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Symbolic anthropology or, more broadly, symbolic and interpretive anthropology, is the study of cultural symbols and how those symbols can be used to gain a better understanding of a particular society. According to Clifford Geertz, " lieving, with Max Weber, that man is an animal suspended in webs of significance he himself has spun, I take culture to be those webs, and the analysis of it to be therefore not an experimental science in search of law but an interpretive one in search of meaning". In theory, symbolic anthropology assumes that culture lies within the basis of the individuals’ interpretation of their surrounding environment, and that it does not in fact exist beyond the individuals themselves. Furthermore, the meaning assigned to people's behavior is molded by their culturally established symbols. Symbolic anthropology aims to thoroughly understand the way meanings are assigned by individuals to certain things, leading then to a cultural expression. There are two majorly recognized approaches to the interpretation of symbolic anthropology, the interpretive approach, and the symbolic approach. Both approaches are products of different figures, Clifford Geertz (interpretive) and
Victor Turner Victor Witter Turner (28 May 1920 – 18 December 1983) was a British cultural anthropologist best known for his work on symbols, rituals, and rites of passage. His work, along with that of Clifford Geertz and others, is often referred to as ...
(symbolic). There is also another key figure in symbolic anthropology,
David M. Schneider David Murray Schneider (November 11, 1918, Brooklyn, New York – October 30, 1995, Santa Cruz, California) was an American cultural anthropologist, best known for his studies of kinship and as a major proponent of the symbolic anthropology app ...
, who does not particularly fall into either of the schools of thought. Symbolic anthropology follows a literary basis instead of an empirical one meaning there is less of a concern with objects of science such as mathematics or logic, instead of focusing on tools like psychology and literature. That is not to say fieldwork is not done in symbolic anthropology, but the research interpretation is assessed in a more ideological basis. Prominent figures in symbolic anthropology include Clifford Geertz,
David M. Schneider David Murray Schneider (November 11, 1918, Brooklyn, New York – October 30, 1995, Santa Cruz, California) was an American cultural anthropologist, best known for his studies of kinship and as a major proponent of the symbolic anthropology app ...
,
Victor Turner Victor Witter Turner (28 May 1920 – 18 December 1983) was a British cultural anthropologist best known for his work on symbols, rituals, and rites of passage. His work, along with that of Clifford Geertz and others, is often referred to as ...
and Mary Douglas.


Different perspectives

Clifford Geertz's interpretive approach asserts that humans are in need of symbolic “sources of illumination” to orient themselves to the system of meaning in a particular culture. Geertz was influenced largely by sociologist Max Weber and concerned himself more with overall cultural operation. Victor Turner believed that symbols initiate social actions, and are “determinable influences inclining persons and groups to action.” Turner's influence came largely from
Emile Durkheim Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *''Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau * ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *''Emil and the Detective ...
, caring more about the way symbols functioned within society. The two different schools of perspective on symbolic anthropology also have their roots in different cultures, the work of Victor Turner traditionally being recognized as the British way of thought, while the work of Clifford Geertz is viewed as the American way.


Conceptual Terminology

The purpose of symbolic and interpretive anthropology can be described through a term used often by Geertz that originated from
Gilbert Ryle Gilbert Ryle (19 August 1900 – 6 October 1976) was a British philosopher, principally known for his critique of Cartesian dualism, for which he coined the phrase "ghost in the machine." He was a representative of the generation of British ord ...
, "
Thick Description In the social sciences and related fields, a thick description is a description of human social action that describes not just physical behaviors, but their context as interpreted by the actors as well, so that it can be better understood by an o ...
." By this what is conveyed, is that since culture and behavior can only be studied as a unit, studying culture and its smaller sections of the structure, thick description is what details the interpretation of those belonging to a certain culture. Victor Turner proposed the concept of  “Social Drama” to describe social interactions that entail some sort of conflict in society, proposing their symbolic significance. His model suggests that there are four phases to any conflictive interaction 1 - Breach; 2 - Crisis; 3 - Redress; 4 - Reintegration; each of these can describe the sequence of events that occurs from a drama in any given social relation. In this way Turner displays his theory of this linear ritual in society involving several exhibits of symbolism. Turner states that his theory was derived after observing the Ndembu people's interactions in West-Central
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in Africa, then later perceiving it among most other people.


Symbolic anthropology and psychology

Anthropology and psychology have influenced one another from very early on, especially due to the influence different figures such as
Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts ...
,
Carl Jung Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. Jung's work has been influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, phi ...
and
Claude Lévi-Strauss Claude Lévi-Strauss (, ; 28 November 1908 – 30 October 2009) was a French anthropologist and ethnologist whose work was key in the development of the theories of structuralism and structural anthropology. He held the chair of Social An ...
had on one another. French anthropologist Strauss, much like Swiss psychiatrist Jung, wanted to understand the mind through understanding myth. Symbolic or interpretive anthropology emphasizes the individual's interpretation of events, and how that interpretation enhances the more collectively perceived characteristics or rituals of a group. Furthermore, this is the only real difference in the aims of the two fields: one focuses on the collective and the other on the individual. However, one can't draw a clear line between mind culture and the mind, since they both contribute to one another. The two fields involve different data sets and settings, but require similar approaches, in whichever schools of thought is used. There was early hesitation among major figures to integrate the two fields, despite clear overlap in thought, such as Durkheim's and Jung's indirect influence on some of each other's theories. Some dismiss the connection between these two fields, believing that symbolic anthropology cannot be condensed down into psychology in any way, or that culture alone determines behavior, disregarding the role the individual psyche plays in collective traits expressed through thick description.


Key publications

*Geertz, Clifford (1973) ''The interpretation of cultures'', Basic Books, New York *Geertz, Clifford. (Ed.) (1974) ''Myth, symbol, and culture'', W. W. Norton, New York * Sahlins, Marshall (1976) ''Culture and practical reason'',
University of Chicago Press The University of Chicago Press is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including ''The Chicago Manual of Style'', ...
, Chicago *Schneider, David (1968) ''American kinship: A cultural account''. Prentice-Hall, New Jersey *Turner, Victor (1967) ''The forest of symbols: Aspects of Ndembu ritual'',
Cornell University Press The Cornell University Press is the university press of Cornell University; currently housed in Sage House, the former residence of Henry William Sage. It was first established in 1869, making it the first university publishing enterprise in t ...
, Ithaca *Turner, Victor (1974) ''Dramas, fields and metaphors: Symbolic action in human society'', Cornell University Press, Ithaca


See also

* Collective unconscious *
Interpretive sociology ''Verstehen'' (, ), in the context of German philosophy and social sciences in general, has been used since the late 19th century – in English as in German – with the particular sense of the "interpretive or participatory" examination of socia ...
*
Semiotic anthropology The phrase "semiotic anthropology" was first used by Milton Singer (1978). Singer's work brought together the semiotics of Charles Sanders Peirce and Roman Jakobson with theoretical streams that had long been flowing in and around the University o ...
* Max Weber


References


External links

{{Commons category
"Symbolic and interpretive anthropologies"
Department of Anthropology,
University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...
, retrieved March 13, 2013
Culture and Public Action: Symbolic anthropology