Universals and Particulars: Some Current Contests in Anthropology
Author(s)
Strathern, Andrew
Abstract
The relationship between generalities and particulars is not simply of a token and type kind but rather is complementary: a priori generalities can never be examined except in particular cases, and all effective accounts of particularities must appeal to or lead to certain generalities. Abu Lughod, for instance, needs the category of “polygynous marriage” just as Jackson needs the category of “girls’ initiation ritual” as a setting to pursue particularities. Anthropologists can stress either the global or the local, either the outside or the inside aspect of changing practices, but what we are faced with is a combination of both, leading to endlessly varying hybrid forms.
