CONF 730: STURCTUAL SOURCES OF CONFLICT
Professor Ho-Won Jeong
George Mason University
Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution
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Reading Notes
Joe Scimecca: Sociological Perspectives and Humanist Thought
Riley Smith
Outline pp. 1-28
>Humanist Sociology is a perspective that seeks to explain human behavior
by looking at individual freedom defined as the maximization of alternatives,
and conversely, the limitations of human behavior. The study of human freedom
and of all the social obstacles that must be overcome in order to insure this
freedom.
o Different from traditional sociology's "knowledge for the sake of knowledge."
Humanist sociology seeks to use knowledge to benefit people, taking into account
dignity, interests, and values of human beings.
o "Maximization" means freedom is never total but always more or
less. More limitations = less freedom.
o Enlightenment principle of seeking to liberate the human spirit and ensure
the progressive development of the person is the principle that guides the
quest for humanist sociology.
" When we ask what caused things to develop as they are now, how man
in society got to be as he is, the only relevant principle must be the principle
of human freedom; the only possible synthetic framework must be one that explains
differences in human freedom in society and history." (Becker qtd. in
Scimecca 1)
>Functionalism: everything (every element within every
subsystem) within a society contributes to the maintenance or support of the
society.
o August Comte: (1798-1857) Father of sociology, coined the phrase. Society
likened to an organism in which all the elements are in harmony. If harmony
is disrupted then system will change until balance is restored. Positivist
in that viewed sociology as queen of all social sciences, able to discern
predictable laws of society.
o Herbert Spencer: (1820-1902) Sociology as science if based on evolutionary
law. Social order conforming to natural law. Society as an organism in that
elements of a society are interrelated, function just like organs, and discovering
how these elements function is science.
o Emile Durkheim: (1858-1917) How is social order possible? Analyzed concept
of solidarity (mechanical and organic). His work with sociological method
held that social phenomena is not reducible to individual analysis but must
be sought at the level of social facts (external to and constraining upon
individuals). Determined that suicide was a social phenomenon because individuals
who are more integrated into social groups, the probability is much less that
they will commit suicide. Clearly established basis of functional analysis
in that "to explain a social fact it is not enough to show the cause
on which it depends; we must also, at least in most cases, show its function
in the establishment of social order"(qtd. in Scimecca 4).
o Talcott Parsons: (1902-1979) defined boundaries of modern functional analysis.
The social system = society and was to be analyzed in terms of what it needed
to survive. Thus, societies create patterns (structures) that fulfill needs
(functions) that maintain the society…modern "structural functionalism."
Needs of society and needs of the individual are complimentary, thus society
is mostly stable and change is the exception not the rule.
o Robert Merton: Revision of Parsons' three assumptions; (1) every item in
a society is functional for the entire society; (2) every item in a society
serves a positive function; and (3) every item in a society is indispensable.
Functional unity cannot be assumed. What is functional and for whom must be
open to investigation by the functionalist sociologist.
>Recent developments in functionalism and implications for humanist sociology:
o Neo-functionalists seeking to explain social change incorporate power, conflict,
and economic forces into their analyses.
o Humanist criticisms:
" Functionalism rests on a metaphysical base that society has a mind
or will of its own and is goal oriented toward goals established by society.
Assumes that existing social patterns and organizations are necessary and
good thus producing a conservative bias and fear of change.
" Functionalists do not seem to be aware of human freedom.
>Conflict Theory: explains human behavior in terms
of self-interest and the perpetuation of the social order by the organized
coercion of various groups over others. Conflict theory is a "theory
of power, of social organization through the use of power, and of stability,
legitimacy and social order"(qtd. in Scimecca 8).
o Karl Marx: divided society into two major strata. The bourgeoise who owned
the means of economic production, and the proletariat who worked for the owners,
and the conflict between these two classes in a capitalist economy.
" Human societies must be studied as a whole in which social groups,
institutions, beliefs, doctrines, and so forth are interrelated.
