Race and History · Race and Culture

Author: Claude Lévi-Strauss (France), translated by Yu Xiuying
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: This book is part of the "Collected Works of Claude Lévi-Strauss" and is translated based on UNESCO's 2001 edition. It is a compilation of two essays by the author. In the book, the author offers a theoretical critique of the rampant racist theories of the 1940s and 1950s, while emphasizing that any culture, no matter how insignificant, is a holder of part of the common heritage of humankind and should be preserved for the sake of cultural diversity. The author attempts to combine the concept of progress with cultural relativism. His relativistic stance acknowledges the rationality of any culture and argues that no standard exists to absolutely judge one culture as superior to another.