we are here for cape sociology unit one now most of you would have been with us last week and you had mr beckford who gave the introduction of cave sociology we are continuing today with our lessons on sociological perspectives now most of you would have remembered that sociology is the study of society and why it exists once again sociology is the study of society and why it exists now there are various views as to why sociology exists and each group of individuals each group of sociologists who come to you and say okay i have an explanation of society and why it exists they actually give to you a perspective and so when we talk about sociological perspectives what we're actually talking about is an explanation of society's existence once again a sociological perspective gives an explanation of society's existence so let's go there are four major perspectives in sociology now let me go again the term major is imperative there are not four perspectives in sociology but there are four major perspectives as it relates to the cape sociology syllabus as well there are four that we will concentrate on now that is very very very important you know because we have so many times that we get our multiple choice questions and they will ask you how many perspectives exist and the answer is that the perspectives are infinite a myriad of perspectives exist however there are four major perspectives and the major perspectives are as follows we have functionalism functionalism is the name of the perspective the theorists from functionalism they are called the functionalist so functionalism is the perspective the persons are called the functionalist or it may be called the functional list perspective where functionalist now becomes the adjective then you have the conflict perspective you have the interactionism perspective or the interactionist perspective and you have feminism so the four major ones the ones that you'll be concentrating on in your cape unit one syllabus are once again functionalism conflict interactionism and feminism today we're going to look at the functionalist perspective so let us look at what functionalism is all about now sociology as a subject cannot be explored cannot be studied without understanding who the theorists are so if it is that i'm going to look at functionalism as a perspective i must first understand who the functionalists are who are the persons who actually did the research and came up with the explanation of society and why it existed i'm going to say to you that a sociological essay without names is like a history essay without dates it just can't work you cannot actually go into sociology as a student of sociology and don't know the theories so just like you would not actually go to a history exam and say when columbus land whatever and then look later on you find that the english them come and then lick a bit no you don't say that because you don't say that in history yes also don't say in sociology where the man they did name or some people say you must have the names of the theorists good now the major functionalists are emil durkheim talcott parsons robert k merton once again the term major is imperative major does not mean only we're just saying that these are big ones in particular the man called emil durkheim emil durkheim is called the father of sociology not because he created the discipline but because he contributed so much to the discipline of sociology emil durkheim are the big man he's a big man as it relates to functionalism but he's also the big man as it relates to sociology and so if you no member no nehemitah you have a member emil durkheim if it is that you're going to examine you know member name right according to durkheim durkheim says durkheim says about everything if you're a young man you meet a young lady and she said she do sociology and you want to impress her said her kind from you said dark i'm sure i believe you emil durkheim at a big man talk person is important as well he actually made the majority of his theories in relation to emmy durkheim that's the influence of emil their kind similarly robert k merton now what is it that the functionalists believe let us get to that now the functionalist in their explanation of society says to us that society is like the human body so just like the human body has organs society will have institutions now let's stop for a moment and think about the human body what is the human body like yeah we know that within the human body we have different organs all of them have their own function you have the brain you have the lungs you have the heart and every single organ have a purpose you know that now so you also know that if the organs cease to operate if the organs stop doing what they are supposed to be doing the result is that the body will collapse good so there's two things we know we know one that the body is filled with organs we know too that each organ has its own function and we know three that if each organ sees to do what it's supposed to do if it stops functioning then the body will collapse the fourth thing we know about the organs of the body is that they work together they work together in tandem to make sure that the body exists so the brand what it's supposed to do but it does it in collaboration with the heart and the heart pumping blood and the blood gorilla no to the lungs and the other parts of the body so all the organs work together to ensure the body exists now when functionalists assess society they say to us listen man for the society to exist we must have organs in the case of the society we call them institutions and all of these institutions they act like the organs of the body now let's talk a little bit more about the institutions good what are the institutions in society we have family we have the education system we have government we have religion we have the economy all of these are institutions in the society and just like the organs of the body have functions each institution in society has a function and when each institution actually plays does what it is supposed to do function in the manner that it is expected then it allows society to exist now remember no if it is that we are to appreciate a perspective you must first understand the purpose the aim of the perspective is to explain society and its existence it is wants to say to you this is how society is possible at least cause it that this mech the functionalists are saying that society is possible because it has functional institutions functional institutions that each have a purpose that contribute to the stability and existence of the society the reason the society is here is because each of these