" Societies are inherently alterable systems in which change is produced
primarily by rational contradictions and conflicts.
o Max Weber: "Power must always be considered if society is to be understood,
for both conflict and social order are differentially derived form social
power. The distribution of power, that is, legitimate power or authority,
constitutes a continuing problem for society. Because power based solely on
coercion is ineffective, society cannot remain stable unless the people see
their leaders as legitimate. Thus, legitimate power is synonymous with authority"(Scimecca
9). The government constantly seeks to enhance its legitimacy, coercing members
of the society to accept the social order as legitimate even though it favors
the interests of the more powerful. Order rather than conflict does prevail
in society though it is achieved through use of power to suppress or co-opt
the underlying conflict.
o Ralf Dahrendorf: While Marx believed that class was related to one's relationship
to the means of production, Dahrendorf believed that classes were determined
not by economic ownership of property but power and legitimate authority.
Where there is property there is authority but not necessarily is there property
with all forms of authority. Control over rewards and punishment is the social
power that organizes society and institutionalizes the basic conflict over
differing interests. "There will always be resistance to the exercise
of power, but because the powerful are the stronger group, society is held
together by the exercise of their strength through the coercion of those they
dominate"(Scimecca 11).
o Randall Collins: Wealth, power and prestige are pursued in all societies,
and everyone intensely dislikes being ordered around and will therefore avoid
this situation. Social conflicts will always exist. Crucial for understanding
social behavior are the (1) degree to which people are in positions to control
others and (2) how this is related to the accumulation of wealth, power, and
status. Individuals live in self-constructed worlds where other people have
the power to control them thus resulting in conflict.
>Recent developments in conflict theory and implications for humanist sociology:
o Neo-Marxist theories of Jurgen Habermas (critical theory), Immanual Wallerstein
(world system approach), and feminist sociology.
" Jurgen Habermas: Evolution is heading toward an "ideal speech
situation" in which everything can be fully discussed and agreed upon
without coercion. Language emancipates individuals and a society where ideas
are openly presented and defended against criticism is a rational one in which
the weight of the argument, not power or coercion, determines what is valid
and true.
" Immanual Wallerstein: Instead of looking at classes or workers, Wallerstein
looks at the "world system," which consists of the core (social,
political, and economic transactions among the world's dominant organizations),
the semi-periphery (regional individuals and groups who serve the interests
of the core by managing the accumulation of raw materials and services for
the periphery), and the periphery (those parts of the world from which resources
are extracted without receiving enough in exchange to allow for freedom and
development).
" Feminist Sociological Theory: Sociology of knowledge perspective where
the ideas are shaped by social conditions incorporating other disciplines
as psychology, economics, history, and political science. Male sociologists
have failed to see the world from a female point of view. "How can the
world be changed and improved to be more just and humane for both women and
men?" Gender is the central focus of subject matter, and calling for
a change, feminist sociologists present a women-centered perception of the
world. Patriarchy and the direct power v. oppression relationship between
men and women is the structure that continues to suppress women.
" Conflict Theory and Humanist Sociology: conflict theory presents a
view of human behavior as shaped by powerful groups or classes. Those at the
top exert control over those on the bottom. Although this insight is much
more realistic than the functionalist view-it does not consider the possibility
that individuals can choose to overcome the constraints imposed upon them.
Also, most conflict theorists lack a valid theory of personality formation,
a view that envisions human beings as both shaping and being shaped by the
world symbiotically.
>Symbolic Interactionism
o George Herbert Mead: Social psychology = the mind cannot develop without
some form of social process or interaction between individuals. Significant
symbols, whereby consensus of meaning makes something significant, arise in
certain kinds of social processes, which lead humans to acquire a mind through
role playing. Individuals modify and control their own behavior in terms of
this role playing. Language and the mechanisms of communication together with
role playing result in a social conception of the mind. Language is not the
expression of prior thought but is essentially communication-the establishment
of cooperation in social activity-in which the self and the other are modified
and regulated by common action. Without interaction with others there cannot
be a development of the mind. Mead's individual is not a passive agent who
merely responds to external constraints but someone who chooses between alternatives.
o Herbert Blumer: coined the term symbolic interactionism and sees it as referring
to the peculiar and distinctive character of interaction as it takes place
between human beings. Human beings do not simply react to each other but interpret
and define each other's actions thereby constructing reality through symbolic
interaction with others. The self is a dynamic process of interaction and
reflexive operation in which individuals take note of the world around them
and ascertain its importance for their eventual actions. Human behavior is
innovative, unpredictable and indeterminate for Blumer.
>Symbolic Interactionism and implications for humanist sociology
o Criticisms:
" Neglect of large-scale social structures.
" Social class, ethnic status, age and gender's effect on role making
and changes in expectations, and thus changes in larger social structures.
" Methodological problems of few testable hypotheses.
" Plays down the unconscious and psychological dimensions as needs, motives,
intentions, and aspirations.
" The self is too vaguely defined.
" Symbolic interactionism is historical, that is, humanist sociology
should take into account the historical dimensions of the social phenomena
under scrutiny.
" Limited view of the nature of social power.
>Humanist Sociology: C. Wright Mills: Attempted to
fashion a critical, humanist sociology which would help to liberate individuals
through a synthesis of George Herbert Mead's social psychology.
o Rejects assumptions that humans are passive recipients of external sense
data and the belief that the mind contains innate ideas fixed at birth. The
individual is a biological entity who also possesses a psychic (personality)
structure composed of integrated feelings, sensations, and impulses which
are part of our biological heritage. Their specific transformation into emotions,
perceptions, and purposes can be understood by focusing on the individual
as a player of roles as a "person."
o Human beings are social creatures and therefore must be analyzed in terms
of their social actions and socially constructed motives rather than as responses
to external stimuli.
o Uses Weber's notion of "social relationship" to link the individual
to a conception of social structure. Weberian social structure is one of probable
patterns of behavior in which individuals expect that others will act in a
certain way and they adjust their behavior accordingly. As long as there is
a probability that one's behavior will meet with the expected reactions and
vice-versa, a social structure exists and order comes into being, which is
the basis for political, religious, economic, and other organizations.
o Uses the concept of interpersonal roles geared toward the expectations of
others to bridge the gap between individual and social structure = social
conduct.
o Most important aspect of personality is the conception of self, which are
firmly entrenched in the social context. The psychological characteristics
of an individual are linked to the controls of a society by the relation of
role to institution.
o Mills' sociology is at once liberating while still possessing an adequate
conception of social structure-one that does not sacrifice volitional, active
nature of human beings. Based in pragmatism, Mills' notion of the autonomous
individual who could use reason to gain and secure freedom by making the connection
between "private troubles" and "public issues," or transcending
the realm of private troubles to see that structural problems are at the root
of alienation. Reason can lead to freedom when and if the individual becomes
aware that rationally organized arrangements often are means of manipulation.
o Sociological imagination involves looking at historical structures in order
to find more and more ways which can insure the freedom of individuals. The
social scientist must study the structural limits of human decision in an
attempt to find points of effective intervention, in order to know what can
and what must be structurally changed if the role of explicit decision in
history-making is to be enlarged.
o Mills offers a picture of human beings as potentially free but constrained
by power relations. In this view, some people (those with power) are freer
than others and are therefore responsible for their actions. History is made
behind people's backs but not behind everyone's back. There are varying degrees
of freedom. What Mills offers is a doctrine of moral responsibility in the
face of societal constraint, in essence, a study of how freedom is being eroded.
o Mills gives a jumping off point to humanist sociology whereby individuals
must engage in those forms of social action that enable them to be active
participants and not passive spectators in their own destinies. Thereby, humans
not only are, but ought to take responsibility and be in charge of their fate
within the limits permitted by their social structures. Also, sociologists
ought not be detached observers but men and women who actively participate
in the attempt to liberate other human beings.