As the title of the article suggests, it was interesting to read about society through the lens of different perspectives. Each perspective is categorized as either a macro ideal or a micro ideal; focusing on society as a large entity or individual people (Colomy 31). Symbolic interactionism focuses in on people's interpretation of certain meanings they assign to objects. From this micro perspective, one can gauge the way people perceive society through the meanings they derive from their definition of a situation (Colomy 31). Functionalism is a macro perspective that defines society through the application of certain functions and its success to adhere to society's needs. The last of three, the conflict perspective, takes a macro look at society as being made up of opposing interests that cannot come to an easy resolution, rejecting the idea that societies are problem/solution entities as depicted through a functionistic perspective (Colomy 36).
I thought the article was interesting as I have only adopted parts of these perspectives in my everyday life. Symbolic interactionism particularly resonates with me as I relate to most people and my surroundings by the meaning that I place on the things that I value, even as basic as the words that I choose. My ideas and concepts form how I function as a member of a whole society. The two macro perspectives were something that I never considered much as a whole, in particular, concerning the idea of society being a problem solving machine or the opposing view that society is based upon values clashing. After reading the article, I may be more inclined to view the world in relation to these macro ideas to get a better idea of the bigger picture that I had been missing since I only primarily focused on seeing society through the eyes of the individual.
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