Question

What is totemism? In what way does lvi-strauss employ totemism to understand social reality.

Answer 1

Totemism. Totemism, system of belief in which humans are said to have kinship or a mystical relationship with a spirit-being, such as an animal or plant. The entity, or totem, is thought to interact with a given kin group or an individual and to serve as their emblem or symbol.

Answer 2

Totemism:

• Totemism is mainly a system of belief in which humans are said to have relationship or a spiritual association with a spirit-being, such as an animal or plant.  

• The entity, or totem, is thought to interrelate with a given kin group or an individual and to attend as their sign or symbol.
• For Lévi-Strauss, totemism is consequently an “illusion” and a “logic that categorizes”—a post hoc description in which the structure of social relations is expected onto the natural phenomena, not taken from it.

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