Truth in dualisms

Type :

Presentation

Pages :

6 pages

Format :

.doc

Published date :

10/10/2008

Category :

Social studies

Sub category :

Sociology

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Summary :

Introduction.
Dualism: A structuralist perspective.
1. The epic works of Karl Marx.
2. Structural Marxism - one of the many branches of structuralism.
3. Talcott Parsons attempt to shift from the dualism of agency and structure within grand sociological theory.
Dualism: An individualistic perspective.
1. Phenomenology - established by philosopher Edmund Husserl.
2. Ethnomethodology - developed by Garfinkel.
3. Symbolic interactionism.
Agency and structure: A duality.
1. Giddens's theory - an effort to account for society as a whole.
2. Theorist Pierre Bourdieu's attempts to discard the dualism surrounding agency and structure.
Dualism: A holistic approach.
1. Margaret Archer's evaluation of the shortcomings of Giddens's structuration theory.
Conclusion.

Abstract

Social theory continuously finds itself facing predicaments surrounding the notion of dualisms. Many of the dualisms prompting debate among theorists include: micro/macro, voluntarism/determinism, subjective/objective, and agency/structure. These main dualisms present a recurring issue: that of analysing phenomena at the level of the individual in opposition to the social whole and the basic assumptions made at both levels. It is the concern over agency and structure that will be discussed and elaborated in detail below. Agency refers to the assumption that humans have the ability to make choices in the world, however, this ability to take action is not limited to the single individual and can be regarded also as actions performed by groups or organisations. Structure, on the other hand is in reference to patterns of behaviour or organisation generally viewed as outside of the human scope with enormous influential potential usually deemed as being embedded within social norms and values. Many of the common structures found in society include those such as the economy, culture, politics, education, and family. Though it has been generally agreed that both agency and structure constitute vital aspects within society; the issue at hand involves the degree to which these two units function in the social world.