Functionalism

Functionalism (or structural functionalism) is a prospect in sociology, according to which society consists of different but related parts, each with a specific purpose. According to functionalism, sociologists can explain social structure and social behavior according to social components and their functions. Auguste Comte helped to develop functionalism in the 19th century, and functionalist Emil Durkheim later compares society with the human body. As composed of different interrelated organs enabling the body to survive, society consists of different elements that allow it to survive and rely on each other. For example, the justice system helps maintain order, and the school educates children. The problem of one aspect of society may damage the whole

So, there are two social functions. There are obvious functions and potential functions. Before describing lists and potential features in detail, it is helpful to give an overview of the structure function approach. There is a complete tutorial to introduce the structure function method in more detail, so I will briefly introduce it here. The structural function approach considers society as a complicated interconnected system, a complex machine. It can be imagined that the interlocking parts cooperate to promote the operation of the whole system and promote stability and harmony. Your body is one of these systems, all its organs work together to create functional harmony in your body.

Structural functionalism focuses on positive and negative functions of social structure. List function is a result that will benefit society as a whole. Religious display functions include providing meaning and purpose, promoting social cohesion, promoting social control. Educational display functions include socialization and social integration

In the 1950's, Robert Merton explained in detail about functionalism by suggesting a distinction between obvious function and potential function. List function is an organization's expected function or phenomenon in social system. Potential features are unconscious features. Potential features may not be welcomed, but unexpected results and obviously dysfunctional organizations may have the potential characteristics to explain their sustainability. For example, from a functionalistic point of view, crime seems to be difficult to explain; it seems to have little effect in maintaining social stability. However, crime may provide an example of acceptable boundaries of behavior to maintain social norms and examples of examples demonstrating the function of these boundaries.