Functionalism in ecology and economics: Epistemological affinities and temptations

Abstract

Functionalism is a natural bridge between ecology and economics. Faced with a systemic issue like the biodiversity crisis, functionalism is particularly useful for economic reasoning, as it allows to break down a complex reality by estimating the contribution of the parts to the general performance of the whole. In this manner, items that are crucial to the functioning of the ecosystem can be preserved in priority. However, while functionalist language is relatively common in environmental sciences, its use is very debated in the philosophy of sciences and ecology. In the philosophy of science, functionalism raises question because it implicitly introduces finalism into scientific reflection. In ecology, it interrogates because it implies a certain degree of organicism, which contemporary ecologists are relatively reticent about.

This article reviews the epistemological debates about functionalism in ecology. It attempts to identify its current area of scientific validity and highlights some important implications for economics. It emphasizes, in particular, that functionalism depends on the system examined and remains inapplicable wherever singularity prevails. Finally, we highlight the risk of conceptualizing the environment through purely abstract functionalism, which could lead to assume functional equivalences without empirical verification.