more on this theme | more from this thinker | more from this text
Full Idea
The view that all classification finds its roots in social institutions is now generally considered untenable.
Gist of Idea
Classification is no longer held to be rooted in social institutions
Source
Roy Ellen (Anthropological Studies of Classification [1996], p.36)
Book Ref
Ellen,Roy: 'The Categorical Impulse' [Bergahn Books 2008], p.36
A Reaction
And about time too. Ellen (an anthropologist) inevitably emphasises the complexity of the situation, but endorses the idea that people everywhere largely cut nature at the joints.