Natural Symbols: Explorations in Cosmology
Mary DouglasOne of the most important works of modern anthropology, this classic text represents a work of anthropology in the widest sense, exploring themes such as the social meaning of natural symbols and the image of the body in society.
First printed in 1970, Natural Symbols is Douglas' most controversial work. It represents a work of anthropology in its widest sense, exploring themes such as the social meaning of natural symbols and the image of the body in society.
Every natural symbol - derived from blood, breath or excrement - carries a social meaning, and this work focuses on the ways in which any one culture makes its selections from body symbolism. Each person treats his body as an image of society, and Mary Douglas examines the varieties of ritual and symbolic expression and the patterns of social ritual in which they are embodied.
This work focuses on the ways in which cultures select natural symbols from the body, and how every natural symbol carries a social meaning. She also introduces her grid/group theory, which she sees as a way of keeping together what the social sciences divide and separate.
Bringing anthropology in to the realm of religion, Douglas enters into the ongoing debate in religious circles surrounding meaning and ritual. The book not only provides a clear explanation to four distinct attitudes to religion, but also defends hierarchical forms of religious organization and attempts to retain a balanced judgement between fundamentalism and established religion.
Douglas has since extensively refined the grid/group theory and has applied it to consumer behaviour, labour movements and political parties. Expressed with clarity and dynamism, the passionate