Rules and Meanings

<p>First published in 1973, <em>Rules and Meanings</em> is an anthology of works that form part of Mary Douglas' struggle to devise an anthropological modernism conducive to her opposition to reputedly modernizing trends in contemporary society. The collection contains works by Wittgenstein, Schutz, Husserl, Hertz and other continentals. The underlying themes of the anthology are the construction of meaning, the force of hidden background assumptions, tacit conventions and the power of spatial organization to reinforce words. The work serves to complement the philosophers' work on everyday language with the anthropologists' theory of everyday knowledge.</p> Introduction Part One Tacit Conventions Part Two The Logical Basis of Constructed Reality Part Three Orientations in Time and Space Part Four Physical Nature Assigned to Classes and Held to Them by Rules Part Five The limits of Knowledge Part Six Interpenetration of Meanings Part Seven Provinces of Meaning Part Eight Formal Correspondences