symbol

symbol
Most generally, any act or thing which represents something else. More particularly, the smallest meaning-unit in the semantic fields of ritual, dream, or myth. In psychoanalysis, a symbol is an act or object representing a repressed unconscious desire. Symbols usually signify many things; that is, to use Victor Turner's phrase (The Forest of Symbols, 1967), they are multi-vocal. The link between symbol and referent is not always arbitrary, as with sign, but may be motivated by an association of attributes (for example, the crown as a symbol of monarchy).

Much of the research on symbolism has been done by social anthropologists rather than sociologists. For example, in Purity and Danger (1966), the British anthropologist Mary Douglas uses cross-cultural examples, including Hinduism, the Old Testament, and Western beliefs in...

[The entire page is 282 words long]

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass