Discriminating Classes

Rodney Needham in several places and recently in an article in Man (N.S. 10, 349-69) has shown that some basic and common terms in social anthropology are of little discriminatory value and rest on the erroneous acceptance of a common feature definition of class. This article attempts to introduce a classificatory principle wich would allow both monothetic and polythetic classification. The principle of a class, it is argued, is not a feature of the members of the class. The article agrees with Needham's position on the inutility of 'belief' and other terms when these terms are taken in their common acceptance. However, it is suggested that it is possible to develop technical terms by way of a reflective analysis of operatively known acts. It is claimed that this analysis is of acts and operations not of words. Technical terms and polythetic classification are linked in a discussion of the possibility of arriving at a technical term to replace the inadequate 'marriage' and an attempt is made to discern the principle of British marriage. This nanalysis, like any other, is subject to argument and, in this case, to historical argument. It is suggested that comparison is mediated by principles rather than features.