Cultural Materialism: The Struggle for a Science of CultureThe best known, most often cited history of anthropological theory is finally available in paperback! First published in 1968, Harris's book has been cited in over 1,000 works and is one of the key documents explaining cultural materialism, the theory associated with Harris's work. This updated edition includes the complete 1968 text plus a new introduction by the author, which discusses the impact of the book and highlights some of the major trends in anthropological theory since its original publication. RAT, as it is affectionately known to three decades of graduate students, comprehensively traces the history of anthropology and anthropological theory, culminating in a strong argument for the use of a scientific, behaviorally-based, ethic approach to the understanding of human culture known as cultural materialism |
Contents
Research Strategies and the Structure of Science | 5 |
The Epistemology of Cultural Materialism | 29 |
Theoretical Principles of Cultural Materialism | 46 |
The Scope of Cultural Materialist Theories | 77 |
The Alternatives | 115 |
Introduction To Part II | 117 |
Sociobiology and Biological Reductionism | 119 |
Dialectical Materialism | 141 |
Structuralism | 165 |
Structural Marxism | 216 |
Psychological and Cognitive Idealism | 258 |
Eclecticism | 287 |
Obscurantism | 315 |
343 | |
370 | |
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Common terms and phrases
agriculture alternative American animals Anthropology Aztec behavior stream Bella Bella capitalism capitalist cattle causal Chapter clam siphons complex components concepts contradictions cultural materialism cultural materialist cultural materialist theories descent groups determines dialectical dialectical materialism distinction domestic eclectic eclecticism ecological economic emic and etic empirical Engels epistemological etic and behavioral etic behavioral evolution example exchange existence explain exploitation fact factors female function genetic Harris Hence horse clams human social hunter-gatherer idealist ideology infanticide infrastructure kinship knowledge Kwakiutl labor Lévi-Strauss logical male marriage Marx Marx's matrilateral matrilineal matrilocality means meat mode of production nature negation ogress organization paradigms patterns phenomena political population positivism poverty predict principles processes protein relations of production relationship research strategy role Sahlins scientific social science societies sociobiology sociocultural systems specific structural and superstructural structural Marxists structuralist taboo theoretical thought tion University village warfare women York