Editing Structuralism (section)

{{Short description|Intellectual current and methodological approach in the social science}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use British (Oxford) English|date=August 2016}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2023}}
{{Sociology}}
'''Structuralism''' is an intellectual current and [[methodology|methodological]] approach, primarily in the [[Social science|social sciences]], that interprets elements of [[Culture|human culture]] by way of their relationship to a broader system.<ref>[[Craig Calhoun|Calhoun, Craig]], ed. 2002. "Structuralism." In ''Dictionary of the Social Sciences''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|9780195123715}}.</ref> It works to uncover the [[Social structure|structural patterns]] that underlie all the things that humans [[Human behavior|do]], [[think]], [[perceive]], and [[feeling|feel]]. 

Alternatively, as summarized by philosopher [[Simon Blackburn]], structuralism is:<ref name="Blackburn">[[Simon Blackburn|Blackburn, Simon]], ed. 2008. "Structuralism." In ''[[Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy]]'' (2nd rev. ed.). Oxford: [[Oxford University Press]]. {{ISBN|978-0-19-954143-0}}. p. 353.</ref><blockquote>"The belief that phenomena of human life are not intelligible except through their interrelations. These relations constitute a structure, and behind local variations in the surface phenomena there are constant laws of abstract structure."</blockquote>