When we talk about understanding how society works, how it holds together, and what keeps it ticking, there's a foundational idea that often comes up. It's the notion that societies, much like living organisms, have different parts that all work together to keep the whole functioning smoothly. This perspective, often referred to as functionalism, has been a cornerstone in sociological thought for a long time.
While the query asks about who established the "3 functions theory" to explain society, it's important to clarify that the most prominent figure associated with a functionalist approach, and who laid much of the groundwork for understanding societal functions, is Émile Durkheim. He didn't necessarily present a neat "3 functions theory" in the way one might expect a simple checklist, but his work deeply explored how different social institutions and phenomena served essential purposes for the overall health and stability of society.
Durkheim, a pioneering French sociologist, was fascinated by social solidarity – what binds people together. He argued that societies are held together by a collective conscience, a shared set of beliefs, morals, and attitudes that operate as a unifying force. He identified different types of solidarity: mechanical solidarity, found in simpler societies where people are similar and share common experiences, and organic solidarity, characteristic of more complex, industrialized societies where interdependence arises from the division of labor. This division of labor itself, where different individuals and groups perform specialized tasks, is a key functional element Durkheim highlighted. It creates a reliance on one another, fostering a different kind of social cohesion.
Another crucial concept Durkheim explored was the function of social facts. These are ways of acting, thinking, and feeling that are external to the individual and exert coercive power. For instance, he famously studied suicide, not as a purely individual act, but as a social phenomenon influenced by the degree of social integration and regulation. He identified different types of suicide (egoistic, altruistic, anomic, and fatalistic) that revealed how the breakdown or excess of social bonds and norms had functional (or dysfunctional) consequences for society.
So, while you might not find a direct quote from Durkheim outlining precisely "three functions," his entire body of work is dedicated to dissecting the functions of various social elements. He looked at the function of religion in promoting social cohesion, the function of law in enforcing norms, and the function of education in transmitting shared values. His approach was to ask: what purpose does this particular social element serve for the survival and well-being of the social organism?
Later sociologists, building on Durkheim's legacy, did develop more explicit functionalist models. Thinkers like Talcott Parsons, for instance, proposed frameworks that outlined specific functional prerequisites for social systems. However, the intellectual lineage for understanding society through its functions, and the deep dive into what those functions might be, largely traces back to Durkheim's foundational insights. He provided the lens through which many subsequent analyses of societal functions have been viewed.
