PRINCIPIA SOCIOLOGICA II.

This article is a revision of the article titled "Principia Sociologica," which appeared in the third volume of "The British Journal of Sociology," which discusses theories of sociologist Talcott Parsons. In the pre-Bales era we have the action systems and the pattern variables. There has been some modification of both these sets of concepts. An action is a constituent of three systems: as a physical act it is a constituent of the organic system, as a purposeful piece of behavior it is a constituent of a personality system and if it is directed towards another person or set of persons it is a constituent of a social system. The pattern variables, are concerned with the way we apprehend the objects towards which we act and the way we orient ourselves towards them. An object may be apprehended as a member of a class or in its own right as having something of particular significance to the actor. In addition an object may be appraised for what it is or for what it does.