Claude Lévi-Strauss

Sociology French 1908 – 2009 350 quotes

Father of structural anthropology

Quotes by Claude Lévi-Strauss

Culture is a system of communication.

Lecture

The anthropologist is a kind of bricoleur, a handyman who makes do with what he has.

The Savage Mind

The world is a text that we must learn to read.

Interview

The human mind is a universal structure, but its content varies from culture to culture.

Lecture

Myth is a way of thinking about the world, a way of organizing experience.

Structural Anthropology

The study of myth is the study of the human mind.

Lecture

The world is a system of transformations.

Interview

The human mind is a generator of meaning.

Lecture

Myth is a form of collective memory.

Structural Anthropology

The anthropologist must be both an insider and an outsider.

Lecture

The world is a puzzle, and we are trying to put the pieces together.

Interview

The human mind is a structure that imposes order on chaos.

Lecture

Myth is a way of making sense of the inexplicable.

Structural Anthropology

The anthropologist is a translator of cultures.

Lecture

The world is a symphony, and we are trying to understand its score.

Interview

The anthropologist is a detective, searching for clues.

Lecture

The world is a tapestry, and we are trying to unravel its threads.

Interview

The human mind is a mirror reflecting the world.

Lecture

Myth is a way of transforming reality.

Structural Anthropology

The anthropologist is a cartographer of the human spirit.

Lecture