Significance of the Unconscious in Structural Anthropology

Abstract

The concept of the unconscious occupies a prominent place in the thought of Claude Lévi-Strauss and in his anthropological research, insofar as it serves as a major philosophical category through which he sought to uncover its truth and significance in human cultural history. Indeed, the question of the unconscious in structural anthropology functioned as a philosophical statement reflecting Lévi-Strauss's philosophical vision, as he endeavoured to reveal the structure of the human mind and the unconscious symbolic structure underlying cultural forms.