Quan el bosc no ens deixa veure els arbres: Cultures, individus i drets humans

The central argument of the article is that we ought not to fall into the error of attributing too much importance to “culture”, so that this doesn’t let us see the individual. The concept of “culture” not only represents a category with supposed analytical value for social and humanistic sciences but also has a wide social relevance. Nevertheless, the manner in which this concept is generally used implies a standardized wiew of the social system and a certain determinism; at the same time, culture is also sometimes given a great importance over and above its bearers, the individuals. This is important from the epistemological point of view regarding anthropology, as well from the practical one regarding all those social discourses in which the idea of culture has a certain relevance. This is clear to see, for instance, in the criticism carried out by the extreme cultural relativism against the universalist philosophy of human rights. The article points out the need to think in terms of “cultural frameworks” in order to play down the ethnocratic and deterministic character of culture. In this manner, anthropology may move closer toward an approach centered on the individual.Peer reviewe