Mary Douglas Knihy

Přední britská antropoložka Mary Douglasová si za předmět dnes již klasické práce Čistota a nebezpečí zvolila analýzu idejí čistoty, nečistoty, znečištění a tabu. Představitelka symbolické antropologie se ve strukturálně koncipované práci zabývá otázkou znečištění jako konstrukce, která se univerzálně objevuje v každé známé společnosti. Na bohatém etnografickém materiálu dokládá, že tato konstrukce slouží k zachování sociálního řádu symbolickým zdůrazněním jevů, které jsou chápány jako nepořádek a nečistota tento řád narušující. Douglasová ukazuje, že je nezbytné zkoumat čistotu, nečistotu, poskvrnění a tabu v širokém sociálním a kulturním kontextu, nikoli jako izolované jevy. Kniha ovlivnila nejen antropologii, ale zapůsobila také v sociologii, filozofii a religionistice.

Focusing on the authorship of the Pentateuch, Mary Douglas presents an anthropological analysis that reveals the priestly writers as politically motivated figures. She suggests that these authors were deeply invested in addressing the challenges faced by their community, using their work as a form of religious protest against the exclusionary policies of the Judah government. This perspective emphasizes the intersection of religion and politics in biblical texts, highlighting the authors' commitment to their congregation's struggles.

Exploring the interplay between institutions and cognition, this work delves into how societal structures shape thought processes. Drawing on the sociological frameworks of Emile Durkheim and Ludwig Fleck, the author examines the ways institutions influence collective thinking and the implications of this relationship for understanding knowledge and social dynamics. The analysis provides a nuanced perspective on the dependency of thought on institutional contexts, making it a significant contribution to sociological theory.

Exploring the societal roles of drinking, this study examines diverse case studies that highlight various substances beyond alcohol, showcasing their cultural significance across different geographical contexts. First published in 1987, it offers an insightful analysis of how drinking behaviors shape and reflect social dynamics.

Through an anthropological lens, this comprehensive analysis of Leviticus reveals it as a literary masterpiece structured around the desert tabernacle and Mount Sinai. The author, Mary Douglas, reinterprets the purity laws, arguing that forbidden animals like pigs deserve respect rather than disdain. By challenging traditional biblical criticism, she presents Leviticus as a profound intellectual work that emphasizes justice and compassion within a modern religious context, rather than a mere doctrine of a rigid priesthood.

Do institutions think? If so, how do they do it and what thoughts occupy these suprapersonal minds? Mary Douglas delves into these questions as she lays the groundwork for a theory of institutions.

Professor Douglas writes gracefully, lucidly and polemically. She continually makes points which illuminate matters in the philosophy of religion and the philosophy of science and help to show the rest of us just why and how anthropology has become a fundamentally intellectual discipline' - New Society Professor Douglas' book sparkles with intellectual life and is characterised by a concern to understand. Right or wrong, sound or idiosyncratic, it presents a rare and exciting spectacle of a mind at work.' - Times Literary Supplement

How, then, do people decide which risks to take and which to ignore? On what basis are certain dangers guarded against and others relegated to secondary status? This book explores how we decide what risks to take and which to ignore, both as individuals and as a culture.

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. -- Publisher description.