Residues are the most important among social factors. P.A. Sorokin has explained the meaning
of residues. According to him, “Human
actions depend greatly on the character of their drives. Among these drives,
the especially important are those which are relatively constant.” Pareto calls them residues. His residue
is not an instinct, nor is it exactly a sentiment.
From this explanation it is clear that residue is a sort of
motivator which is more or less fixed in human behavior. Though it bears to
instinct and sentiment, it is none of these.
According to Pareto, “The Residues are the manifestations of instincts and sentiments as the
elevation of mercury in a thermometer is the manifestation of a rise in the
temperature.” Thus according to Pareto residues are manifestations of
instinct and sentiment but the manifestation is not constant. Thus sexual
instinct may manifest itself heterosexuality, homosexually, auto-erotically or
in some other way.
FEATURES OF RESIDUES:
- Residues are not instincts and sentiments.
- They are the manifestation of sentiments and instincts.
- Residues are related to individual instincts but these residues do not cover all of them.
- Residues are intermediary between the sentiments we cannot know directly and the belief system and acts that can be known and analyzed.
- Residues are non-logical.
- Residues are not based on any reason.
- Residues are more or less permanent motivators of human behaviour. They guide human behaviour.
- Residues represent the general elements of human actions and behaviour.
- Residues cannot be explained with the help of logic and experimentation.
- Residues are responsible for maintaining social equilibrium.
- Residues may change according to the demand of time and condition even if they are relatively stable elements.
In his work “Treatise on General Sociology”, Pareto explained about residues by
saying that residues as conceived as manifestation of sentiments or at least
corresponding to them and not as equivalent of sentiments. Residues, Pareto says are motivating forces
coming directly from sentiments. He considered residues as a fundamental
analytical concept of sociology.
CLASSIFICATION OF RESIDUES:
Pareto classified
residues into six groupings which corresponding more or less to certain
instincts or emotional propensities of mankind.
These six types are:
i. Residues of Combination: These are the motivators which combine
similar or opposites. These residues combine like with like. It explains human
intellectual curiosity and ability to synthesize information. Legends and myths
are built up by this residue.
ii. Residues of Persistence of Aggregates: These are the drives to keep persistence or
perseverance of man’s relations to other men or place. These are expressions of
sentiments held in high esteem and handed down from generation to generation.
iii. Residues of Manifestation of sentiments
through external acts: Such
residues impel us to express our sentiments by external acts. Our sentiment of
patriotism may manifest itself in burning the effigy of the enemy leadership.
iv. Residues of Sociability: These residues make for communal living. They
also impel men to confirm and induce uniformity in behavior.
v. Residues of the integrity of Personality: These are drives which helps us to integrate
our personality and ward off injuries sentiments.
vi. Residues regarding sexuality: These are the residues concerning the sexual
urges. These residues influence our outlooks, attitude and thinking. Since
there are many sex taboos, therefore sexual residues are very complex and
complicated.
THEORY OF RESIDUES AND DERIVATION
Both residues and derivations are interlinked with each
other. Though the residues are present in every society, yet these differ
according to nature of society. These have always influenced human behavior.
Residues give birth to ideologies, whereas derivations go along with them.
Derivations have much less influence as compared with residue. But to a varying
degree both residue and derivation influence both social behavior as well as
social activities.
Pareto’s views
about residue and derivation have been criticized by some of the social
thinkers. According to Vine,
derivation is propaganda analysis. Sorokin
has gone to the extent of saying that these are a kind of weather cock which turns according to the direction of the wind. It
is said that concepts of derivation and residue give rise to wrong notions. But
in spite of all this, it cannot be denied that Pareto contributed significantly to the study of social change, by
expounding the concepts of residue and derivations.
The role, of ideology and propaganda as derivations of the Residue theory cannot be
underestimated. These are how the starting points in the comparative analysis
of government and politics. They have enormously reinvigorated the discipline
and made it far more realistic, work is the only one which incorporates the
elite, residue and derivations as positional references.
Refer to
The Mind And Society-a Treatise On General Sociology by Vilfredo Pareto
Sociological Thought: From Comte to Sorokin_ Marx, Spencer, Pareto, Durkheim, Simmel, Weber, Mannheim by M Francis Abraham & John Henry Morgan
Good...very useful
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