Definitions HQ

Structuralism (n.) suggests ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠that different aspects of social life (e.g. Art, religion, myth, kinship, etc.) are constructed in their inmost nature like language.

Structuralism (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠a method that, for example, sees an axe not just as a tool, but as a sign in a complex system. This is a shift from an emphasis (in anthropology) on function to communication.

Structuralism (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠a step back from structural functionalism insofar as the mind is seen as tending toward a resolution of the binaries (cultural dissonance) that it itself creates.

Structuralism (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠an approach in which one can, for example, analyze myths precisely how a linguist proceeds... namely a linguist can work out the grammar of a given language from a remarkably small number of sentences.

Structuralism (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠an imitation of the methods of structural linguistics in the hopes that the anthropologist can arrive at a truly scientific analysis of kinship systems, that is, an analysis which explains and simplifies its object without losing touch of its concrete reality.

Structuralism (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠captured beautifully in the famous phrase: To think is to cast a throw of the dice.

Structuralism (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠concerned with core forms of social interaction such as language, kinship, and economic relations (i.e. Infrastructure) on the one hand and on the other with relatively autonomous spheres of art, science, and religion (i.e. Superstructure).

Structuralism (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠nothing other than an attempt to understand cultures, or societies, by unveiling the structures of conceptual thought which inform their understanding of the world and their behaviour.

Structuralism (n.) , ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠on the one hand, is an assumption (i.e. That human society exist by establishing binaries such as nature/culture, raw/cooked) and on the other, an analytic claim (i.e. That myth exist to mediate these contradictions).

Structuralism (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠grounded in the idea that the universal structures of the mind are the structures present in all minds that show a demand for rules, a concern for reciprocity, and and an appreciation for the transformative nature of partnerships.

Structuralism (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠the notion that all human activity is regulated by unconscious symbolic mechanisms.

Structuralism (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠a method whose purpose was to draw up an inventory of mental patterns, to reduce apparently arbitrary data to some kind of order, and to attain a level at which a kind of necessity becomes apparent, underlying the illusions of liberty.

Structuralism (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠well-suited to the study of political ideology for nothing resembles mythological thought more in terms of its symbolic efficacy.