ABSTRACT
As I read the "Hsu hypothesis" about which this symposium centers, one kinship dyad may, because of the importance attached to i t within some specific cultural tradition, provide the image and metaphor for ethical solutions that dominate the larger society. I n this paper I propose to examine four types of kinship relationships that derive from the biological nature of man, and then to examine some of the ways in which these four type-relationships can be culturally handled in terms of kinship terminol ogies and household institutionalization.
