modified:: 2023-10-18, 2313
up:: 02.003 Social Science
tags:: Structural Functionalism

4 - Structural Functionalism

Overview

[[4. Reading Guide & Recitation Qn - Durkheim v.2022 sep.pdf]]

#NOTE 2023-10-08: Refactor using full graph technique in prep for exam

WE LIVE IN A SOCIETY; INTERDEPENDENCE; HARMONY; COMPLEMENTARY DIFFERENCES; SOLIDARITY; MERITOCRACY; AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Durkeim - Father of Sociology
- Study Society from the macro rather than micro level
- Believes Law & Morality are societal constructs rather than instrinsic
- Was interested in Solidarity: What holds society together
  - Did not properly account for the nature of conflict in society or between societies
#Social Facts - Facts which explain societal behaviour from a societal level
#Moral Facts - Facts about moral behaviour. What we "should" do as part of society
Social & moral rules are different things too
While Division of Labour typically plays an Economic Role, its Moral Role is to unite society in solidarity through interdependence
- Later, he also argues it promotes freedom by rejecting #Mechanical Solidarity's collective uniformity
- J-H: Did Durkheim miss out improving Standard of Living (SoL) as a moral fact?
Division of Labour -> Exchange -> Interdependence -> Solidarity
- Marriage as an example of how such interdependence can be moral & beautiful rather than "crippling" (as Marx says)
- Or the different stereotypes within a friend group
To ease understanding, social relationships can be more appropiately thought of as social interactions
- Such interactions, be it exchange or marriage, are governable by law when important
- Unimportant or rare interactions are govern by social norm (custom)
Law is only developed when there is a society, and society only forms when there is solidarity; Hence law serves as a way to measure solidarity
- Though its possible Law creates solidarity, or its a loop where solidarity creates law which creates more solidarity
- For example, the NS Act creates the common experience of NS, increasing mechanical solidarity
J-H: IMO Collective Consciousness is a matter of Culture. Collective Consciousness at the level of a society's average culture determines society's morals, but sub-cultures of a society may deviate from the common.
- A real problem is when sub-cultures not only deviate, but start to conflict on society's moral.
  - One social phenomena that causes this is polarisation.
J-H: Important to note. Durkheim believes the strength of the Collective Consciousness is dependent on Mechanical to Organic. It is your own opinion that Collective Consciousness doesn't change in strength, but rather in tolerance & generality.
J-H: Is Durkheim the first globalist?

As society develops, we shift from mechanical to organic. The focus of morality shifts from uniformity to ensuring the smooth functioning interdependence. Interdependence implies that we have different roles & are no longer uniform.

Lecture

#NOTE 2023-10-02: Darn, need to check if these concepts are present in the presentation page ranges, cause it feels missing.

National Education/Day creates bonds; is a form of positive solidarity
Education teaches how to behave in society beyond just academics
- "…education sets out precisely with the object of creating a social being"
Interdependent relationships formed through work is how solidarity is provided in a society where individuals are increasingly different
Establishing social norms help to maintain social solidarity
Meritocracy
Primary question: "How does it come about that the individual, whilst becoming more autonomous, depends ever more closely upon society?" (Durkheim, 1893, pg 7)
Social fact: "Which is general over the whole of a given society whilst having an existence of its own, independent of its individual manifestations." (Durkheim, 1893, pg 59)
- Social facts exert influence (extrinsic) over all members of society, or are otherwise intrinsic to all members such that its general
- To go against a social fact means you would be outcast by society typically
- Is this the same as social norms
"Moral facts are phenomena like any others. Thney consist of rules for action that are recognizable by certain distinct characteristics. Since morality for us is a system of facts that have been realized, linked to the total world system, it cannot survive if it does not serve a purpose or correspond to some need." (Durkheim, 1893, pg 3)
- All moral facts should correspond to some societal purpose or need.
- Moral facts are actually a subset of Social facts
- Unlike social norms, which may not be moral & hence only invite disgust if broken, moral facts invite retribution if broken
The state, representative of the collective, can only enforce laws because "there exists no moral force superior to that of the individual, save that of the collectivity" (Durkheim, 1893, pg 67)
- Solidarity can only be achieved when crime is punished to show its untolerated;
  - This is actually to make citizens of society feel safe that such behaviours are untolerated, hence keep solidarity
Positive Solidarity: brings out integration/bonding in society, Negative Solidarity: Does the opposite
- Negative Solidarity is not a bad thing, its neutral in that it sometimes must occur for moral reasons
Solidarity from Common Consciousness
- J-H: You keep mixing this up. Remember, Durkheim believes Common Consciousness weakens, so he uses that as the term for everyone being uniform. So instead of saying conforming to common sentiments, or uniformity, just say Common Consciousness is the source of solidarity
Division of Labour is like marriage
Anomie: Normlessness, where there is no cohesion or regulation (no social norms); A Pathological Condition
- Inequality/disharmony by exploitation, misallocation of individuals to castes
  - The normal state should be meritocracy
  - Exact reciprocity in the services exchanges; aka fair trade
Limitations of Durkheim's arguments
- Only focused on national level; didnt show if it really applies to global although he claims of world government
- Fails to examine what happens when there are too much regulations
- Fails to examine the nature of conflict & prove it will really resolve itself
  - Or that in such cases, the individual rights will prevail
Current Affair Example: Hollywood Strike
- Even if the global pie grows, the pie of dying industries will shrink

