Controversies in Tolcott Parsons' Justification of Functionalist Style of Sociological Thinking

Abstract

The article focuses on identifying contradictions of functionalist oriented sociological thought, which accumulates various tendencies that determine the ways and styles of sociological theorizing. In particular, an analysis of the link between the life and creative biography of Tolcott Parsons as one of the founders of structural functionalism, their influence on the way and style of his sociological thinking. From the point of view of the authors of the article, T. Parsons' autobiography suggests that the liberal way of thinking was natural to the American scientist. It is this method that has found its adequate reflection in his scientific work and determined the thinking style of one of the most prominent representatives of structural functionalism. It is emphasized that, in response to the accusations of violating the "balance between succession and opportunism" in his "intellectual history", T. Parsons raised questions that did not resolve this contradiction but significantly exacerbated it. Similar situations are classified by a number of intellectuals as schizophrenic in the culture of late capitalism. But they have their logic, based on the rules of which theorists offer different ways of getting out of contradictory social situations that provide temporary success, while creating the effect of their delayed exacerbation. It is emphasized that in the works of T. Parsons the contradiction between “social” and “societal” is realized but not resolved, where “societal” requires development and “social” requires order. It is proved that the functionalist style of sociological thinking creates the illusion of the possibility of its solution by the method of undeclared refusal to develop in the name of order, which, in turn, leads to a radical rejection of the principle of rationalism.