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functionalism

noun

  1. a philosophy of design (as in architecture) holding that form should be adapted to use, material, and structure
  2. a late 19th century to early 20th century American school of psychology concerned especially with how the mind functions to adapt the individual to the environment
  3. a theory that stresses the interdependence of the patterns and institutions of a society and their interaction in maintaining cultural and social unity
  4. a doctrine or practice that emphasizes practical utility or functional relations
L321043 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈfʌŋkʃənəlɪzəm/

noun

Etymology: Etymology tree Old French fonction Middle French functionbor. English function Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālisbor. Old French -albor. ▲ Latin -ālis Old French -elbor. ▲ Latin -ālisbor. Middle English -al English -al English functional Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Indo-European *-mos Proto-Indo-European *-mós Ancient Greek -μός (-mós) Ancient Greek -ισμός (-ismós)der. English -ism English functionalism From functional + -ism.

  1. A doctrine, in several fields, that the function of something should be reflected in its design and the materials used in its construction.
  2. The definition of mental states in terms of their causes and effects.
  3. The idea that social and cultural cohesion are a function of the interdependence and interactions of the institutions of a society.
  4. The theory that the Holocaust was the result of a gradual escalation of decisions and procedures at the operational level (approved but not necessarily preconceived by Hitler).
  5. A general school of thought that considers psychological phenomena in terms of their role in adaptation to the person's environment.
  6. Synonym of functional linguistics.