ABSTRACT
The problem Parsons first attacks is two-fold. One part of it consists of a series of disputes over the epistemological character of various conceptions of society. The other is not directly epistemological but substantive, and is concerned with providing a scientific analysis of social action. In Parsons’ early formulation the two parts of the problem are explicitly interwoven, for he believes he must overcome the various epistemological objections to the categories and concepts he wishes to use in his scientific analysis. 1 His reasoning here will be brought out shortly. For the purposes of this study, however, it will be of the first importance to isolate the two parts and make them as clear and distinct as possible, however interwoven they may be in Parsons’ conception. There are separate issues pertaining to each which cannot be appraised until they are disentangled. Each part has its own criteria of solution, and each part of the problem must be made known before a judgment may be made of the adequacy of Parsons’ solutions of them.
