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The structure of a theoretical system tells us what alternatives are open in the possible answers to a given question. If observed facts of undoubted accuracy will not fit any of the alternatives it leaves open, the system itself is in need of reconstruction.

— Talcott Parsons The structure of social action (1937)

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More quotes by Talcott Parsons

Ideology is a system of beliefs, held in common by the members of a collectivity.

The social system (1951)

The most elementary communication is not possible without some degree of conformity to the “conventions” of the symbolic system.

The social system (1951)

A social system is a mode of organization of action elements relative to the persistence or ordered processes of change of the interactive patterns of a plurality of individual actors.

The social system (1951)

The functions of the family in a highly differentiated society are not to be interpreted as functions directly on behalf of the society, but on behalf of personality.

Robert Freed Bales (1956)

As a formal analytical point of reference, primacy of orientation to the attainment of a specific goal is used as the defining characteristic of an organization which distinguishes it from other types of social systems.

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Talcott Parsons (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.