Final answer:
A significant criticism of Ruth Benedict's Patterns of Culture is the overemphasis on cultural relativism, which led to a lack of empirical evidence and inadequate cross-cultural analysis.
Step-by-step explanation:
A significant criticism of Ruth Benedict's Patterns of Culture is the overemphasis on cultural relativism. Benedict's book focuses heavily on the idea that each culture should be understood and evaluated on its own terms, without imposing any judgments or comparisons from outside cultures. While cultural relativism is an important concept in anthropology, critics argue that Benedict's approach downplays the importance of empirical evidence and adequate cross-cultural analysis. By relying too heavily on a single cultural perspective, Benedict may have overlooked the complexity and diversity within cultures and missed out on a more comprehensive understanding of cultural phenomena.