Talcott Parsons - Böcker

Talcott Parsons needs little introduction to anyone acquainted with the literature of sociology. Few men have dominated their fields so much as Dr. Parsons does his. In this collection of nineteen essays, Dr. Parsons focuses his attention on subjects ranging from the social structure of Japan to propaganda and social control, from sociological aspects of Fascist movements to the place of psychoanalysis in society. Also dealt with are such topics as: The role of ideas in social action, the motivation of economic activities, American social structure, social classes and class conflict, and the prospects for contemporary sociological theory. The whole body of essays presented here belongs in the broad field of "application" of sociological theory. It stands in the line of scientific development of the most advanced techniques for sociological investigation and evaluation of data.

From Simon & Schuster, Talcott Parsons' The Structure of Social Action is a study in social theory with special reference to a group of recent European writers from the 20th century.Volume 1 of The Structure of Social Action is a must-read for those looking to understand Parsons' thinking of sociology and economics.

From Simon & Schuster, Talcott Parsons' The Structure of Social Action is a study in social theory with special reference to a group of recent European writers from the 20th century.The second edition of The Structure of Social Action brings the original text back into print and remains unchanged from the first edition.

During the years between the publication of the first of his two major works, The Structure of Social Action (1937), and the writing of his second, The Social System (1951), Talcott Parsons was primarily engaged in political activity through the Office of Strategic Services in its efforts to bring about the defeat of the Third Reich and to set the stage for a democratic reconstruction of postwar Germany. Beyond Parsons' analytic skills the essays reveal a dedicated liberal scholar, far removed from the stereotypes with which he came to be pilloried by later critics. The essays in this collection are the by-products of that special period of intense commitment. They reflect a single dominant theme: National Socialist Germany is seen as a tragically flawed social system but one requiring the same rigorous analysis Parsons brought to more normal and normative systems. Since virulent authoritarianism and even more virulent anti-Semitism were the dominant traits of that system as he saw it, Parsons dedicated many pages to each aspect. While he did not know the full horror of the Nazi "war against the Jews" he was able to develop a theoretical framework that continues to be a foundation stone for the analysis of national socialism. Gerhardt's editorial labors in the Parsons archive at Harvard have yielded nothing less than a "new book" by the foremost American sociological theorist of his time. This collection of both published and unpublished writings conveys Parsons' cohesive intent. To these otherwise fugitive and neglected essays Gerhardt contributes an introductory essay of her own: in part biography, in part intellectual and social history. She discovered Parsons work on National Socialism while studying his sociology of the professions and his use of medical practice to demonstrate how social science could become an antidote for fascism and authoritarianism. Uta Gerhardt is director of the Medical Sociology Unit at Justus Liebig University, Giessen. She has taught sociology at the Free University of Berlin, the University of Konstanz, the University of California at Berkeley, the San Francisco Medical School, the University of London, and the University of Wisconsin at Madison. The present volume comes out of her sabbatical year as Research Affiliate of the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, of Harvard University.

With the publication in 1937 of his first book, The Structure of Social Action, Talcott Parsons (1902-79) established himself as one of America's most important social theorists. Yet Parsons's essays from the decade preceding 1937 are virtually unknown to theorists and historians of sociology. By gathering the majority of Parsons's articles and book reviews published between 1923 and 1937, Charles Camic supplies the first comprehensive selection of the writings of the "early Parsons." In his superb introductory essay, Camic situates Parsons's early writings in their sociointellectual and biographical context. Drawing upon extensive historical research, he identifies three overlapping but relatively distinct thematic phases in the early development of Paron's ideas: that on capitalist society and its origins, that one the historical development of the theory of action, and that on the foundations of analytical sociology. Camic correlates the emergence of these phases to Parsons's experiences at Amherst College in the early 1920s, in London and Heidelberg during the mid-1920s, and at Harvard University in the important period from the late 1920s to the mid-1930s. Reproducing in full each of twenty-one selections, this volume charts the changes and continues in the early development of some of Parsons's most fundamental ideas.

With the publication in 1937 of his first book, The Structure of Social Action, Talcott Parsons (1902-79) established himself as one of America's most important social theorists. Yet Parsons's essays from the decade preceding 1937 are virtually unknown to theorists and historians of sociology. By gathering the majority of Parsons's articles and book reviews published between 1923 and 1937, Charles Camic supplies the first comprehensive selection of the writings of the "early Parsons." In his superb introductory essay, Camic situates Parsons's early writings in their sociointellectual and biographical context. Drawing upon extensive historical research, he identifies three overlapping but relatively distinct thematic phases in the early development of Paron's ideas: that on capitalist society and its origins, that one the historical development of the theory of action, and that on the foundations of analytical sociology. Camic correlates the emergence of these phases to Parsons's experiences at Amherst College in the early 1920s, in London and Heidelberg during the mid-1920s, and at Harvard University in the important period from the late 1920s to the mid-1930s. Reproducing in full each of twenty-one selections, this volume charts the changes and continues in the early development of some of Parsons's most fundamental ideas.