Functionalist Mindset

Views society as a system of interrelated parts
- "The whole must be given priority because its influence is greater than that of a single part." (Durkheim, 1893, pg 362)
Systems naturally equilibrate
Focus on social order as the most impt metric to maintain
Institutions/Social structures are what drives Societal Development
- "The more widespread an institution, the more lasting and profound the need to which it corresponds" (Durkheim, 1893, pg 365)
  - Society's needs are reliant on institutions that govern them
Consensus is the ultimate basis of social order
- "Social life is above all a harmonious community of endeavours, when minds and will come together to work for the same aim" (Durkheim, 1893, pg 363)

Structural Functionalism

Structures that maintain the stability of society include: households, political systems, economic systems, education & laws
- Structures are added and removed as society deems necessary
- For example Industrialization replaced Slavery for the purpose of production
  - Slavery lost its purpose
Maintain order & keep society functioning
Society can be out of balance during upheavals or rapid change as social norms & laws have yet to form to regulate interactions and promote peace & cooperation (Anomie)
- Have to reinstate norms & structures before equilibrium can be re-achieved
The collectivity trumps and is more impt than the individual
Maintain objective perspective while analyzing relationships between functional groups/social structures/institutions of society
What is moral isnt the researcher's opinion, its what the society deems as moral (this can be objectively measured via surveys for example)
- So we are looking at whether homosexuality is moral to a society, rather than whether its inherently moral
- Though, as durkheim claims the collectivity is the most impt, ultimately, society is the determining factor of morality for him
Should study society from the outside, rather than based on own personal experiences; Done by viewing collectivity as a separate entity to yourself
- Social facts, Institutions & the law are some examples of the collectivity which are extrinsic and can be objectively measured

Readings

Durkheim - Division of Labour in Society (Partial) (1893)
[[Durkheim - What is a Social Fact.pdf]] from The Rules of Sociological Method 1895

Solidarity

What holds society together? What gives those who "live in a society" that notion of being in one?

All societies fall on a scale from #Mechanical Solidarity to #Organic Solidarity
- Different #Social Facts (i.e., norms & laws) of a society are explained by either model of solidarity
- Determined by level of modernization (wrt to economy) & dynamic density (population density & degree of interaction between members) (Urbanization?)
  - Globalization -> Increase in Dynamic Density -> Increase in Competition -> More Division of Labour -> More Interdependence -> More Organic Solidarity

Mechanical Solidarity

Also known as segementary society
Society is bound together by being similar
- Everyone has similar role & experiences
#Collective Consciousness is extremely strong
- Social norms & laws are very conformative as everyone has similar human experiences
Repressive Laws are focused on punishing deviance
- Due to Collectivism; Everyone has uniform experiences & judgement
- Repressive Laws are an indicator of Mechanical Solidarity: More uniform experiences -> Greater sensitivity to deviance -> More repressive laws
More dominant in pre-modern society

Organic Solidarity

Also known as organised society
Society is bound together by Interdependence due to Division of Labour
- Multiple groups of society acts as different "organs" each with a specific role to keep society functional
#Collective Consciousness is more general
- Social norms & laws are based on basic & common values universal for most human experiences
- More room for Individualism
  - Yourself as the focus & being free rather than a part of society; Religion of the individual
More dominant in modern society.

