3rd Edition

Natural Symbols Explorations in Cosmology

    240 Pages
    by Routledge

    240 Pages
    by Routledge

    One of the most important works of modern anthropology. Written against the backdrop of the student uprisings of the late 1960s, the book took seriously the revolutionary fervour of the times, but instead of seeking to destroy the rituals and symbols that can govern and oppress, Mary Douglas saw instead that if transformation were needed, it could only be made possible through better understanding. Expressed with clarity and dynamism, the passionate analysis which follows remains one of the most insightful and rewarding studies of human behaviour ever written.

    1. Away from ritual; 2. To inner experience; 3. The Bog Irish; 4. Grid and group; 5. The two bodies; 6. Test cases; 7. The problem of evil; 8. Impersonal rules; 9. Control of symbols; 10. Out of the cave

    Biography

    Mary Douglas (1921-). One of the most distinguished anthropologists of modern times. Purity and Danger, another of her major works, is also available in Routledge Classics.

    'It has an originality unmatched for a generation among the writings of anthropologists.' - Times Literary Supplement