Talcott Parsons is regarded, by admirers and critics alike, as a major creator of the sociological thought of our time. Despite the universal recognition of his influence, however, Parsons's thought is not well understood, in part because his work presents the reader with almost legendary difficulties. Most of his important essays and books presume that the reader is familiar with his rather specialized vocabulary, and even when Parsons begins by defining basic terms, his special uses for words and his style of exposition strike many readers as forbidding. In his extensive introduction to this volume, Leon H. Mayhew brings a new focus and clarity to Talcott Parsons's work. Explicating Parsons on his own terms, Mayhew discusses the basic tools of Parsonian analysis and interprets the larger themes of his work. He provides a chronological account of the development of Parsons's thought, his presuppositions, and his position on the ideological spectrum of social thought. Mayhew then presents twenty of Parsons's essays, touching on each of the major aspects of his work, including "action" theory and the celebrated four-function scheme. Other topics covered include the role of theory in social research, evolutionary universals in society, influence, control, and the mass media. "Talcott Parsons on Institutions and Social Evolution will become a standard reference for those studying that development of his sociological ideas."—Martin Bulmer, The Times Higher Education Supplement

This book brings together, in systematic and generalized form, the main outlines of a conceptual scheme for the analysis of the structure and processes of social systems. It carries out Pareto's intention by using the "structural-functional" level of analysis.

This new edition introduces the social science audiences of a new century to one of the classic highlights of the mid-twentieth century. This is the most general statement of the general theory of action as it was developed by its principle exponent, Talcott Parsons, and his close collaborators who formed the core of the fabled department of social relations at Harvard University. Toward a General Theory of Action is an extremely ambitious formulation of the ingredients, dimensions, and ranges that determine human behavior.Parsons and Shils enunciate principles that are at the core of contemporary social science preoccupations-including the precarious balance between social integration and conflict. The volume is at once universal in intent and highly personal, an expression of Parsons' thought, one of the most notable sociological theorists of the century. Finally, the book symbolizes the interdisciplinary impulse that typified a widespread belief in the unity of the sciences. This edition includes the collaborative group's introductory statement, Richard Sheldon's essay on the theoretical and philosophical status of the general theory of action, and "Values, Motives and Systems of Action" by Parsons and Shils.Guy Swanson, writing in the The American Sociological Review, noted that "Parsons and Shils have performed a major service in clearing away many old controversies, in showing the reasonableness of a behavioral foundation for general theory in social science as a whole and in sociology in particular, in clarifying the interrelations among many concepts, and in the insightful interpretation of particular pieces of data." It is testimony to this book's continuing significance that it continues to generate new lines of research and writings.

During the years between the publication of the first of his two major works, The Structure of Social Action (1937), and the writing of his second, The Social System (1951), Talcott Parsons was primarily engaged in political activity through the Office of Strategic Services in its efforts to bring about the defeat of the Third Reich and to set the stage for a democratic reconstruction of postwar Germany. Beyond Parsons' analytic skills the essays reveal a dedicated liberal scholar, far removed from the stereotypes with which he came to be pilloried by later critics. The essays in this collection are the by-products of that special period of intense commitment. They reflect a single dominant theme: National Socialist Germany is seen as a tragically flawed social system but one requiring the same rigorous analysis Parsons brought to more normal and normative systems. Since virulent authoritarianism and even more virulent anti-Semitism were the dominant traits of that system as he saw it, Parsons dedicated many pages to each aspect. While he did not know the full horror of the Nazi "war against the Jews" he was able to develop a theoretical framework that continues to be a foundation stone for the analysis of national socialism. Gerhardt's editorial labors in the Parsons archive at Harvard have yielded nothing less than a "new book" by the foremost American sociological theorist of his time. This collection of both published and unpublished writings conveys Parsons' cohesive intent. To these otherwise fugitive and neglected essays Gerhardt contributes an introductory essay of her own: in part biography, in part intellectual and social history. She discovered Parsons work on National Socialism while studying his sociology of the professions and his use of medical practice to demonstrate how social science could become an antidote for fascism and authoritarianism. Uta Gerhardt is director of the Medical Sociology Unit at Justus Liebig University, Giessen. She has taught sociology at the Free University of Berlin, the University of Konstanz, the University of California at Berkeley, the San Francisco Medical School, the University of London, and the University of Wisconsin at Madison. The present volume comes out of her sabbatical year as Research Affiliate of the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, of Harvard University.