Restitutive Laws

Restitutive Laws are focused on righting wrongs to keep interpendent society functional
Crime are natural in society
- Re-affirms and defines society's laws
- Without crime, cannot define laws, know what is right or wrong for #Collective Consciousness
Restitutive Laws are an indicator of Organic Solidarity: More groups -> More check & balances -> More Resitutive Laws
The Government is the embodiment of the Collective; It is the Brain. It is privileged, the Adminstrator, to fulfill its role of legislating & enforcing the Checks & Balances between all groups, Organs, of Society to ensure its harmony. In this regard, the Restitutive Laws it creates to that end form Society's Nervous System.
- Misappropiation of Public Property
- Fishing/Hunting Systems
- Road Laws (i.e., vehicle loading)
- Economic Laws: Contracts, Anti-Trust, etc
- Infrastructure Laws: Building Codes, etc
- Civil Laws in General.

Collective Consciousness

The Consciousness of Society as a whole.

The Role of Laws in Division of Labour

When independent workers work close together, frequent communication, good understanding of each others needs, organic solidarity
But Consumer Fetishism, high population density, each trade/organ has poor communication with each other, solidarity missing, people fight/compete when they dont have to
The role of laws is to serve as the means for each trade/organ to communicate, overall, improve solidarity of the system???

Social facts explain societal behaviour from a societal level, i.e., macro facts about immigration as the explanation for racism rather than micro facts like individual psychology/biology.

Durkheim's Moral Ideal

Abnormal Forms of Division of Labour

Issues arising in #Organic Solidarity/Division of Labour that causes conflict in society.

Forced Division of Labour occurs when society changes too fast for society to catch up
- Case where economic role & power is determined by caste rather than merit
- Low social mobility
Anomic Division of Labour: conflict between different groups due to insufficient regulation/customs
- ppl are too specialized to know what is & isnt moral by #Collective Consciousness without regulation/customs
  - i.e., a university of medical specialists so cut off from the rest of society they think frankenstein is ethical
  - Or capitalists who disregard labourers altogether
- Proper #Restitutive Laws fix this
  - Aka, in functioning society with #Organic Solidarity, class conflict is a symptom to be remedied
- Alternatively, ppl become Marx's idea of labourers who suffer under repetitive tasks
  - Durkeim's own answer to the phenomena observed by Marx?

Quotes

"If the ancient Romans had not the broad conception of humanity that we possess today,… but because such ideas were incompatible with the nature of the Roman State" (Durkheim, 1893, Preface pg. xxvi)
- Shows Durkheim's belief that morality is very much determined by society of the time

Presentation Prep

Bk 1 Chap 3 p. 68-71, 83-85: Organic Solidarity

Only the Collective Consciousness has the authority to govern conflicts between its component groups & give binding power to contracts
It is precisely because society is interdependent that it is in the Collective Consciousness' interest to legislate Restitutory Laws between groups

Restitutory vs Penal Laws

Repressive Laws are expiatory; They seek the offender to atone for their offence against the Collective Consciousness
Restitutory Laws aren't expiatory, they attempt to restore as closely to status quo had the law not been broken
Failure to observe restitutory laws won't make you a social outcast unlike repressive laws
Restitutory Laws aren't based on Collective Consciousness or are only weakly so
- Crimes of Restitutory Laws fail to offend us strongly
- Unlike Repressive Laws, which directly correspond to the strongest moral rules of Common Consciousness
Restitutive Laws tend to create more governing bodies to judge them whereas Repressive Laws can be judged easily by anyone in society
Restitutive Laws tend not to be of the sort that affects everyone, but only the interactions between two limited groups
- Yet interdependence means society feels an impact from the conflict; Hence they are governed

Laws as Society's Nervous System

Criteria for Organic Solidarity

Direct link to society; A link by common sentiment; Mechanical
Link by interdependence with society's parts; Organic
Personality asserted as peculiar characteristics which distinguish us from others
- i.e., if youre the same as everyone else, you have no personality
- J-H: This is a flawed definition
The strength of mechanical solidarity is inversely proportional to personality
- Individuality cannot arise until the community fills us less completely
  - We (supposedly) cannot think for ourselves while thinking like everyone else
When mechanical solidarity exerts its effect, our personality disappears and the collective emerges
- for example, a soldier in a regiment
In mechanical solidarity/segmentary society, the individual belongs to the collective, so personal rights do not exist
More specialized
- More dependent
- but also, more personal, more individuality
- Burden of best practices < burden of collectivist society
  - More freedom to experiment & be yourself
In mechanical solidarity/segmentary society, individual personality is 100% the collective's, while in organic solidarity/organised society, individual personality does exist
Organic solidarity is like a higher animal, comprised of specialized organs
- The higher the animal, the greater the inidividualism of its organs, yet the greater the unity
  - J-H: All These Analogous Assertions!?!

