What is "structuralism"

1891, from structural + -ism.

n. 1 A theory of sociology that views elements of society as part of a cohesive, self-supporting structure. 2 (label en biology) A school of biological thought that deals with the law-like behaviour of the structure of organisms and how it can change, emphasising that organisms are wholes, and therefore that change in one part must necessarily take into account the inter-connected nature of the entire organism. 3 (label en linguistics) The theory that a human language is a self-contained structure related to other elements which make up its existence. 4 (label en psychology) A school of thought that focuses on exploring the individual elements of consciousness, how they are organized into more complex experiences, and how these mental phenomena correlate with physical events. 5 (label en mathematics) In the philosophy of mathematics, a theory that holds that mathematical theories describe structures, and that mathematical objects are exhaustively defined by their place in such structures.

1. n. linguistics defined as the analysis of formal structures in a text or discourse [syn: structural linguistics]

2. an anthropological theory that there are unobservable social structures that generate observable social phenomena [syn: structural anthropology]

3. a sociological theory based on the premise that society comes before individuals [syn: structural sociology]

In sociology, anthropology and linguistics, structuralism is the methodology that elements of human culture must be understood in terms of their relationship to a larger, overarching system or structure. It works to uncover the structures that underlie all the things that humans do, think, perceive, and feel. Alternatively, as summarized by philosopher Simon Blackburn, structuralism is "the belief that phenomena of human life are not intelligible except through their interrelations. These relations constitute a structure, and behind local variations in the surface phenomena there are constant laws of abstract culture".

Structuralism in Europe developed in the early 1900s, in the structural linguistics of Ferdinand de Saussure the subsequent Prague, Moscow and Copenhagen schools of linguistics. In the late 1950s and early '60s, when structural linguistics was facing serious challenges from the likes of Noam Chomsky and thus fading in importance, an array of scholars in the humanities borrowed Saussure's concepts for use in their respective fields of study. French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss was arguably the first such scholar, sparking a widespread interest in structuralism.

The structuralist mode of reasoning has been applied in a diverse range of fields, including anthropology, sociology, psychology, literary criticism, economics and architecture. The most prominent thinkers associated with structuralism include Lévi-Strauss, linguist Roman Jakobson, and psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan. As an intellectual movement, structuralism was initially presumed to be the heir apparent to existentialism. However, by the late 1960s, many of structuralism's basic tenets came under attack from a new wave of predominantly French intellectuals such as the philosopher and historian Michel Foucault, the philosopher and social commentator Jacques Derrida, the Marxist philosopher Louis Althusser, and the literary critic Roland Barthes. Though elements of their work necessarily relate to structuralism and are informed by it, these theorists have generally been referred to as post-structuralists. In the 1970s, structuralism was criticized for its rigidity and ahistoricism. Despite this, many of structuralism's proponents, such as Lacan, continue to assert an influence on continental philosophy and many of the fundamental assumptions of some of structuralism's post-structuralist critics are a continuation of structuralism.

Structuralism (also known as scientific structuralism or as the structuralistic theory-concept) is a research program in the philosophy of science, which was first developed in the 1970s by several analytic philosophers.

Biological or process structuralism is a school of biological thought that deals with the law-like behaviour of the structure of organisms and how it can change.

Structuralists tend to emphasise that organisms are wholes, and therefore that change in one part must necessarily take into account the inter-connected nature of the entire organism. Whilst structuralists are not necessarily anti- Darwinian, the laws of biological structure are viewed as independent and ahistorical accounts that are not necessarily tied to any particular mechanism of change. A structuralist might thus hold that Darwinian natural selection might be the driving force behind how structures change, but nevertheless be committed to an extra layer of explanation of how particular structures come into being and are maintained.

Typical structuralist concerns might be self-organisation, the idea that complex structure emerges from the dynamic interaction of molecules, without the resultant structure having necessarily been selected for in all its details. For example, the patterning of fingerprints or the stripes of zebras might emerge through simple rules of diffusion, and the resulting unique structure need not have been selected for in its finest details. Structuralists look for very general rules that govern organisms as a whole, and not just particular narratives that explain the origin or maintenance of particular structures. The interplay between structural laws and adaptation thus govern the degree to which an adaptationist account can fully explain why a particular organism looks as it does.

Structuralism is a movement in architecture and urban planning evolved around the middle of the 20th century. It was a reaction to CIAM-Functionalism ( Rationalism) which had led to a lifeless expression of urban planning that ignored the identity of the inhabitants and urban forms.

Structuralism in a general sense is a mode of thought of the 20th century, which came about in different places, at different times and in different fields. It can also be found in linguistics, anthropology, philosophy and art. At the beginning of the general article Structuralism the following explanations are noted:

"Structuralism is a theoretical paradigm emphasizing that elements of culture must be understood in terms of their relationship to a larger, overarching system or structure."

Alternately, as summarized by philosopher Simon Blackburn, "Structuralism is the belief that phenomena of human life are not intelligible except through their interrelations. These relations constitute a structure, and behind local variations in the surface phenomena there are constant laws of abstract culture."

Structuralism in psychology (also structural psychology) is a theory of consciousness developed by Wilhelm Wundt and his mentee Edward Bradford Titchener. This theory was challenged in the 20th century. It is debated who deserves the credit for founding this field of psychology, but it is widely accepted that Wundt created the foundation on which Titchener expanded. Structuralism as a school of psychology seeks to analyze the adult mind (the total sum of experience from birth to the present) in terms of the simplest definable components and then to find how these components fit together to form more complex experiences as well as how they correlated to physical events. To do this, psychologists employ introspection, self-reports of sensations, views, feelings, emotions, etc.

Structuralism is an approach to the human sciences that attempts to analyze a specific field as a complex system of interrelated parts.

Structuralism may also refer to:

• Structuralism (architecture), movement in architecture and urban planning in the middle of the 20th century
• Structuralism (biology), school of biological thought that deals with the law-like behaviour of the structure of organisms
• Structuralism (international relations), studies the impact of world economic structures on the politics of countries
• Structuralism (linguistics), theory that a human language is self-contained structure related to other elements which make up its existence
• Structuralism (philosophy of science), theory of science, reconstructing empirical theories
• Structuralism (philosophy of mathematics), theory of mathematics as structure
• Structuralism (psychology), theory with the goal to describe the structure of the mind
• Structuralism (sociology), also known as structural functionalism
• Structural Marxism, an approach to Marxist philosophy based on structuralism
• Structural anthropology, a theory of fundamental components in all cultures, stories and rituals, a so-called "deep grammar"

Structuralism is a theory in the philosophy of mathematics that holds that mathematical theories describe structures of mathematical objects. Mathematical objects are exhaustively defined by their place in such structures. Consequently, structuralism maintains that mathematical objects do not possess any intrinsic properties but are defined by their external relations in a system. For instance, structuralism holds that the integer 1 is exhaustively defined by being the successor of 0 in the structure of the theory of natural numbers. By generalization of this example, any integer is defined by their respective place in this structure of the number line. Other examples of mathematical objects might include lines and planes in geometry, or elements and operations in abstract algebra.

Structuralism is an epistemologically realistic view in that it holds that mathematical statements have an objective truth value. However, its central claim only relates to what kind of entity a mathematical object is, not to what kind of existence mathematical objects or structures have (not, in other words, to their ontology). The kind of existence mathematical objects have would clearly be dependent on that of the structures in which they are embedded; different sub-varieties of structuralism make different ontological claims in this regard.

Structuralism in the philosophy of mathematics is particularly associated with Paul Benacerraf, Michael Resnik and Stewart Shapiro.