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Describe and analyse briefly three major trends of sociological theories Sociological theories and perspectives seek to explain or understand the way in which society functions. (Haralambos 1995, p7) defines a sociological theory as "a set of ideas that claims to explain how society or aspects of society work". This essay will examine the similarities and differences between three of the main theories Functionalism, Marxism and Interactionism. All three are traced back to theories adopted by sociologists in the nineteenth century. Marxism came from the German philosopher Karl Marx (1818-1883); Functionalism was originally derived by Auguste Compte (1798-1857). It was then developed further by Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) and Interactionism was developed by Max Weber (1864-1920). Each theoretical approach has to some extent been shaped or influenced by the approach of others and many sociological perspectives display marked similarities, or a range of differences that can be traced to a reaction against previously held...

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