Bk 3 Chap 1 p. 301-306: Anomic Division of Labour

Groups formed by Division of Labour must have predetermined customs for interaction
- Else each time they interact, begins a fresh struggle
- i.e., the responsibilities of either party to an agreement, worker benefits
Solidarity isn't to abolish competition but to moderate it; friendly competition vs all-out war
Governing customs emerge automatically over time
- Repeated or long interactions establish the allocation of rights and duties between two parties
  - Becomes obligatory even if not written into law
- Such customs arent the cause of interdependence, they are a way interdependence is made concrete
Durkheim is for economic regulation in so far the lack thereof makes obvious disturbances
- J-H: But he refuses to argue for it on grounds he doesnt want to examine it;
- J-H: Likely its the case effective economic regulation is night impossible to establish

Main Causes of Anomic Division of Labour

Insufficient regulation due to insufficient repetitions or duration of contact
- Due to industrializing too fast
Lack of organization
Working too far apart
Any other obstacles to communication like consumer fetishism

Durkheim vs Marx on Estranged Labour

Estranged labour is because relationships between capital & labour have been in a legal state of indeterminacy;
- Laws on hiring of services occupies very small place in legal codes esp given complexity of employer-employee relations
- This is smth that should be remedied through law
- Falls under problems caused by insufficient time to form restitutive laws that encourage harmony

Conclusion p. 329-341

Division of Labour is the mechanism to form a Global Government of All Societies united in Interdependence and harmony by all the restitutive laws and custom that keep the peace.

Morality & Division of Labour

Undisputed moral rule: We should follow the essential moral rules of the collective consciousness
- In undeveloped, mechanical, societies, this rule is very restrictive
- In organic societies, this rule is less restrictive
Rule 1: Conformity to the ideas around us/the ideas and sentiments of the Collective Consciousness
- What else can our own morality be made of but ideas, sentiments & role models around us?
- In a sense, our morality is shaped by our own interpretation of the Collective Consciousness
  - The differences is down to personality
- The purpose of this rule is to prevent the disturbance/offence of the Collective & hence Solidarity
  - This only makes sense if the Collective possesses its own morality
- We cannot tolerate violations of the Collective's morality without retribution to prove such violations are inacceptable
Rule 2: We should specialize
- Specializing entails becoming different
- Also is necessary for and serves the purpose of cohesion past some point of society's development
Despite the differences in the two rules, both have their place
One characteristic common to all Moral Rules is that they encourage solidarity
- Law, social norms, morality itself, represents the cohesive bonds that bind society together
  - The more & stronger such bonds are, the more material/concrete is the morality
- All that is moral are that which forces man to take account of other people
  - Either by tie of being the same, or being interdependent
Morality is not about being free & independent; Such is a misperception given such ideas stems from society itself
- J-H: Can I not realize society for what it is and choose to be independent? Doesnt mean cause we depended on society for our ideas mean we should continue to be within society
Morality is dependent on society to exist.
- Without social life/interactions, morality would disappear.
- Even duties of the individual to themself are duties to society.
  - For example, to maintain your own human dignity
Division of Labour -> Interdependence -> Cohesion of Society -> Morality
- The Interdependence bonds serve to substitute the now weakened ties of tradition & uniformity.
  - It becomes the new foundation for morality
  - Mechanical ties suffice less and less to keep individuals binded to society
    - J-H: Why?
- But there will always be common ideas that will never be lost, like human dignity;
  - J-H: Within this set, is where true universal morality lies?
- Therefore our duty is to Division of Labour EVEN FURTHER
  - But remember, you still follow the essential rules of the collective