This new edition introduces the social science audiences of a new century to one of the classic highlights of the mid-twentieth century. This is the most general statement of the general theory of action as it was developed by its principle exponent, Talcott Parsons, and his close collaborators who formed the core of the fabled department of social relations at Harvard University. Toward a General Theory of Action is an extremely ambitious formulation of the ingredients, dimensions, and ranges that determine human behavior.Parsons and Shils enunciate principles that are at the core of contemporary social science preoccupations-including the precarious balance between social integration and conflict. The volume is at once universal in intent and highly personal, an expression of Parsons' thought, one of the most notable sociological theorists of the century. Finally, the book symbolizes the interdisciplinary impulse that typified a widespread belief in the unity of the sciences. This edition includes the collaborative group's introductory statement, Richard Sheldon's essay on the theoretical and philosophical status of the general theory of action, and "Values, Motives and Systems of Action" by Parsons and Shils.Guy Swanson, writing in the The American Sociological Review, noted that "Parsons and Shils have performed a major service in clearing away many old controversies, in showing the reasonableness of a behavioral foundation for general theory in social science as a whole and in sociology in particular, in clarifying the interrelations among many concepts, and in the insightful interpretation of particular pieces of data." It is testimony to this book's continuing significance that it continues to generate new lines of research and writings.

A Collection of essays which studies the theoretical problem of relationships between social structure and personality, and how these different relationships merit distinct treatment for particular purposes.  Parsons concludes that in the larger picture, their interdependencies are so intimate that bringing them together in an interpretive synthesis is imperative if a balanced understanding of the complex as a whole is to be attained.

Talcott Parsons has been one of the most influential American sociologists of the postwar period. Bryan Turner's selections from Parsons' work provide a comprehensive overview of his principal contributions and are grouped under the following subdivisions: religion and modern society; life, sex, and death; sociological theory; and American society and the world order. These selections offer an exposition of the core features of Parsons' sociology and demonstrate his continuing relevance to critical issues today, including globalization, the place of American civilization in the world order, and the importance of sociological theory as an analysis of modern culture.

Never before published, American Society is the product of Talcott Parsons's last major theory-building project. During the 1970s, Parsons worked persistently to fulfill his earlier promise to produce "a general book on American society". The surviving manuscript, completed just a few weeks before his death, is just such a book. Beyond its rich reading of American society, it offers a systematic presentation and major revisions of his previous landmark theoretical positions: the attempt to elaborate a non-nostalgic theory of modernity, to link macro and micro perspectives, to defend the possibility of objective sociological knowledge, to analyze national specificities within the context of worldwide trends, to develop an adequate conception of societal integration grounded in fully pluralistic premises. Even after the passage of many years, the book imparts a remarkably provocative interpretation of US society and a creative approach to social theory.

Never before published, American Society is the product of Talcott Parsons' last major theoretical project. Completed just a few weeks before his death, this is Parsons' promised 'general book on American society'. It offers a systematic presentation and revision of Parson's landmark theoretical positions on modernity and the possibility of objective sociological knowledge. Even after the passage of many years, American Society imparts a remarkably provocative interpretation of US society and a creative approach to social theory.

Die deutschsprachige Fassung der Heidelberger Dissertation von Talcott Parsons aus dem Jahr 1927 galt lange als verschollen. Umso überraschender ist es, dass diese bisher unveröffentlichte Schrift kürzlich in seinem Nachlass in Harvard aufgefunden wurde. In diesem Band wird sie zum ersten Mal in einer textkritischen Fassung veröffentlicht. In ihrer Einleitung klärt die Herausgeberin dieses Bandes Uta Gerhardt die werkgeschichtlichen Hintergründe der Entstehung und des „Verschwindens“ dieses nachgelassenen Manuskriptes von Parsons auf. Ferner würdigt sie in einer eigenen Abhandlung den Beitrag von Talcott Parsons zur Rezeption des Werkes von Max Weber und zur Kapitalismusdiskussion des 20. Jahrhunderts, die in diesem Band ebenfalls zum Abdruck kommt.

Die Theorie der sozialen Interaktionsmedien gilt als einer der bedeutendsten Beiträge zur sozialwissenschaftlichen Theoriebildung. In Analogie zu Geld als spezifischem Medium des ökonomischen Tausches interpretiert Parsons zunächst Macht als symbolisch generalisiertes Medium mit der spezifischen politischen Funktion der Festlegung und Umsetzung kollektiver Ziele, womit er sich in Gegensatz zur utilitaristischen Tradition stellt, für die Macht ein Mittel zur Durchsetzung individueller Interessen ist. Dies impliziert auch eine qualitative Unterschiedlichkeit von Geld und Macht, die einen zentralen Gedanken in der weiteren Ausarbeitung von sozialen Medien wie Einfluss und kulturellen Commitments darstellt.