Parsons´ notion of integration in the horizon of its criticisms

Considering the diagnose of obsolescence of sociology’s foundational categories, this article focuses on Talcott Parsons’s notion of integration, which was one of the main target of authors aligned in these critiques. For this purpose, it examines Parsons’s conceptual framework regarding the subdivi...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Giordano, Pedro Martín
Format: Online
Language:spa
Published: Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y Sociedad 2020
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Online Access:https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/astrolabio/article/view/24578
Description
Summary:Considering the diagnose of obsolescence of sociology’s foundational categories, this article focuses on Talcott Parsons’s notion of integration, which was one of the main target of authors aligned in these critiques. For this purpose, it examines Parsons’s conceptual framework regarding the subdivision periods of his General Theory of Action —Voluntary Theory of Action; Tri Systemic model; AGIL scheme— in order to demonstrate that, even though variations are acknowledged, it is still a central concept to approach the query on conditions of possibility for social order. This article draw a distinction between two critiques: one that exposes several authors’ arguments concerning the obsolescence of integration, comparing their perspectives with Parsons theoretical achievements, and other that examines an alternative group of authors who promote a reconceptualization based on the distinction between systemic and social integration. Finally, it argues the relevance of integration as a central heuristic element of sociological language.