Method

Structural Analysis

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Classification

Method family
critical / interpretive
Domains
Philosophy of Language

Overview

Structural analysis explains an element through the system of differences, relations, and rules that makes it intelligible.

Purpose. The method shifts attention from isolated objects and individual intentions to the organization of a whole system. It is a procedure used within Structuralism and related inquiry, not the historical movement itself.

Characteristic operations

  • Define the system: Specify the field of signs, practices, roles, or objects under study.
  • Map relations: Identify contrasts, positions, transformations, and rules within that field.
  • Test the structure: Compare cases to see whether the proposed relations explain their differences.
  • Explain the element relationally: Show what the item is by the position and function it has in the system.

Used by traditions

Applied to questions

References

  • François Dosse, History of Structuralism (University of Minnesota Press, 1997)
  • Ferdinand de Saussure, Course in General Linguistics, Part One, chs. I–II