Book chapter
Interpreting and Critiquing Talcott Parsons's Human Condition Paradigm
The Routledge International Handbook of Talcott Parsons Studies, pp 30-47
2022
Abstract
In 1978, Talcott Parsons published his last elaboration of his theory of social action in a long, complex essay entitled "A Paradigm of the Human Condition." Using the four-function paradigm, the essay proposed that action systems constitute the integrative subsystem within a more comprehensive "human condition system." That system also includes the physical environment as its adaptive subsystem, the human organism within the biosphere as its goal-attainment system, and a "telic," or transcendental ordering of possible orientations of human experience, as its pattern-maintenance subsystem. The present essay reviews the collaborative processes through which Parsons developed and refined the human condition paradigm and its continuities with his previous writings. It critiques other scholars' misinterpretations of the paradigm and examines each of the major formulations of the paradigm, suggesting both expansions and refinements. The essay affirms that Parsons' conception of the human condition remains a valuable and enduring contribution to social theory. Perhaps most importantly, the formulation of the transcendental order (or telic) provides a "metric" for the systematic comparison of civilizations, both historically and contemporaneously.
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Details
- Title
- Interpreting and Critiquing Talcott Parsons's Human Condition Paradigm
- Creators
- Victor M. LidzHarold J. Bershady
- Contributors
- A. Javier Treviño (Editor)Helmut Staubmann (Editor)
- Publication Details
- The Routledge International Handbook of Talcott Parsons Studies, pp 30-47
- Publisher
- Routledge
- Edition
- 1
- Resource Type
- Book chapter
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Psychiatry; [Retired Faculty]
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85131480219
- Other Identifier
- 991021895665704721