Talcott Parsons - Biography - Subscriber To System-theory, Early 1950s

Subscriber To System-theory, Early 1950s

Parsons was an early subscriber to system-theory. Parsons had from early on been fascinated by the writing of Walter B. Cannon and his concept of homeostasis, as well as of the writings of French physiologist Claude Bernard. His interest in system-theory had been further stimulated through his contract with L.J. Henderson. Parsons called the concept of "system" for an indispensable master concept in the work of building theoretical paradigms for the social sciences. From 1952 to 1957 Parsons participated in an ongoing Conference on System Theory under the chairmanship of Dr. Roy Grinker in Chicago. During these conferences Parsons came into contact with several prominent intellectuals of the time and he was particularly impressed by the ideas of social insect biologist Alfred Emerson. Parsons was especially compelled by Emerson's idea that in the sociocultural world, the functional equivalent of the gene was that of the "symbol." Parsons also participated in two of the meetings of the famous Macy conferences on system theory (and on issues which today is classified as cognitive science), which took place in New York in the period from 1946–1953 and include scientists like John von Neumann. Parsons read widely in system theory at the time and read especially some of the works by Norbert Wiener and William Ross Ashby who also were part of the core participants in the Macy Conferences. Around the same time Parsons also benefited from conversations with political scientist Karl Deutsch over the concept of system theory. In one conference, the Fourth Conference of the problems of consciousness, taking place in March 1953 at Princeton and sponsored by the Macy Foundation, Parsons would give a presentation on "Conscious and Symbolic Processes" and embark in an intensive group discussion which included exchange with child psychologist Jean Piaget. Among the other participants in the Conference were Mary A.B. Brazier, Frieda Fromm-Reichmann, Nathaniel Kleitman, Margaret Mead and Gregory Zilboorg. During the Conference Parsons would defend the thesis that consciousness was essentially a social action phenomenon and not primarily a "biological" one. During the conference Parsons criticized Jean Piaget for not sufficiently separating cultural factors from a physiologistic concept of "energy."