Division of Labour, Organic Solidarity & Freedom

We are made complete beings by our interdependence on others
- Like the beauty of friendship or marriage; No one can be everything alone
The shift from mechanical to organic solidarity frees the individual from uniformity
- Division of Labour -> Specialization -> Shielding from Uniformity & Caste
  - Uniformity & Caste cannot be enforced when specialization takes priority
Being whole doesnt mean youre free.
- Your personality is a shallow copy of many fields; rather than a unique one forged by deep specialization
  - J-H: The goal of interdisciplinary education is to realize new paths inbetween many fields
- J-H: What if I develop myself independent of the pre-existing human wisdoms?
Activities become richer and more intense the more specialised it becomes
- J-H: This is true of only mental/academic Division of Labour though…

The Solidarity produced by Division of Labour is not directly by interdependence, but the rules & customs entailed by harmonious interdependence
- These rules ensure peace & cooperation between the functions that have been divided up
Society has a strong interest in whether social rules between organs are formed
- The health/existence of society is dependent on such rules ensuring organs cooperate
- Therefore, society will not let these rules remain indeterminate
- Furthermore, organs will automate define rules anyways
As Collective Consciousness becomes the Cult of the Individual, it becomes more rational
- No more arbitrary moral rules like staying up late being bad!
- Rules:
  - Be charitable & just to the fellow human
  - Fulfill our role well
  - Work towards a state where everyone's role is what they perform best
  - Work towards meritocracy/just rewards for efforts

Appalling Crisis & Its Solutions

We have changed from segmentary to organised society too fast
- Organic solidarity insufficient time to develop while mechanical solidarity has lost power
- The new functions/groups due to Division of Labour have yet chance to adjust to each other & form restitutive laws & customs
  - So no peace/cooperation/harmony, just competition & negotiation wars
- We are now in a state of Anomic Division of Labour
The remedy isnt to revive the moral rules (traditions/practices) of the old Collective Consciousness corresponding to mechanical solidarity
- It would be artificial & out of step with the new collective
- Don't be a luddite
Society is at odds is because the old morality has been irrepairably undermined; but the new morality yet to take shape
The solution is to wait as society forms a new morality for itself
- The new morality will arise of its own violition out of necessity, but it is gradual
All Durkheim has found and proclaims is that the goal of this new morality will always be the same: Solidarity.
- Just now it is by interdependence rather than uniformity.

Key Takeaways

Should be drawn from main conclusions of each concept
- Presented in a succinct form without excess justification or explanation
Provide 1 or 2 case studies to show how these concepts appear in current affairs. Some ideas:
- The NS Act: Common ideas/sentiments, uniformity, mechanical solidarity
- Act 377A: Moral rules of the Collective Consciousness may be arbitrary & serve no utility but to affirm uniformity
- The Emergence of AI/pretty much any rapid change/industrialization of society and its effects:
  - Currently in conflict about the morality of AI art
  - As we speak, discourse is resolving what is and isnt moral
    - Some of it has even been put into law; like the new copyright laws

Actual Takeaways

All Moral Rules ultimately are to promote Societal Solidarity
Mechanical Solidarity binds its members through common ideas & sentiments
- Moral rules, like Repressive Law, revolve around conformity to the Collective Consciousness
Organic Solidarity binds it members through interdependence
- Moral rules, like Restitutive Law, revolve around peace & cooperation between different functional groups of society
As Society Develops, Division of Labour & the interdependence it brings increasingly substitutes being uniform as the source of Societal Solidarity
The specialisation of Division of Labour necessitates society becomes more individualistic as it shifts from reliance on Mechanical to Organic Solidarity
Anomie arises when society changes from Segmentary to Organised too fast for Organic Solidarity to be formed, meanwhiles Mechanical Solidarity loses power
- Estranged Labour is a form of Anomie
- Anomie resolves itself over time as the functional groups of society adjust to each other & new Restitutive Laws are formed

Recitation

Cause of Division of Labour

Concentration of ppls into towns & city -> increased social density
Competition more acute due to density -> Necessity of Division of Labour
Division of Labour encourages even higher social density due to productivity
More interdependent ties over a more dense popular; Higher Dynamic Density, more solidarity/morality compared to diffused solitudinal organic solidarity

Forced Division of Labour

Division of labour but roles are decided based on arbitrary factors like race, religion, caste, etc
Being part of a noble family etc

Recommendations

Pg 304, covering anomic division of labour, shows Durkheim's apt assessment of social unrest & is highly quotable (according to tutor)
Can't say Durkheim supports meritocracy; He alluded to the concept in Forced Division of Labour, but meritocracy as a word wasnt invented yet. Have to be clear that he would theoretically support meritocracy or his ideas could essentially be constructed as meritocracy