These three pillars of a family are visible across cultures.
The argument
By analysing a cross-societal group of family units, Murdock concluded that the shared attributes of all families were a shared residence, economic cooperation, and reproduction. For him, these shared functions defined the family unit. Any erosion of these attributes, for example if economic mobility forced members of the family to move out of the shared residence, would correspond with an erosion of the family ties. This weakening of the family unit would then have profound negative consequences.
Context
George Peter Murdock collected data on family units from 85 societies when crafting his sociological theory of the family. He compared this with existing data on a further 165 societies.
Premises
Counter-arguments
This narrow definition of a family cannot adequately account for families with LGBTQ parents for whom reproduction is not a core function of the family group. Murdock’s definition is also antiquated. The modern family may not share a residence, as economic conditions drive one parent to alternate regions for work. In these cases, economic cooperation may still be common, as one parent often sends remittance payments home to their partner and children, but a shared residence is often not possible.
Rejecting the premises
[Rejecting P2] The definition has become antiquated and no longer applies to the modern family.