Functions of Crime
- it sets boundaries
- it enhances group solidarity
- it maintains innovative functions
- it reduces tensions
Problems of Functionalism
- false teleology
- tautology
- no theory of crime/deviance
- non-disaprovable
- beneficial?
False Teleology
the error of assuming that because something currently serves a function, it was designed or intended specifically to serve that purpose
Tautology
circular reasoning; it exists so it must have a function, if it was not functional it wouldn’t exist
The Epistemology of Science
demands that we generate causal statements about how social life works
Functionalism Does Not Explain
- how norms arise, why they arise, and how widely they are accepted
- doesn’t specify how modes of punishment became accepted by society
Functionalism is Non-Disprovable
- cannot be refuted scientifcally, it’s always “correct” (as it’s plauged by teleology and tautology)
- functionalism maintains that even dysfunctional charateristics are somehow functional
Benefical, Functional?
- sanctioning deviance and deviant acts is said to be functional by structural functionalists
- by functional, they mean functional for society at large
Kai Erikson (1964) Wayward Puritans
- for each punishment moral boundaries were clarified
- the definitions of deviance were clarified by the values of society
- he notes that the volume of deviants remained relatively constant over a 30 year period (fear of crime/deviance may bring more crime/deviance into being)
Davis: Prostitution
- prostitution serves a positive, functional role in society by acting as a “safety valve” for the institution of marriage
- provides a necessary, impersonal outlet for male sexual desires, thereby protecting monogamous family structures from the destabilizing effects of emotional affairs
Prostitution Exists for Physiological and Sociological Reasons
- physiological: females don’t have periods of anoestrus
- sociological: social dominance, the degree of dominance determines how bodily appetites will be satisfied
Three Aspects of Prostitution Must Be Recognized:
- causes
- the rate of prostituion
- individual causes for seeking a prostitute
The Functions of Prostitution Include:
- male need for sexual adventure + experimentation; men have a higher need for sex that may not be met by their wives
- less attractive men may not find sex so readily
- keeps the family intact
Functionalism: Pros
creates strands of thought that were later expanded into other attempts to define and understand crime and deviance
Functionalism: Cons
strains of thought are problematic, ignore key causal analysis, and cannot be disproved scientifically or by any other means
