Symbolic Anthropology

Symbolic anthropology, or more broadly symbolic and interpretive anthropology, is the study of cultural symbols and of how they can be used to understand a particular society. It assumes that culture lies in the way individuals interpret their surroundings, and that the meanings given to behaviour are shaped by culturally established symbols. Clifford Geertz, quoting Max Weber, described culture as webs of significance that people spin for themselves, so that its analysis is an interpretive search for meaning and not an experimental science in search of law. Two approaches are recognised, the interpretive one associated with Geertz and the symbolic one associated with Victor Turner, with David M. Schneider and Mary Douglas also counted among its prominent figures. It leans on literature and psychology more than on mathematics or logic, though fieldwork is still done.