institutions continue to do what it ought to do just like each of the organs in the body continue to do what it ought to do for that reason the functionalist perspective is called an organic theory turkey mdmc put forward an organic theory it speaks to how each of these institutions act like organs how them work together to make sure that the society like the body exists now some key things you need to know and we start going now into our jargons yeah when it is that you do sociology you want to ensure that you know the jargon so you look right i say to my students all the time that whether you're bright or not it's not my business you can't take that to the lord in prayer but your most convinced me say a bright you must try to show me that you have some knowledge and to do that you want to ensure that you use your jargons the jargons are words that are specific to the discipline that when it is that you use it may not say a new way out how about there are some jargons that the functionalists use let's look at some of the jargons that the functionalists use in their explanation of society right now we already said to you that each institution contributes the stability of society a contribute to social order each institution contribute to the stability of society it contributes to what social order so once it is that you start talking about functionalism not only must you know the term institutions but you must also know social order you must also know what social order now let me go back a moment for you well let me go now functional prerequisites functional prerequisites that's another key jargon i just gave a social order i told you the importance of social order as it relates to the functionalities yeah it's a key term for them another key term is functional prerequisites what is a prerequisite when you hear the term prerequisite what come to mind ah i've given you a minute to think about it i wouldn't think again you know we kind of have google brains no so anything we don't know we just run go search don't search this time i'm saying take a moment to think about prerequisite think about it in the context that you've heard it before yeah a prerequisite to do cape subjects is 5 cxcs yes so if you hear the term prerequisite used in that context what do you think it mean good now i'm hoping that you come up with answers such as necessities yeah something that is needed so a prerequisite is something that is needed and a functional prerequisite is actually a necessity for society's survival a functional prerequisite is a necessity for societies survival i'm stopping for a moment because while you're writing down you need to write it down because these are key terms that as i said before make you look right that when you're writing your exam instead of saying things that society need yes a functional prerequisite i'm start saying one mark for the one year yeah so you need to write these terms down the functionalists are of the view that when the institutions function they provide society with functional prerequisites they provide society with what is necessary for a society's survival yeah so when each institution do what it is supposed to do then it provides society with what the society need to be stable good now let's talk about functional prerequisite a little bit more one example of a functional prerequisite is a value consensus one example of a functional prerequisite is a value consensus so a value consensus no is another key term it's another jargon write it down write it down and these are functionalist jargons and they're going to be important not only when you're writing your essays but also when you go to your multiple choice segment of your exams now last week when mr beckford introduced cave sociology to you he made it clear that the exam has three sections there is the iaea right that you all do together in class and then you have the multiple choice segment which is worth 20 and then you have your essay segment right now within the multiple choice segment a lot of the questions ask you for definitions of key terms functional prerequisite is one of the key terms that can come up value consensus is another so the value consensus is an example of a functional prerequisite the value consensus is something that society needs to survive yeah know what is a value consensus what is the definition of a value consensus i'm going to break up the terms now i'm going to consensus you hear the word consensus already so think about it and tell me what consensus mean when we say we have arrived at a consensus yeah or do we have our consensus what do i mean now usually when i ask this question many students say mean conclusion because of the context we actually use but no it does not mean conclusion the term consensus means agreement and so when i have a value consensus it means i have an agreement on what is right and what is wrong because the term value means the believe in what is right and what is wrong yeah everybody have them believe about what is right and what is wrong and so when you have a value consensus you have an agreement within the society about what is right and what is wrong and if there is no agreement in society about what is right and what is wrong then society will cease to exist society will collapse as a consequence the value consensus is a functional prerequisite it is what society needs to exist if the society don't have shared values the result is going to be chaos let's think about it for a while yeah remember i tell you that the value of consensus is an agreement on what is right and what is wrong it mean that you and i should agree that air right and be wrong and if there is no such agreement society got collapsed why just take for a moment just one moment and think about it if you believe that you must stop on the red light and me believe say you must drive from the red light if there is no agreement on what is right when you reach at a red light what is the result the result is chaos the result is confusion because not only are we going to have accidents yeah and accidents can lead to debt but even if it is a minor accident after the accident award after the accidental war because as far as i'm concerned i am right may i come to you as a boss man you'll never see the red light and y'all upon me and you never see the red light and we have a war because we are of the honest belief that we are right there is no agreement between us as to what is right and what is wrong and if this does not happen the result is constant chaos and so society won't exist and it don't even have to be big things like you know like the stoplight little things if you don't have any agreement