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