Introduction to structuralism in anthropology: a working paper

Abstract

All science, from the physical to the social sciences, deals with structure, that is, an examination of how the parts of a system relate to each other. There are many interpretations of the meaning of "structure" and "structuralism" depending upon one's perspective and field of inquiry, and even within a given field the use and meaning of "structure" can very widely. In a very broad sense the idea of structure and structuralism embodies three main facets, that is, the notions of wholeness, transformation and self-regulation(Piaget 1973:6). The notion of wholeness refers to something which is made up of specific parts to form a complete entity or whole. In this way other outside parts are not necessary, for the entity is self-sufficient in itself. The idea of transformation is inherent in the notion of structure whereby certain changes may take place in the structure according to and following certain laws. Because the transformations occur according to certain laws, it can be said that the idea of "system" is important in the structure.