on the small things that are right or wrong the result is the same chaos conflict between people continuously if when i say to you good morning you don't believe that you should respond and say good morning then the results are conflict but come here i say yeah this me yeah and i'm one of those persons when i say morning tina you know responding get back smile i'll walk you look like um excuse me you never hear me say morning are you looking for me like i want to know mania i'm still i said one morning because it is my belief that if i say morning to you the right thing is for you to respond and say good morning if you don't have that same belief as i do then the result is conflict good so going back to the main point is that the value consensus which is a key term if you're not right it don't get your waste time yeah you offer right down the key term the value consensus which is a key term for the functionalist as well it means shared values and agreement on what is right and what is wrong and the value consensus is an example of a functional prerequisite and remember a functional prerequisite is a necessity for society's survival good so we are right when we are against them while we get a better understanding of functionalism now as we continue we say how does the value consensus come about the value consensus occurs when our family when the families within the society function when the families within the society actually socialize us that is when we actually get the value consensus so come again the value consensus metallia already said need it without it society got collapsed so where will get it from how are we going to ensure that within our society there is an agreement on what is right and what is wrong yeah now that occurs when the family function when the family as an institution does what it's supposed to do and what the family is supposed to do is to socialize us now what does it mean the term socialize that's another key term and you're going to meet it continuously continuously in sociology not just cape society unit one but every level of sociology no you must you meet the term socialization what does it mean now the majority you when you hear socialization you automatically think to interact you start thinking well you're a virgin i want to go a party and when you go a club and things like this that is the generic definition of socialization what we would say the layman's definition the definition where everybody use yeah but in this sociological sense the term socialization means to teach you right from wrong yeah that's what socialization is socialization is really the process through which the individual is taught the norms and values of the society it's taught what the society thinks you should do and should not do yeah and the function of socializing us is really the major function of the family see i keep using the term major and i keep going back to these things because you need to unit one sociology sorry is knowledge based yeah and so when you get into your exam remember sana's cxc again so you just now look on it from face value when i use the term major it means that it is the main thing but it don't mean it's the only thing so i'm saying to you that the major function of the family is to socialize us the major function of the family is to teach us right from wrong and in so doing the family will ensure that there is a value consensus because everybody learns certain things right and everybody learn says certain things wrong so when the family as an institution yeah provides the function of socialization then it provides society with a value consensus and the value consensus is an example of a functional prerequisite good so if we're looking at it once more in a wholesome manner as in why society exists the functionalists will say to you that society exists because you have institutions like the family and these institutions function they do things that are good yeah and when they function they provide society with what society needs to exist one example of this is that when the family socialize us it provides society with a value consensus an agreement on what is right and what is wrong so because the majority of us here are jamaicans we learn the same things at home we learned certain things right and certain things wrong yeah and it's not only in terms of like saying morning and evening etc but even religion we find that we have similar religions because we live in the same society so we learned that certain things must do you learn say you must pray and when people don't pray you know same will say amen and when you hear people say god is good all when you're not even like first so you still say holy time and the people don't say i know all the time i automatically respond and god is going never meet me yet you know you're just swimming up on the bus the first time are you just hearing people come in and say god is good and even if you don't answer lord you say all the time and he heard somebody say oh after you say what in heaven yeah because they learn these things at home and as a consequence there is an agreement on what we should do and what we should not do without the family socializing us without the family performing its function the result is chaos good all right so we'll give some key terms and i want you to always remember the key terms always remember the key terms now why am i saying and making the point about the key terms so you're going to multiple choice exam then they're going to ask you they're going to ask you for definitions of key terms but not only that they might ask you which which perspective is the term value consensus connected now if you don't know the term value consensus or you know no functionalism then you're getting wrong yeah and you can't afford to miss one you know you can't afford to miss one because we want to get the best grade possible i tell people all the time that i am here about the learning that people should understand but we must pass the exam yeah we are prepared for we exam that is the ultimate aim so i want to have a better understanding of sociology but i am not just doing it become like it i also want to pass the exam and so you have to look at what the exam is asking for and make sure that you are prepared and the exam is going to be asking you about the jargons so make sure you know what value consensus is make sure you know the definition of it make sure you know the context in which it is used make sure you know which perspective use it as well in this way you start preparing for your exam from your start being introduced to the topic from your start being introduced to the subject someone who started