Talcott Parsons and Clifford Geertz

Abstract

The relationship between Talcott Parsons and Clifford Geertz has often been described in terms of the latter's embrace of a hermeneutic approach to culture and a move away from the constraints of the general theory of action. The chapter reconstructs the complexity of Geertz's relationship at the personal and at the conceptual level, adding nuances to that picture. As a prominent member of the circle of gifted graduate students who were trained in the Department of Social Relations, Geertz touched core themes of Parsons’ approach to social theory, first with his work as a reluctant modernization theorist, and later—through progressive detachment—with his own understanding of the cultural system and the role of symbolism, an attempt that Parsons actively encouraged, particularly in the 1950s. The chapter focuses on Geertz's contributions on the topics of modernization, his attitude toward functionalism in general, and the points of contact and departure from Parsons’ theory in Geertz's call for an interpretive approach.