The imprint of structural linguistics on this one is so fresh that at times it almost seems like a quaint historical document more than anything else. The book has been hugely influential in many areas of debate - from religion to social theory. Here they are: force dirt into an existing category and treat accordingly; kill; quarantine; mark as dangerous; or treat as a super-signifier (39-40). One can see in Douglas later shifts toward more imaginative writing in Anthropology. Unlike Moore Jr.’s work on purity, Douglas’ theory differs enough from Freud to be considered a separate conceptualization. But perhaps its most … issuing of a new edition, together with a new self-critical preface, solidifies this position. It is well written and surprisingly accessible to even those acclimated to the specific disciplines of focus (anthropology and comparative religion). Two thumbs up! Not only does Douglas highlight the logic inherent in all kinds of cultural systems, she shows that moderns are just as prone to developing such systems as pre-moderns. View or download all the content the society has access to. Members of _ can log in with their society credentials below. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Please check you selected the correct society from the list and entered the user name and password you use to log in to your society website. With all the inherent limitations of the field and the fact that quite a bit of this is dated, it's still a good start at thinking of purity independent of hygiene, morality, and the other ways modernists have tried to make sense of expurgation rituals. But--Douglas’ other contribution is her emphasis on rituals of cleansing and polluting as both having a materialist (medical-materialist) and social-symbolic grounding (35) such that these acts work upon the viscous honey-snot anomaly (dirt) in ways that include but also surpass marking the boundaries of a system. In lively and lucid prose she explains its relevance for every reader by revealing its wide-ranging impact on our attitudes to society, values, cosmology and knowledge. But--Douglas’ other contribution is her emphasis on rituals of cleansing and polluting. Find out about Lean Library here, If you have access to journal via a society or associations, read the instructions below. For one thing, she argues, things that cannot be neatly categorized into some preexisting and understandable category, are often considered impure /taboo/ dangerous. Find an opposition upon which some kind of subordinating value is founded, demonstrate that each side of the opposition negatively defines the other, note that the elucidation of limits occurs based on some kind of historically situated socially-organizing principle, and then, the best part, show that a certain kind of play within the liminal spaces between terms is what allows for their generation and regeneration. In Purity and Danger Mary Douglas identifies the concern for purity as a key theme at the heart of every society. In lively and lucid prose she explains its relevance for every reader by revealing its wide-ranging impact on our attitudes to society, values, cosmology and knowledge. Mary Douglas criticises and debunks the claims of Robertson-Smith and Sir James Frazer that so-called primitive cultures were, collectively and individually, unable to distinguish between the 'sacred and the profane'. Purity and Danger, first published in 1966, justly deserves its place as a classic, and the. Sign in here to access free tools such as favourites and alerts, or to access personal subscriptions, If you have access to journal content via a university, library or employer, sign in here, Research off-campus without worrying about access issues. Douglas uses the term "primitive" too liberally to describe all the communities that aren't as skilled with technology as Western cultures. How do we learn to live with some filth and yet recoil at other dirt? "Taxonomy and Taboo"; Frazer is out, but Freud is in. In Purity and Danger Mary Douglas identifies the concern for purity as a key theme at the heart of every society. But it is impossible to have social relations without symbolic acts.”, “It is the existence of an angry person in an interstitial position which is dangerous, and this has nothing to do with the particular intentions of the person.”, TLS The Hundred Most Influential Books Since the Second World War, Mariah Carey Is Telling Her Own Story (and Recommending Books).