The Unconscious in Culture: The Structuralism of Claude Levi-Strauss in Perspective

490 Pages·1974·33.205 MB·English

by  Ino Rossi (ed)

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THE
UNCONSCIOUS
IN
CULTURE
The Structuralism
of Claude Levi-Strauss
in Perspective
EDITED BY
INO ROSSI
St. lohn's University, New York
,
E. P. DUTTON & CO., INC. NEW YORK 1974
THE UNCONSCIOUS IN CULTURE
The Structuralism of
Claude Levi-Strauss in Perspective
Copyright © 1974 by Ino Rossi
All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.
FmST EDmON
Individual Copyrights
Ino Rossi: "Intellectual Antecedents of Levi-Strauss' Notion of Uncon
scious." Printed by permission of author and by The American Anthro
p%gist. Copyright © 1973 by Ino Rossi.
Georges Mounin: "Levi-Strauss' Use of Linguistics." Translated from
a
Introduction la Sbni%gie by permission of Les £ditions de Minuit.
Copyright © 1970 by Georges Mounin.
Marshall Durbin: "Comments to Georges Mounin's 'Levi-Strauss' use of
linguistics.''' Printed by permission of author. Copyright © 1974 by
Marshall Durbin.
Ino Rossi: "Structuralism as Scientific Method." Copyright © 1974 by
Ino Rossi.
Ino Rossi: "Structure and History in The Elementary Structures of Kin
ship." Printed by permission of author. Copyright © 1974 by Ino Rossi.
Jacques Maquet: "Isomorphism and Symbolism as 'Explanations' in the
Analysis of Myths." Printed by permission of author. Copyright ©
1974 by Jacques Maquet.
Alice Kasakoff: "Levi-Strauss' Idea of the Social Unconscious: The
Problem of Elementary and Complex Structures in Gitksan Marriage
Choice." Printed by permission of author. Copyright © 1974 by AIice
Kasakoff.
John W. Adams: "Dialectics and Co~ingency in 'The Story of Asdiwal':
An Ethnographic Note." Printed by permission of author. Copyright ©
1974 by John W. Adams.
N. Ross Crumrine and Barbara June Macklin: "Sacred Ritual vs. the
Unconscious: The Efficacy of Symbols and Structure in North Mexican
Folk Saints' Cults and General Ceremonialism." Printed by permission
of authors. Copyright © 1974 by N. Ross Crumrine and Barbara June
Macklin.
Shin-pyo Kang: "The Structural Principle of Chinese World View."
Printed by permission of author. Copyright © 1974 by Shin-pyo Kang.
Erik Schwimmer: "Objects of Mediation: Myths and Praxis." Printed by
permission of author. Copyright © 1974 by Erik Schwimmer.
Jan Pouwer: ''The Structural-Configurational Approach: A Methodolog
ical Outline." Printed by permission of author. Copyright © 1974 by
Jan Pouwer.
Erik Schwimmer: "Comments on the Essays of Part Two: The Practice
of Structural Analysis." Printed by permission of author. Copyright ©
1974 by Erik Schwimmer.
Anthony Wilden: "Structuralism as Epistemology ~f Closed Systems."
Printed by permission of author. Copyright © 1974 by Anthony
Wilden.
Yvan Simonis: "Comments." Printed by permission of author. Copyright
© 1974 by Yvan Simonis.
Stanley Diamond: "The Myth of Structuralism." A modified version
appears in In Search of the Primitive, Transaction, 1974. Copyright ©
1974 by Stanley Diamond.
Lawrence Krader: "Beyond Structuralism: The Dialectics of the Dia
chronic and Synchronic Methods in the Human Sciences." Printed by
permission of author. Copyright © 1974 by Lawrence Krader.
Yvan Simonis: "Two Ways of-Approaching Concrete Reality: 'Group
Dynamics' and Uvi-Strauss' Structuralism." Printed by permission of
author. Copyright © 1974 by Yvan Simonis.
Lawrence Rosen: "Language, History, and the Logic of Inquiry in the
Works of Levi-Strauss and Sartre." Copyright © 1971 by Wesleyan
University. Reprinted from History and Theory, Volume X, Number 3,
by permission of author and Wesleyan University Press.
Bob Scholte: "Comments On the Essays of Part Three: Structural An
thropology as an Ethno-Iogic." Printed by permission of author. Copy
right © 1974 by Bob Scholte.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 I
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PUblished simultaneously in Canada
by Clarke. Irwin & Company Limited, Toronto and Vancouver
ISBN: 0-525-47358-0
Library 0/ Congress Cataioging in Publication Data
Rossi,Ino.
The unconscious in culture.
Bibliography: p.
I. Structural anthropology. 2. Levi-Strauss.
Claude. I. Title.
GN320.R67 301.2 73-14947
To lrene and Paul
CONTENTS
Preface xiii
Contributors xv
Part One
THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF
STRUCTURALISM: Introduction 3
Theoretical Assumptions and Their Historical
Antecedents
Intellectual Antecedents of Levi-Strauss' Notion of
Unconscious by lno Rossi 7
Levi-Strauss' Use of Linguistics by Georges Mounin 31
Comments by Marshall Durbin 53
Structuralism as Scientific Method by lno Rossi. 60
The Study of Kinship and Myth
Structure and History in The Elementary Structures of
Kinship, by lno Rossi 107
Isomorphism and Symbolism as "Explanations" in the
Analysis of Myths by Jacques Maquet 123
Part Two
STRUCTURALISM IN ETHNOGRAPHY:
Introduction 137
Criticism by Empirical Anthropologists
Levi-Strauss' Idea of the Social Unconscious: The
Problem of Elementary and Complex Structures in
Gitksan Marriage Ohoice by Alice KasakoD 143
ix
x CONTENTS
Dialectics and Contingency in "The Story of Asdiwal":
An Ethnographic Note by John W. Adams 170
Support for the Structural Method by the Application
of Levi-Strauss' Techniques
Sacred Ritual vs. the Unconscious: The Efficacy of
Symbols and Structure in North Mexican Folk
Saints' Cults and General Ceremonialism
by N. Ross Crumrine and Barbara June Macklin 179
The Structural Principle of the Chinese World View
by Shin-pyo Kang 198
Strengthening the Structural Method
Objects of Mediation: Myth and Praxis
by Erik Schwimmer 209
The Structural-Configurational Approach: A
Methodological Outline by Jan Pouwer 238
Comments on the Essays of Part Two: The Practice of
Structural Analysis by Erik G. Schwimmer 256
Part Three
STRUCTURALISM AND CONTEMPORARY
SOCIAL SCIENCES: Introduction 267
Critical Views
Structuralism as Epistemology of Oosed Systems
by Anthony Wilden 273
Comments by Yvan Simonis 291
The Myth of Structuralism by Stanley Diamond 292
Beyond Structuralism: The Dialectics of the
Diachronic and Synchronic Methods in the
Human Sciences by Lawrence Krader 336
Positive Views
Two Ways of Approaching Concrete Reality: "Group
Dynamics" and Uvi-Strauss' Structuralism
by Yvan Simonis 363
Contents xi
Language, History, and the Logic of Inquiry in the
Works of Levi-Strauss and Sartre by Lawrence Rosen 389
Comments on the Essays of Part Three: Structural
Anthropology as an Ethno-Iogic by Bob Scholte 424
Epilogue: Toward a Constructive Dialogue by [no Rossi 455
Basic Bibliographical Resources, by Ino Rossi 463
Index 475
PREFACE
Even though the literature on the works of Claude Levi-Strauss
has been growing daily in almost every field of the social sciences
and the humanities, it has scarcely contributed to a progressive
clarification of the real intents and merits of this new form of
structuralism. What is deplorable is not the continued disagree
ments of opinion on the validity of structuralism, but rather the
confusion and misinterpretation on what it stands for. This
volume intends to contribute to a systematic interpretation and
evaluation of Levi-Strauss' works, not so much by offering :a
comprehensive treatment of all relevant topics (which is hardly
desirable or even possible), but by examining crucial theoretical
and methodological issues. Almost all the essays have been orig
inally written for this volume, and most of them have demanded
an intensive and repeated exchange between the editor and t~e
contributors .
The rationale for the organization of this volume is derived
from the notion that an honest and adequate evaluation of the
works of a social scientist implies, first of all, an understanding
and interpretation of his works in terms of his own theoretical
framework, then a discussion of the internal consistency of his
method and of its applications to concrete data, and finally an
overall evaluation of his scientific effort from the viewpoint
of different methodological perspectives. The Introduction and
Part One deal with the first of these three criteria, while Parts
Two and Three deal respectively with the second and third
criteria.
This volume does not pretend to resolve basic issues or
reconcile basic differences of opinion, at times fundamental,
concerning structuralism, but it aims to contribute to a clarifica
tion not only of the structuralist position but al~o of the major
xiii