Death of a great French thinker

Claude Lévi-Strauss, one of the great philosophers of the 20th century has died aged 100.

The death of the famous Frenchman and founder of structural anthropology was announced by his publishing house in Paris.

A fellow member of the distinguished Academie Francaise described him as France’s greatest scientist.

In 1935 Lévi-Strauss was posted to Brazil as a professor. In that South American country he discovered his vocation for anthropology. He said:

“They are societies that have realized the miracle to remain for thousands of years in harmony with their natural environment,”

He used tribal customs and myths to show that human behaviour is based on logical systems which may vary from society to society, but with a common sub-structure.

He became known to a wider public thanks to his memoir and masterpiece “Sad Tropics” written in 1955.

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tags: Death, France, Society