Structuralism
Meaning arises not in things themselves but in the system of relations between them
Key ideas
- Language is a system of signs; meaning lies in differences (Saussure)
- Myths and kinship work like a language (Lévi-Strauss)
- Hidden structures matter more than individual will
- A method for linguistics, anthropology and literary studies
Key thinkers
- Ferdinand de Saussure (founder) — Swiss linguist, 1857–1913
- Claude Lévi-Strauss — French anthropologist, 1908–2009
What grew out of it
- Postmodern philosophy c. since 1967 · Europe
Meanwhile elsewhere
- Confucianism Asia
- Buddhist philosophy Asia
- Taoism Asia
- Nyaya Asia
- Madhyamaka Asia
- Yogachara Asia
- Chan and Zen Asia
- Advaita Vedanta Asia
- Kalam Middle East
- Russian religious philosophy Eastern Europe & Russia
- Pragmatism Americas
- Russian cosmism Eastern Europe & Russia
- Kyoto School Asia
- Négritude Africa