Symbolic Classification
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 18936871 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Simone Ghezzi (0000-0003-0044-5600, University of Milano-Bicocca, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2016 |
| Pages | 1-3 |
| Publication date | 2016-08-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | OTHER |
| Venue | The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology (JOURNAL) |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/9781405165518.wbeoss308.pub2 |
| OpenAlex | W4236574529 |
| ISBN | 9781405165518 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 9 |
Symbolic classification refers to the process of classifying and ordering by means of which individuals are able to make sense of the natural and social world. This process occurs in different and locally defined ways, and therefore it varies cross‐culturally. Individuals are always inclined to impose an order on the objects of the natural and the social environment that surrounds them. They do so by means of models of categorization which are culturally and socially determined. Such categories are cast in concrete images that we may call symbols, which are, by definition, polysemic and relativistic because they convey different meanings. Durkheim and Mauss, alongside Hertz and Granet, were among the first scholars to reflect on the ways human beings come to classify symbolically by means of a system of categories. More recently Douglas, Alexander, and Heritier have moved away from the structural problem and have used symbolic classification to focus on issues of practice
Archaeology · Categorization · Epistemology · Geography · Political science · Politics · Social order · Social organisation · Social science · Sociology · The Symbolic · Categorization, perception, and language · Computer Science · Law · Philosophy · Psychology
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |