![]() Once Comte raised the possibility of a solution to it in the form of an application of a biological analogy then the various attempts that were made at making this application simply needed to be combined. There is no problem regarding the maintenance of social order if we have the theoretical understanding of the nature of social order readily available. Second, the idea that a 'scientific ' solution to the problem of order was readily available is a very seductive notion. Order, therefore, has been a perennial concern. The concern for order is evident in the writings of the Greek city states, of the Roman Empire and so on. Parsons begins his book The Structure of Social Action with a reference to Hobbes(17th century social philosopher) and Hobbes' concern with the problem of social order. In the first place, the notion that social order is a necessary condition for social life has been around for a long time. Merton's codification of functionalist analysis and theory came at a point when functionalism in sociology generally was quite evidently the dominant form of sociological practice. The success of structural-functionalism in American sociology has been quite remarkable. ![]() Structural functionalism might better be named 'system functionalism' as it tends to construct a system model rather than anlyse structural relationships. Universal functions refers to the principle that in every type of civilization, every custom, material object, idea and belief fulfills some vital function (Malinowski).įunctional indispensability proposes that in every type of civilization, every custom, material object, idea and belief fulfills some vital function, has some task to accomplish, represents an indispensable part within a working whole (Malinowski). Structural functionalist arguments hinge on the concepts of functional unity, universal function and functional indispensability.įunctional unity (as defined by Radcliffe Brown) refers to the function of a particular social usage is the contribution it makes to the total social life as the functioning of the total social system. ![]() However the nature of functional analysis remained unclear rather than problematic until the careful analysis conducted by Merton in his paper 'Manifest and Latent Functions' reprinted in Social Theory and Social Structure (Merton, 1968) They both claim that their field work exemplifies the nature of functional analysis. Both writers develop, in their work, the central themes of functionalism: namely functional unity universality and indispensability. Radcliffe Brown undertook a study of The Andaman Islanders again a Pacific people. Malinowski, in his book Argonauts of the Western Pacific examined the people of Trobriand Island. Both of these writers found that functionalism was a valuable method for analysing societies that were 'anthroplogically strange' and used the method in their field work. Structural functionalism had its origins in the work of two anthropologists: Malinowski and Radcliffe-Brown.
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