preparing for the exam when one month before the exam that makes sense no man you start prepare by looking at the sort of questions and you start learning the information in that particular manner good now another key thing another key thing without a value consensus there would be anomie another key term no these are one of them term they will make it look brighter than normal yeah instead of saying chaos say anomi this is a term that was introduced by durkheim it means that there is no social order but when you say it you're automatically sound bright yeah so when you go talk about other topics when we're getting a crime or getting a religion and you start talking about the absence nobody say chaos again say anomi anomie is another term for societal chaos if there is no value consensus according to durkheim the result is anomie anomie means chaos good so here we go so we're getting back into what it is that we're doing we're talking about functionalism and i'm a person i like to recap i believe that at the end of a particular lesson and i call you up and say oh tell me more functional is it you should be able in your own words to explain what it says you know based on your understanding we don't even read it in that book you should be able to say all right at this might now we have said to you that functionalism is one of the main perspectives who are the big man what a big man for functionalism and i remember every name but which nehemiah must remember the big man for functionalism is emil durkheim yeah what do they compare society to they compare society to the human body they argue that just like the human body has organs society has institutions and therefore society exists because all of these institutions all of these institutions performed and ruled perform them function yeah now when the institutions function they provide society with what is called a functional prerequisite a necessity for society's survival so for example when the family functions it socializes us it teaches right from wrong and in so doing it provides the necessity for survival which is called a value consensus you see me so this is just an example of it god of a functional prerequisite the valley consensus and the institution functioning good but when you do sociology one of the things you are going to notice is that every single solitary perspective or theory is criticized there is no absolute in sociology there is nobody that is totally right nor is there anybody that is totally wrong you as a student of sociology you should have the appreciation of all the theories and be able to criticize them as well so even if you agree with what they functionally say and it makes sense a society actually exists like that and if this is a good explanation you should be able to see where they fall short the functionalists are criticized as being utopian they functionally are criticized as being utopian do you know what the term utopian mean yeah when i say it's a utopia look when the picture will be sure what look like when you see utopia when it is that it is a utopia or something is utopian then it is perfect the functionalists are criticized as being utopian because they have this perfect view of society then take it for granted that all the institutions in society are always functional they're always doing what they're supposed to be doing and so once a society is in existence it's because the family is doing what it's supposed to be doing it's good and chris and corey yes and the education system is doing what it's supposed to be doing and the health care system and the economy all of them working and not only are they working them working with each other to make sure the society come together and everything is great the critics say mush dong that lie no no gusso they said there are many societies that exist and even though they are in existence the institutions don't function let's say if you look at the functionalists when they talk about the family then talk about the family is a little perfect place where you have the mother and the father come together and then teach the children right from wrong so everybody have the agreement on what is right from wrong everybody have the value consensus the functionalist family is called the serial package family and when we get to family as a topic we'll discuss that but serial pocket is the way we know jamaica with us a conflicts box you ever see a conflict idiot on tv or perfect when you see conflicts at one tv now first of all it starts with the mother and the mother just get up and she'll pretend at the kitchen and she a cook daddy daddy our face nice our ear nice our clothes ready daddy daddy and she just up here cook over there at stuff she just loved our life damn time and then you see her husband run come down and say honey yeah and she give him a kiss mom and i'm sitting on the table let him get him food and they see them perfect picnic come down one boy one girl and then i found them clothes already and them good and then come at them get them cereal and then just eat it and them just look perfect thank you mom this is so great and then you see the dog come in oh lord of a dog and he's always a nice fluffy dog and never one mongrel dog with some ticks no no he's a nice dog running in a slow motion i saw conflicts and look perfect but the reality is that many families are not like that i can tell that my family is never like that in the morning i have three children yeah and my dog first of all my dog is the idiot that the worst dog in the world if just a buck for no natal nothing no matter how you tell that what happened as a dog not happy nice yeah i am very miserable in the morning and everything with me i cook squad my husband ever ready and we know let your married you know i am leaving so anybody know already just what i am leaving might pick they have never ready yet neither mary charles is cool i might pick the navajo on her shoes may i say what uh you know let me know what the door oh you could have come on without check what's happening she take one foot and she left the next so the perfection that they functionally talk about don't exist but at all it is that soul the functionalists take it for granted that the parents will always know right from wrong and so they will always be able to teach their children right from wrong the critics say that's not true there are many parents who don't know right from wrong themselves and some of them can't teach them children right from wrong and so there's no value consensus being provided you have to mash down that lie yeah and then there are some wonderful parents out there trying to teach right from wrong and then