empty universals

English - English

Definition of empty universals in English English dictionary

A cultural universal (as discussed by George Murdock, Claude Lévi-Strauss, Donald Brown and others) is an element, pattern, trait, or institution that is common to all human cultures worldwide. Some anthropological and sociological theorists that take a cultural relativist perspective may deny the existence of cultural universals: the extent to which these universals are "cultural" in the narrow sense, or in fact biologically inherited behavior is an issue in the "nature versus nurture" controversy. Cultural universals are sometimes referred to as "empty universals" since merely remarking on their presence in a particular culture doesn't actually show anything unique or significant about that culture

Hyphenation

emp·ty universals