Original classification

Author: (French) Durkheim
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-04-01
Features: This book is part of the "Pocket Classics" series within the "21st Century Human Culture Series." The concept of classification refers to the process by which people categorize things, events, and facts of the world into classes and species, assigning them respective places and determining their inclusive or exclusive relationships. So, what drives people to adopt classification as a way to organize their ideas, and where do they find the blueprint for this unique configuration of classification? To answer this question, Durkheim and Mauss examine the crude classifications formed by humans. In Australia, in China, totemism reveals the primitive modes of classification, and the several original forms of classification unveil the collective origins of human present-day classification concepts and the origins of society.