Functionalism

By: Enzo Santos

A. Functionalism Is a system of thinking based on the studies of Emile Durkheim that views society as a whole or from a large scale perspective. It states that a society is made up of structures which are interdependent and help in heading toward and equilibrium.

Structures Every structure has a function that meets a need of the society, and all the structures work together to maintain the social equilibrium. One structure is institutions, which are structures that meet the needs of the society, like education systems, financial institutions, businesses and marriage, laws, mass media, nongovernmental organizations, medicine, religion, the military, police forces, are some examples.

Another structure are social facts. Social facts are ways of thinking and acting formed by the society that existed before any one individual and will still exist after any individual is dead. They are unique objects that cannot be influenced by an individual.

They have a coercive effect over the individual that is usually only noticed when we resist against them.

Functions

Manifest functions are those recognized and intended consequences of institutions. Schools provide students with education so that they may find good jobs. Businesses provide different kinds of specialized services.

Latent functions are the unintended consequence of institutions. Students and teachers learn various social skills when in school. Businesses connect people across societies. They cause indirect effects to society.

B. This topic helps understand how society works as a whole. It explains how we maintain in an equilibrium. It explains how the institutions and social facts bring stability to the society as well as providing for the needs of the people. Culture is present in Emile Durkheim’s definition of social facts. Culture are the  ideas, beliefs, way of acting, etc shared by a group of people which are basically social facts because they provide stability to society. Politics is also seen in this topic because people depend on each other for the production of goods and services there's a need for a method of distribution and a way to control and coordinate that production and distribution. In functionalism, a change to either production, distribution or coordination will force the others to adapt in order to maintain a stable state society.

C. Functionalism gives complete focus on the institution, giving the individual less importance. In functionalism, anything an individual does will not really affect the structures of society, they are only acknowledged. It solely focuses on the equilibrium of the society, which explains why it is unable to explain social changes and conflicts. These significant changes are modeled. The structures of society will adapt to find stability again. This leads to the conclusion that no conflict can occur in functionalism. However, the importance of studying functionalism is that it helps us in understanding the functions of the society through examining its integral structures.