ABSTRACT
Functionalism, once a dominant view in sociology, social anthropology, and Marxist thought, has largely been abandoned as an approach to understanding social structure. Arguments against functionalism vary depending on the intended target. This chapter introduces a general characterization of a functional explanation and comment on MMA. It explains the distinction between descriptive and explanatory functionalism, as it is introduced by Jon Elester and Harold Kincai. Only if a mechanism in virtue of which the feedback loop occurs can be identified, can an explanation which makes reference to such a feedback loop succeed. Two types of feedback mechanism seem available: intentionality and a mechanism of selection. A similar thought seems to underlie Elster’s distinction between a functional description and a functional explanation in his criticism of Robert K. Merton’s work on manifest and latent functions.
