Concept
Parsons was a functionalist sociologist, who argued that being sick means that the sufferer enters a role of 'sanctioned deviance'. This is because, from a functionalist perspective, a sick individual is not a productive member of society. Therefore this deviance needs to be policed, which is the role of the medical profession. Genuinely, Parsons argued that the best way to understand illness sociologically is to view it as a form of deviance-which disturbs the social function of the society.
The general idea is that the individual who has fallen ill is not only physically sick, but now adheres to the specifically patterned social role of being sick. ‘Being Sick’ is not simply a ‘state of fact’ or ‘condition’, it contains within itself customary rights and obligations based on the social norms that surround it. The theory outlined two rights of a sick person and two obligations:
- Rights:
- The sick person is exempt from normal social roles
- The sick person is not responsible for their condition
- Obligations:
- The sick person should try to get well
- The sick person should seek technically competent help and cooperate with the medical professional
There are three versions of sick role: 1. Conditional 2. Unconditionally legitimate 3. Illegitimate role: condition that is stigmatized by others
Read more about this topic: Sick Role
Famous quotes containing the word concept:
“Every new concept first comes to the mind in a judgment.”
—Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914)
“Modern man, if he dared to be articulate about his concept of heaven, would describe a vision which would look like the biggest department store in the world, showing new things and gadgets, and himself having plenty of money with which to buy them. He would wander around open-mouthed in this heaven of gadgets and commodities, provided only that there were ever more and newer things to buy, and perhaps that his neighbors were just a little less privileged than he.”
—Erich Fromm (1900–1980)
“There is a concept that is the corrupter and destroyer of all others. I speak not of Evil, whose limited empire is that of ethics; I speak of the infinite.”
—Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986)