Totemizam danas [Le Totémisme aujourd'hui]

Sa totemizmom je isto kao sa histerijom. Kad se najzad posumnjalo da se izvesne pojave mogu proizvoljno izdvajati i grupisati, da bi se tako dobili dijagonostički znaci neke bolesti ili objektivne ustanove, i sami simptomi su nestali ili su počeli da se opiru izjednačujućim tumačenjima. U slučaju „velike" histerije, ova promena se ponekad objašnjava kao posledica evolucije društva, koja je, navodno, simbolički izraz mentalnih poremećaja premestila sa somatskog na psihičko područje. Ali poređenje sa totemizmom ukazuje na drukčiju vezu između naučnih teorija i stanja civilizacije, gde se uticaj duha naučnika oseća isto koliko i uticaj duha ljudi koje oni proučavaju, pa i više od toga. Reklo bi se da su prvi, naučnici, pod velom naučne objektivnosti, nesvesno nastojali da druge — bilo da je reč ο mentalnim bolesnicima ili ο tobožnjim „primitivnim ljudima" — učine u većoj meri drukčjima nego što doista jesu. Moda histerije i moda totemizma dolaze u isto vreme, nastale su u istoj civilizacijskoj sredini, a njihovo paralelno opadanje treba, najpre, objasniti zajedničkom težnjom više naučnih grana krajem XIX veka da konstituišu posebno — i to, prema tada omiljenom izrazu, u obliku „prirode" — ljudske fenomene koje su naučnici voleli da drže izvan svog moralnog sveta, da bi zaštitili svoju mirnu savest u odnosu na njega.

Serbian / Croatian / Bosnian / Serbocroatian / Yugoslavia

In his essay "Le Totemisme aujourdhui" (Totemism Today), the anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss argued that human cognition, which is based on analogical thought, is independent of social context. From this, he excludes mathematical thought, which operates primarily through logic. Totems are chosen arbitrarily for the sole purpose of making the physical world a comprehensive and coherent classificatory system. Lévi-Strauss argues that the use of physical analogies is not an indication of a more primitive mental capacity. It is rather, a more efficient way to cope with this particular mode of life in which abstractions are rare, and in which the physical environment is in direct friction with the society. He also holds that scientific explanation entails the discovery of an "arrangement"; moreover, since "the science of the concrete" is a classificatory system enabling individuals to classify the world in a rational fashion, it is neither more nor less a science than any other in the western world. It is important to recognise that in this text, Lévi-Strauss manifests the egalitarian nature of his work. Lévi-Strauss diverts the theme of anthropology toward the understanding of human cognition.

Lévi-Strauss looked at the ideas of Firth and Fortes, Durkheim, Malinowski, and Evans-Pritchard to reach his conclusions. Firth and Fortes argued that totemism was based on physical or psychological similarities between the clan and the totemic animal. Malinowski proposed that it was based on empirical interest or that the totem was 'good to eat.' In other words, there was rational interest in preserving the species. Finally Evans-Pritchard argued that the reason for totems was metaphoric. His work with the Nuer led him to believe that totems are a symbolic representation of the group. Lévi-Strauss considered Evan-Pritchard's work the correct explanation.

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