Binary Oppositions And Its Impact On The Context Of Culture

The subject of binary oppositions is one that had been discussed lightly for a while before symbolic anthropology became the popular approach, but it was not until this movement that the subject was fully explored. Symbolic anthropologists examined binary oppositions in the context of culture, investigating how rules were formed as a result of these contradictions. The four main theorists of symbolic anthropology all have different opinions on what binary oppositions mean to culture; however, all of them agree that culture must be organised in some way and that binary oppositions play a role this organisation. Claude Levi-Strauss’s theory of binary oppositions was extremely influential in the anthropological world and fueled the reaction seen among the other anthropologists discussed here in this paper. Levi-Strauss proposed that binary oppositions are used to give things meaning; he argues that they act as organising principles of rituals and myths and construct the thought p atterns of a culture. This can be seen, for example, in the way he examined and deconstructed myths: he asserted that every myth contained one or more sets of binary oppositions, saying that â€Å"all narratives have to be driven by a conflict that was caused by a series of opposing forces† (Levi-Strauss 34). This quote demonstrates how his believed all myths and rituals were based on universal contradictions. These contradictions within a myth are what it seeks to resolve within its narrative. InShow MoreRelated The Usefulness of Structuralism as an Analytical Tool for Uncovering How Meaning is Generated in The Wizard of Oz1918 Words   |  8 Pagessociety and a culture, we use stories to comprehend and share our experiences, typically by constructing them with a beginning, middle and an end. 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