Hidrogênio, carbono, nitrogênio, oxigênio e cálcio em White (1949)

Even a casual inspection of our three categories reveals the fact that biological and cultural phenomena are but particular kinds of organization of events in the inanimate, and the biological and physical categories, respectively. Thus, a plant or an animal is but a peculiar form of organization of carbon, oxygen, calcium, etc. Likewise a cultural phenomenon is but a manifestation of biological (human beings) and inanimate phenomena organized in a special manner. Thus events on the biologic level (for levels, or strata, are what these categories are in reality) can be dealt with in terms of inanimate phenomena: a plant or animal is so much carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen; it has weight, will fall as a rock, may be frozen, transformed by fire, and so on. Similarly, a cultural event—a man taking a Christian oath of office—may be dealt with in terms of his gestures, vocal and manual, and these, in turn, to- gether with the book upon which the oath is taken, can be treated in terms of acoustics, mechanics, physical and chemical properties of the Bible, and so on. (White 1949:16)

WHITE, Leslie. 1949. The science of culture: a study of man and civilization. New York: Grove Press.