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Explanatory models Part II (Functionalist explanation (functionalism…
Explanatory models
Part II
The pattern model
Something is explained when it is so related to a set of other elements that together they constitute a unified system
Pattern model (P-M) explanations as important in the methodology of the behavioral sciences
Is P-M explanatory?
The pattern model fails the criterion of intersubjective confirmability and cannot be considered as having explanatory power
E.g., two subjects perceive different patterns that encompass the same phenomenon differently
Functionalist explanation
functionalism belongs in the general class of philosophical inquiry known as teleology (the study of purposes)
despite the popularity, there are tremendous logical difficulties with functionalism and functional explanation
the meanings of the terms function, functional and functional explanation lack both specificity and universal consensus
different ways to use the term function
Functional analysis seeks to understand a behavior pattern or a sociocultural institution by determining the role it plays in keeping the given system in proper working order or maintaining it as a going concern
Temporal sequentiality as logical requirement for causal explanations: Functionalist explanations make liberal use of the concepts “goals” and “purposes” --> these refer to future events, does this not mean that future phenomena can cause present phenomena?
Most teleological explanations can be recast in other, nonteleological, forms --> some purportedly functionalist explanations can also be recasted
The logic of functional explanation
FM shows that functional explanations belong to a class of explanations called homeostatic or equilibrating
FM explanatory structure incorporates certain laws or lawlike statements
Functionalist explanations, to the extent that they are satisfactory explanations at all, are simply special cases of D-N explanations or statistical explanations
Sometimes, the host of functional explanations are logically false – the premises do not imply the conclusion
All too often, functional explanations
degenerate into one or more of the following:
ad hoc ex post rationalizations of why some phenomenon has occurred
pseudo-explanations that are empirically empty
logically fallacious explanations
hopelessly circular explanations
Functionalism in the context of discovery
the major importance lies in the context of discovery: functionalism may have heuristic value to scholars searching for fundamental relationships among social phenomena
when we find uniformity of the consequences of action but great variety of the behavior causing those consequences, a functional explanation is suggested