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Pragmatic and positivistic analyses of kinship terminology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 December 2010

Murray J. Leaf
Murray J. Leaf
Affiliation:
School of Economic Political, and Policy Sciences, University of Texas, Dallas, Richardson, TX 75083-0688. mjleaf@utdallas.eduwww.utdallas.edu/~mjleaf/
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Abstract

Jones' article suggests that the anthropological analysis of kinship has followed a single line of development based on a single underlying conception of meaning and method. In fact, there have been two opposed lines of development. Jones' conception is positivistic. The other is pragmatic. Pragmatic theory is superior on every recognized criterion. This briefly describes the differences.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 33 , Issue 5 , October 2010 , pp. 390 - 391
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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