ABSTRACT
Talcott Parsons' multidimensional theory is cross-cut by sociological idealism. In fact, Parsons is not arguing here against Durkheim's sociological idealism: he is contesting idealism only in the purely epistemological sense. To fully understand the problem of sociological idealism, Parsons would have had to develop the inverse of this logic: the problem does not come from eliminating instrumental elements but rather from treating them as if they were fully regulated by nonrational commitments. The social system's independence guarantees that epistemological idealism will be avoided; but if this autonomy is conceptualized in a primarily passive way, the culture/society/personality trichotomy can still be used to elaborate idealism in a more sociological form. That his idealism is sociological, not epistemological, can be seen from a central paradox in this strand of Parsons' work: while he rejects cultural emanationism and psychological determinism, he accepts, nevertheless, the existence of a natural identity of interest based upon the interpenetration of individuals by cultural symbols.
