Exploring the role of the incest prohibition in human societies
Maurice Godelier Book order
February 28, 1934
This influential French anthropologist is known as one of the earliest advocates for incorporating Marxism into anthropology. His extensive fieldwork among the Baruya people of Papua New Guinea, spanning three decades, shaped his perspectives on society. His work delves into the deep structures of human relationships and social organization. He examines the fundamental mechanisms that govern human behavior and cultural formations.
- 2023
- 2020
The Imagined, the Imaginary and the Symbolic
- 176 pages
- 7 hours of reading
Exploring the close relationship between the real and the symbolic and imaginary What you imagined is not always imaginary, but everything that is imaginary is imagined. It is by imagining that people make the impossible become possible. In mythology or religion, however, those things that are imagined are never experienced as being imaginary by believers. The realm of the imagined is even more real than the real; it is super-real, surreal. Lévi-Strauss held that "the real, the symbolic and the imaginary" are three separate orders. Maurice Godelier demonstrates the contrary: that the real is not separate from the symbolic and the imaginary. For instance, for a portion of humanity, rituals and sacred objects and places attest to the reality and therefore the truth that God, gods or spirits exist. The symbolic enables people to signify what they think and do, encompassing thought, spilling over into the whole body, but also pervading temples, palaces, tools, foods, mountains, the sea, the sky and the earth. It is real. Godelier's book goes to the strategic heart of the social sciences, for to examine the nature and role of the imaginary and the symbolic is also to attempt to account for the basic components of all societies and ultimately of human existence. And these aspects in turn shape our social and personal identity.
- 2018
One of the world's leading anthropologists assesses the work of the founder of structural anthropology
- 2013
Rationality and Irrationality in Economics
- 368 pages
- 13 hours of reading
Exploring the evolution of social and economic systems, this work delves into the reasons behind their emergence and decline over time. It examines historical patterns, providing insights into the dynamics that influence societal structures and their sustainability. Through a comprehensive analysis, the book highlights the interplay between various factors, such as culture, politics, and technology, shaping the fate of these systems across different eras.
- 2012
A masterwork of the anthropology of kinship by the heir to Levi-Strauss
- 2012
Groundbreaking examination of the relationship between thought, economy and society.
- 2006
The Making of Great Men
Male Domination and Power Among the New Guinea Baruya
- 284 pages
- 10 hours of reading
Focusing on the Baruya, a tribal society from the highlands of Papua New Guinea, this book offers an in-depth exploration of their cultural practices and social structures. It serves as a valuable resource for scholars and students of anthropology, providing rich insights into the lives and traditions of this unique community.
- 1988
The Mental and the Material
Thought, Economy, and Society
