The Structuralists: From Marx to Levi-Strauss

by Richard T. De George, Fernande M. DeGeorge

The first purpose of this volume is to make representative writings from the most eminent structuralist thinkers easily available. They represent a variety of fields and have, in a sense, pioneered a new approach; they are consequently interdisciplinary sources of valuable in¬sights. The second purpose is to help place structuralism in a historical perspective. Marx, Freud, and Saussure are frequently ignored as precursors of present-day structuralism, and yet they developed many of the techniques used and elaborated upon by present scholars.

Each selection is self-contained and easily accessible; each is representative of a different position. They are also historically important in the development of structuralism. There are detailed introductions to place the writer and the selection in the proper context, thus making this volume an excellent introduction to the study of structuralism.

Cover Design by Fred Troller

Genres: Philosophy

330 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1972

About the author

Dr. Richard T. De George is University Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Business Administration and the director of the International Center for Ethics in Business at the University of Kansas. He is the author of numerous articles and books, including The Ethics of Information Technology and Business, Business Ethics, and Competing With Integrity in International Business. He is a past president of both the American Philosophical Association and the International Society of Business, Economics, and Ethics.

Reviews

[v · Rating 2 out of 5]

After an unhelpful introduction and obligatory selections from Marx, Freud, and de Saussure, this collection includes lengthy papers and book excerpts from most of the major structuralist figures. Because they are major figures, you're inevitably going to dispense with this volume for their completer works; and as an attempt to accessibly introduce structuralism, I feel this approach -- slapping down some self-enclosed, monolithic papers which, like inert gases, don't have anything to do or say to each other or the reader -- makes this collection next to useless. Try as I might on multiple occasions, and starting and dropping this particular book probably three times (I'm fond of obscure, 50-year-old "readers," though they're rarely any good), I've never been able to satisfy my fascination for structuralism: all I get is terrible writing, inscrutable references, microwaved Marxism, and stupid drawings -- and even when I was in graduate school I knew better than to subject myself to any extended reading of Althusser or Lacan.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I pick through this as I have time.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good overview that includes some of the less popular figures. The book features nice introductions to the original texts.