you have some picnic that no matter what the parents do then they never take a listen right now i say to you somebody thinks there were unodo if no mother ever aired and dropped on if them looking down a message from her last night when you're saying 11 30 she collapsed right that's how she collapsed i remember she a teacher right from wrong from earlier i always give an example of a little girl that i met in courts long ago long long time she was a big picnic but at the time she was a little girl and she was a pretty little girl i know when i pretty pick never want to make much of them i try talk to them hi for the girl or that kind of team so i'm sitting in courts and like a girl pass and she stepped on my toe and when she stepped on my toes i said come here pretty girl where am i say and she turned me on and she just give me a smile and she said a good now when she says her misha cannot me i say but before i could even respond the poor mother grabbed my election yesterday why are you not behaving this honey now it means that the mother has been trying to teach her right from wrong but the child just decides to do what she wants for do the functionalists don't see that they take it for granted that as an institution the family will always function but it's not only the family they take it for granted that all the institutions function they take it for granted that once they take step in school the education system is going to function that every teacher is going to be there to teach you and like you and you are going to be there to learn this sad reality is that that is not the case not only in jamaica but across the world there are many teachers who don't like teach yeah there are many schools that don't teach in the manner that you expect they don't have many picni welcome to school and them have no intention to learn that i don't know where you come school for as a matter of fact you come only because they get your lunch money right i know you can't wait for school because you want your lunch money are you calm because you wanna talk to your friend name i have one girl where i need to check are you know your ear need for dough and the girl they're always in the bar through my ear and that's where you go but the functionalists don't look at the fact that many of the institutions don't function they take it for granted that healthcare always function that the healthcare system is there and the doctors are going to look after you and everybody could get better or if they can't it's because of what god intends but it's never because the system does function but that's not true as you get to unit 2 and we study health care you'll find that the statistics show that in the united states the health care system kill more people than it cure yeah many people say that about jamaica as well and i'm saying many people say that because there's no evidence and if there's no evidence you can't use it as examples there's no evidence but there are people who believe that the health care system does not provide the standard of health that you need yeah germany comes will tell you right now that we have some problem with your health care system that you got doctor and you can't actually go and go see a doctor because we have shortage are you not a bed that means the health care system is not functioning in the way it should then say you got certain hospitals you're dead that's a dream again people say that's not necessarily true yeah we got not only that the people doctor them getting medicine you're not trusting doctor doctor gear is what you know we must say i remember drinks on tea and so the health care system can operate the way it should and so the functionalists the functionalists are criticized as being utopian they're saying that the functionalist perspective does not give a proper explanation of society's existence because they don't see that all the institutions don't always function they don't see that the society can exist without these perfect institutions doing all the things that they need to do and so people believe that functionalism is not a proper explanation of society's existence people believe that durkheim might be a big man and him do some good research and so forth but we're not thinking right and that is fine remember i said to you in sociology there's no absolute it is one of the things that i love and appreciate about the subject the fact that it forces you to think the critical thinking element of sociology is one of my favorite parts because you should be able to say all right functionalism good in this way whereas functionalism not good in this way and it is because there is no absolute why you have other perspectives that have evolved that have given alternate explanation of why society exists are you with me yeah now the key things that we need to remember the key things that we need to remember i'm going to go from the beginning now remember i said to you earlier that you all have an understanding of what sociology is from dr beckford from last week dr beckford started he said to you that sociology is the study of society and why it exists and therefore a sociological perspective must be explaining why society exists then i said there are four major perspectives and we gave them one that we looked at was functionalism the big man was emil durkheim and he compared society to the human body he explained that just like the human body as organs society has institutions and so society exists because all of these institutions work together to ensure society's existence the key terms that you should remember functional prerequisites key term that you should remember value consensus key term that you should remember socialization key terms should remember institutions key term anomie if you're not have nothing write down them terms because even when i'm not here once you have them you can go back you can do a quick search and you can know what they are yeah and then the major criticism of the functionalist explanation of society's existence the major criticism of the functionalist perspective is that it's utopian it has this perfect view of society it takes it for granted that no no wrong there is no conflict and every institutional function and that is why the conflict perspective was introduced and we look at it next week so yep we have come to the end of the session and i dare say the end of another week we can now officially say thank god it's friday but even though the school week is done the learning doesn't stop try to get a bit of review in on the weekend so that you won't be behind when we continue into next week with our new lessons in the same subjects presented this week