Cultural universal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A cultural universal (see George Murdock, Claude Levi-Strauss) is an element, pattern, trait or institution that is common to all human cultures on the planet. Examples of elements that may be considered cultural universals are gender roles, the incest taboo, religious and healing ritual, myth, marriage, language, art, cooking, games, and joking. It should be noted that some anthropological and sociological theorists of an extreme cultural relativism perspective may deny the existence of cultural universals. The "nature versus nurture" argument has been going on for generations and is likely to continue.
[edit] Bibliography
Bourginon, Erika (1973) Diversity and Homogeneity in World Societies. New Haven Connecticut: HRAF Press
Laughlin, Charles D. and Eugene G. d'Aquili (1974) Biogenetic Structuralism. New York: Columbia University Press
Levi-Strauss, Claude (1966) The Savage Mind. Chicago: University of Chicago Press [first published in French in 1962]
Osgood, Charles E., William S May and Murray S Miron (1975) Cross-Cultural Universals of Affective Meaning Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press
