:02 welcome to this tutor to you
0:05 introduction to sociology topic video on function
0:11 functionalism is often discussed as one
0:14 of the grand narratives or big theories
0:18 of sociology but what is functionalism
0:20 functionism is a sociological
0:22 perspective that evolved from the ideas
0:24 of philosophers and sociologists in the
0:26 late 19th century including one of the
0:30 most prominent emil durkheim
0:32 is a structural consensus theory one
0:34 that examines the bigger picture in
0:37 society but also looks at how different
0:39 parts of society work in harmony to
0:41 provide for the individual the
0:45 collective needs of people in society
0:46 functions prefer to examine society
0:49 objectively in a more scientific manner
0:51 than some other theories and try to
0:54 formulate laws about human behavior
0:56 in this video we're going to introduce
0:58 some of the key concepts and theorists
1:08 we've already mentioned emil durkheim
1:10 but who was durkheim
1:11 he is seen as one of the founding
1:13 fathers of sociology along with others
1:16 such as karl marx and max weber
1:18 he is also often seen as producing one
1:19 of the first scientific studies into
1:22 human behavior in the field of sociology
1:25 by examining how society shaped people's
1:27 decisions to commit suicide
1:29 while this study was criticized in later
1:31 years he advanced the discussion of
1:38 durkheim was prolific in examining
1:40 social institutions and is covered in
1:42 many different aspects of sociology
1:45 courses with his work on crime education
1:48 and religion particularly significant
1:50 one of his key ideas was that society
1:53 was held together through social bonds
1:54 things that people had in common such as
1:57 their shared heritage or history
1:58 and that these were reinforced through
2:00 society instilling a sense of social
2:03 solidarity in people through education
2:10 functionists view society in a positive manner
2:12 manner
2:14 unlike more critical theories such as
2:15 marxism and feminism
2:17 they believe that society functions for
2:19 the benefit of all
2:21 they have suggested that society
2:23 operates in the same way as a human body
2:25 what is often referred to as the organic analogy
2:27 analogy
2:29 each social institution plays a role in
2:31 making society work
2:33 much as different vital organs in the
2:34 body perform functions for an
2:37 individual's health
2:38 these social institutions perform
2:40 specialized functions that enable the
2:43 individuals in society to fulfill their
2:46 functional prerequisites or basic needs
2:49 if one institution were to fail such as
2:50 family or education
2:52 this could cause irreparable damage to society
2:54 society
2:56 in the same way that humans would suffer
2:58 if their liver or kidneys were unable to function
3:06 so how does this happen
3:08 well each social institution performs
3:10 vital functions in order for society to
3:11 function harmoniously
3:13 for example a family
3:15 it socializes children into the norms
3:17 and values of society so they can take
3:19 on a role in the future
3:21 without this socialization it would be
3:23 unable to perform those roles and this
3:26 would lead to an imbalance
3:28 furthermore the family reproduces the
3:30 next generation without which society
3:33 would fail to survive whilst it also
3:35 provides economic support for the family
3:37 usually through males working and this
3:39 means that there is less reliance upon
3:41 the state to support individuals and
3:44 less poverty in society
3:46 this is similar with other social
3:48 institutions with education providing
3:50 skills religion providing valuable
3:52 psychological functions and work
3:55 providing purpose for individuals
3:58 for functionists society is delicately
4:00 balanced and reliant upon the successful
4:02 functioning of these key social institutions
4:09 other functions such as telcot parsons
4:12 have reinforced these ideas particularly
4:15 through parsons systems theory
4:17 furthermore parsons examined the role of
4:20 male and female in society through his
4:22 sex role theory which focused how social
4:24 institutions such as the family
4:26 socialize children into their gender
4:28 appropriate roles
4:30 finally parsons argued that society was
4:32 in harmony because of its shared norms
4:33 and values
4:35 what he referred to as the value consensus
4:36 consensus
4:38 and this helps society to run
4:48 functionism is less influential in
4:50 contemporary society than it was in the
4:52 early to mid 20th century but is one of
4:54 the first sociological theories to try
4:57 and understand society and the behavior
4:59 of humans within it as a whole and
5:02 produce a coherent one-size-fits-all
5:05 theory of social behavior what some call
5:07 a meta-narrative
5:09 however with the rapid social changes in
5:12 the mid 20th century functionalism fell
5:14 out of favor and is generally seen as
5:17 outdated in its explanations because of
5:19 the diverse nature of human experiences
5:21 in the 21st century
5:23 however many functions theories still
5:25 have relevance particularly in the
5:27 fields of crime and education
5:29 and functionism has also influenced
5:31 other theoretical viewpoints such as the
5:32 new right
5:34 which demonstrates its value in the
5:41 that concludes this cheetah to you
5:43 introduction to sociology topic video
5:45 looking at functionalism
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