Functionalism Made Verifiable.

Merton points out that "the most precise significance of the word function is of course found in mathematics …. " But, says Martindale, "The work of most of the recent functionalists has been at the opposite pole from this meaning." Consequently, assertions made by functionalists have not always been received with the degree of confidence that their authors might consider appropriate. It is the purpose of this paper to suggest a way in which qualitatively formulated propositions of a functional kind may be translated into a language which points to empirical referents and thus, if all goes well, leads in the end to the formulation of mathematical equations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]