Bronisława Malinowskiego funkcjonalna teoria kultury
Bronislaw Malinowski’s functional theory of culture

Summary/Abstract: Bronislaw Malinowski is a widely known figure today. Functionalism (he was an exponent of this position) is acknowledged as a classical trend in ethnology. Today Malinowski is situated among such historical figures of anthropology as E. B. Tylor, L. H. Morgan, J. G. Frazer and M. Mauss. In the article author reconstructs the functionalist theory of culture pointing at the theoretical context of functionalism as a specific novum with respect to earlier theoretical trends in cultural anthropology. The Malinowski theory allowed to grasp sectors of culture in their mutual interaction. Thereby it was possible to understand a functional and not only formal aspect of artifacts and elements of culture and finally to treat the culture as a system of mutually interrelated and interdependent elements.

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