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'Kinship' is one of the most basic principles for organizing individuals into social groups, roles, and categories. It was originally thought to reflect biological descent, a view that was challenged by David M. Schneider in his work on symbolic kinship (1984, ''A Critique of The Study of Kinship''). The crux of his argument was that anthropologists had founded the domain of “kinship” on the notions of human reproduction and the biologically defined relatedness of their own Euro-American culture. Human reproduction and notions of biological relatedness cannot be presumed to structure people’s social relationships in other cultural contexts.
The word ''kinship'' can refer more broadly to any emotional relationship. This can also refer to ideas which are mathematically related.
In its most general sense, ''kinship'' can be used in reference to similarity; for instance, a car is 'akin' to a truck. In some cultures, the formal establishment of kinship involves various customs and obligations.
Anthropologists have studied different systems of kinship in a wide variety of cultures; see family.
Many codes of ethics consider the bond of kinship as creating obligations between the related persons stronger than those between strangers, as in Confucian filial piety.

Contents

See also

Bibliography

External links

See also

★ family

★ Kinship terminology

★ fictive kinship

★ clan

★ dynasty

★ filial piety

★ genealogy

★ heredity

★ kin selection

★ kinship and descent

★ Serbian kinship

★ taxonomy

★ consanguinity

★ brideservice

★ bride price

★ interpersonal relationships

Bibliography

★ Introduction into the study of kinship

★ Kinship and Social Organization: An Interactive Tutorial by Brian Schwimmer

★ James A. Boon, David M. Schneider ''Kinship vis-a-vis Myth Contrasts in Levi-Strauss' Approaches to Cross-Cultural Comparison'' ''American Anthropologist'', New Series, Vol. 76, No. 4 (Oct., 1974), pp. 799-817

★ Dwight W. Read Formal analysis of kinship terminologies and its relationship to what constitutes kinship. Anthropological Theory, Vol. 1, No. 2, 239-267 (2001) http://ant.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/1/2/239

External links

★ ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' "Duties of Relatives"