The Concept of Social Problems: Vox Populi and Sociological Analysis

Autor:	Jerome G. Manis
Rok vydání:	1974
Předmět:	Value (ethics) Sociology and Political Science Perspective (graphical) Manifest and latent functions and dysfunctions Position (finance) Sociology Social issues Spurious relationship Functional analysis (psychology) Social psychology Social relation Epistemology
Zdroj:	Social Problems. 21:305-315
ISSN:	1533-8533 0037-7791
DOI:	10.2307/799900
Popis:	To many sociologists, social problems are conditions considered to be undesirable by many people. While the concept relies upon public judgments, exponents of the definition claim to be value-free. This questionable position is maintained in Merton's distinction between manifest and latent problems. The categories indicate the existence of unrecognized social problems while retaining the public's value perspective. Unlike functional analysis, which distinguishes between objective conditions and subjective interpretations, the manifest-latent social problems categories are limited to the latter. Current usage ignores the possibility that some perceived social problems may be trivial or spurious. Applying the scientific values and norms of sociology offers a possible alternative. The values of modern science may provide useful criteria for redefining the concept of social problems.
Databáze:	OpenAIRE
Externí odkaz:	https://explore.openaire.eu/search/publication?articleId=doi_dedup___::132dbfb37e886889a0f5267d37bb87b7 https://doi.org/10.2307/799900 Zobrazit plný text záznamu