Question

Certain mechanisms of functionalist theory are utilised today. Discuss what they are and highlight the main assumptions and limitations of functionalism.

Please provide references

Answer 1

Major assumption of functionalism

* Human have certain biological and phycological needs, many cultural traits exists to fullfill the universal biological and phycological needs of individual

* The main task of a culture is to maintain itself, many culturak traits have a part to play, a job to do, a function to perform, in maintaining the entire society.

* Each culture is a system of inter related parts, change one part, and you may change every other part.

Limitations

* It is difficult to explain cultural differences

* It is difficult to expain cultural change. If each culture is a system of inter related parts, each working to maintain the whole culture.

* It is difficult to explain why cultures retain apparantly non functional or even disfunctional cultural traits.