Natural Symbols

Explorations in Cosmology

By: Professor Mary Douglas, Mary Douglas

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Paperback | 14 August 2003 | Edition Number 3

At a Glance

Paperback
240 Pages

Edition Type
New edition

Dimensions(cm)
19.84 x 12.85 x 1.3

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$24.99

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"Natural Symbols" is one of the most important works of modern anthropology. First published over thirty years ago, the work presaged many of the most controversial areas of intellectual debate, exploring themes such as the social meaning of natural symbols and the image of the body in society and religious cosmology.
Bringing anthropology into the realm of religion, "Natural Symbols" enters into the ongoing debate in religious circles surrounding meaning and ritual. Written against the backdrop of student uprisings of the late 1960s, the book took seriously the revolutionary fervor 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 from this remains one of the most insightful and rewarding studies of human behavior that has been written.

Industry Reviews

'Natural Symbols remains the book most important to understanding Mary Douglas's thought, and this fact places it amongst the most significant books of theory written by anthropologists during the twentieth century.' - Richard Fardon, SOAS

'Mary Douglas's writing remains as fresh and vivid as ever. The ideas put forward in Natural Symbols have been taken up well beyond the discipline of anthropology, and should remain compulsory reading for all students of religion and society.' - Fiona Bowie, University of Bristol

'Natural Symbols is clearly a major work in the greatest of sociological traditions, the Durkheimian. It has an originality unmatched for a generation among the writings of anthropologists. It raises questions that are important and soluble not in the field but by the harder, less inviting, work of reflection and analysis.' - Times Literary Supplement

'As timeless as the subtitle. Essential reading for all those enthralled by her brilliant insights into the meaning of the Bible thirty years on.' - John Sawyer, Department of Religious Studies, Lancaster University

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

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Away from ritual
To inner experience
The Bog Irish
Grid and group
The two bodies
Test cases
The problem of evil
Impersonal rules
Control of symbols
Out of the cave
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

Natural Symbols

Explorations in Cosmology

At a Glance

Paperback

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

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