Structuralism asks about the deep structure of things, as opposed to causes or consequences. It has a number of characteristics:
1. It is holistic. Parts of a system cannot be investigated in isolation. They can only be understood through their interaction with other parts. The meaning of an utterance depends on the language being spoken; the meaning of a gesture depends on the cultural context.
2. It prioritizes the invariant over the transient. The flux of actions is not important; rather, the underlying system is.
3. Structuralism opposes positivism. Positivists prefer to explain things in terms of observable entities. Structuralists work on the unobservable structure beneath the chaotic observable world.
4. Structuralists acknowledge the constraining nature of social structures. People's actions are constrained, whether they know it or not, by the structures which underlie them.
1. Words (or signifiers) do not point to things, but they point to concepts (signifieds). The sign signifies a concept, not an external reality. "Table" does not refer to a non-linguistic thing in the world, but rather has meaning because of where it appears in relation to other words. It makes sense to use it in certain places, and not others.
2. All meaning depends on a structure which lies behind every sign. Langue vs. parole. Example: English is a language, but we never encounter "English" apart from specific utterances. There is grammar, and we know when it has been violated, but we never have direct access to the structure itself.
3. We are not concerned about the historical development of something (the "diachronic"), but rather with the set of references at any specific time (the "synchronic"). Example: the fashion system.
4. Signs are arbitrary. There is nothing inherent in the word "table" that necessitates that the word we use must be used.
5. Signs are not infinitely arbitrary. There are limits to the places we can use the word "table."
6. Signs work by signifying a difference from other signs. Example: the first taste of coffee.