Sociological Perspective

Introduction

Theories in the sociological perspective organize observations and apply them to broad sociological questions. These questions include what is the relationship of individual to the society, how social order works, why there is inequality in society, and how people can bring social change. Sociologists use four major theoretical perspectives; the functionalist perspective, the conflict perspective, the feminist perspective and the symbolic interaction perspective.

Functionalist perspective views society as composed of various institutions/parts. Each institution has a mandate to be functional and fulfill different needs. When any part is dysfunctional, it affects all other partS and creates social problems. Conflict perspective states that society is divided into groups. These groups are competing for political, social and economic resources. A powerful person is one who has the greatest share of these resources. Symbolic interaction perspective emphasizes that people behave on the basis of their beliefs and not on objective truth. Human interpretations constitute the society. These interpretations are the definition of the situation. Feminist theory recognizes the role of women in society. It aims to use the knowledge to improve lives of women (Anderson & Taylor, 2009).

Discussion

My favorite perspective is conflict perspective. It describes the role of power and force in our society in an excellent way. In the light of this perspective, I can see the underlying forces making a person powerful. People feel political, social, and economic influence of other people. This theory explains that people are able to influence due to the division between haves and have-nots. This philosophy has roots in the concepts of Karl Marx. He described society as divided into several groups. Due to impact of capitalism, these groups are competing for the greatest share of resources. The power rests in the hands of those, who are successful in getting the significant portion of resources. Even consensus ...