Introduction

• Structuralism and functionalism are two foundational theoretical frameworks in sociology offering distinct perspectives on the organization and function of society.

• Structuralism, associated with Claude Lévi-Strauss, focuses on underlying structures that shape human behavior and social institutions.

• Functionalism, championed by Émile Durkheim, examines how social institutions and processes contribute to stability and functionality of society.

• Both frameworks provide valuable insights into how societies are organized and how social order is maintained.

• Late 19th-century anthropological approaches to studying societies and cultures were named after ‘evolution’, explaining how societies and cultures evolved over history.

• Early 20th-century evolutionary schools gave way to ‘diffusion’ or ‘culture-historic’ schools, viewing culture as a product of historical processes.

• The notion of function was recognized by ancient Greek scholars (Herodotus, Plato, Aristotle) and later philosophers (Augustine, Hobbes, Locke) but lacked a developed theory of function.

• Henri de Saint Simon and Auguste Comte used function as a methodological tool but focused more on positivism, leaving function largely unexplained.

• The concepts of ‘structure’ and ‘function’ first appeared in Herbert Spencer’s Principles of Sociology (1885), where society is treated like an organism—an integrated order of interrelated parts forming the structure of society.

• Different parts of society perform functions essential for the society’s existence and integration, analogous to an organism’s body parts.

• Émile Durkheim used the concepts of structure and function in Division of Labour (1893) and The Rules of Sociological Method (1895), preferring terms like ‘monopoly’ and ‘physiology’.

• Durkheim likened society to an organism that fulfills essential needs through activities called functions, defining function as a part’s contribution to the maintenance and well-being of the whole.

• In the early 20th century, British scholars Malinowski and Radcliffe-Brown pioneered the functional and structural-functional approaches to culture analysis.

• Both scholars criticized evolutionary and diffusionist views for being pseudo-historical due to lack of written records.

• They argued similar cultural traits do not necessarily indicate historical connections.

• They emphasized the purpose of comparison in social anthropology as exploring socio-cultural institutions synchronically (ahistorically) and diachronically (historically).

• Synchronic studies describe social life at a specific point in time without referencing change.

• Diachronic studies examine social life across two points in time, focusing on changes.

• They discredited earlier evolutionists and diffusionists by promoting synchronic functional analysis, focusing on the ‘here-and-now’ as described by Radcliffe-Brown.

• They sharply criticized the comparative method of evolutionists that extrapolated the past from contemporary primitive societies.

Meaning of Structuralism and Functionalism

• The core theoretical approaches to sociology are structuralism and functionalism.

• These approaches differ as they provide different observation and interpretation lenses towards social phenomena.

• Structuralism was initially developed by anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss and later developed in sociology by Émile Durkheim.

• Structuralism focuses on examining the deeper structures and systems underlying social life.

• Functionalism, developed by sociologists like Émile Durkheim and Talcott Parsons, views society as a complex system of interconnected parts.

• Each part in functionalism works to ensure overall stability and cohesion in the social order.

Structuralism in Sociology

• The structuralism perspective in sociology emphasizes understanding the basic structures shaping society and human behavior.

• It is based on the works of French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss and further developed by sociologists like Émile Durkheim.

• Structuralism assumes social phenomena must be understood through analysis of underlying structures and systems.

• It stresses that individual acts and social events are products of larger, often invisible structures such as norms, institutions, and cultural systems.

• These structures are key factors shaping social interaction and the order within society.

• Structuralism aims to unveil the deep-seated patterns and relations in society to reveal the complex interaction between individual behavior and societal structures.

Functionalism in Sociology

• Functionalism explains society as a complex system made up of many interrelated parts.

• Each part has a function that contributes to stability and cohesion in society.

• Developed by early sociologists like Émile Durkheim and elaborated by Talcott Parsons.

• Asserts that social institutions and processes exist because they perform necessary functions to maintain stability and continuity of society.

• Institutions such as family, education, and religion have crucial functions that:

  • Guarantee social order

  • Socially integrate citizens

  • Ensure societal survival

• Functionalism studies how different parts of society combine to produce peace and balance.

• Generally focuses on the positive aspects of social structures and their contribution to societal stability.