In memoriam. La obra de Claude Lévi–Strauss (1908–2009). Unidad humana y diferencia cultural

Abstract

One of the main subjects in the work of Claude Lévi–Strauss, the recently deceased French anthropologist, is the relationship between human unity and cultural diversity. Both in his theoretical works and in his public presentations, Lévi–Strauss adopted a particular form of cultural relativism. In this article, an overview of what this position owes to the basic assumptions of structuralism is provided. Also, a thinking on Lévi–Strauss different notions regarding human unity is given, together with a criticism of the structuralist relativism and a defence of the universalism of the social field.