A functionalist interpretation focuses itself around the nature of mental states and considers what they do instead of what they are made of. For the story of Prometheus, a functionalist interpretation could focus on two aspects- social behavior/morality and how it contributes to the stability of the society in general. The first part of a functionalist interpretation in this episode would focus on Prometheus’ social behavior and the morality behind his actions. When telling Perses what he should do and what is wrong to do, Hesiod advised that “property is not for seizing” (46) and “seek no evil gains: evil gains are no better than losses” (47) come up. Prometheus’ story has been retold many times throughout history. But I think that the story …show more content…
At first praised by man for his trickery and their newfound gift, Prometheus soon became the reason for humankind’s downfall; “[Prometheus] you are pleased at having stolen fire and outwitted me—a great calamity both for yourself and for men to come” (38). Having lost Zeus’ favor and his favor for mankind, Prometheus’ story will serve as a reminder to society and all whom wish to life a better life by unmoral means—such as cunningness or thievery—will face the consequences sooner or later. Another example of this can also be seen in The Odyssey, in Book Nine, when Odysseus uses his cunning self to stab the cyclops Polyphemus in the eye and escape his cave. Triumphant at first, Odysseus and his crew were proud of his trickery. Odysseus even went as far as to taunt Polyphemus as they were trying to leave the island. However, they found out soon enough that Poseidon would not let the men go so easily and prevented them from returning to Ithaca. The second part of a functionalist interpretation in this episode would then focus on how Prometheus’ actions contributed to the stability of the society in general. The fact that Prometheus was able to steal from the heart of Olympus, from Zeus himself, provided instability in the hierarchy between the gods and