Talcott parsons, social entropy theory, and living systems theory

Datos Bibliográficos

ID5810401
AutoresKenneth D Bailey (0000-0002-3657-2532, University of California, Los Angeles, autor de correspondencia)
Año1994
Volumen39
Número1
Páginas25-45
Fecha de publicación1994-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaSystems Research and Behavioral Science (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1092-7026 • E-ISSN: 1099-1743
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/bs.3830390103
OpenAlexW2162059759
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas3
Referencias citadas18

Parsonian functionalism popularized grand, macrosociological systems theory in sociology, and dominated the field for over two decades. Unfortunately, it was heavily criticized as teleological, tautological, static, untestable, and conservative. The criticisms not only hastened its demise, but left a harsh legacy in which contemporary systems approaches are often labeled as "functionalism" and thus diminished or even dismissed. Living Systems Theory (LST) has contributed greatly to sociological thought, but it too, is in danger of being labeled as functionalist. In order to make clear the sociological contributions of LST, this paper first briefly compares it with Parsonian functionalism, and then with the major postfunctionalist sociological systems approach, Social Entropy Theory (SET). The analysis shows that not only are LST and SET complementary, but that both generally escape the pitfalls of functionalism. Thus, macrosociological systems theory is once again on solid ground. However, many social scientists do not realize this, and are not yet aware of the contributions of the newer systems approaches. This paper and a companion paper seek to make the contributions of contemporary macrosociological approaches such as LST more familiar and accessible to social scientists

Social system · Social theory · Structural functionalism · Systems theory · Complex Systems and Decision Making · Complex Systems and Dynamics · Sustainability and Ecological Systems Analysis