The elementary forms of religious life
"In The Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1912), Emile Durkheim set himself the task of discovering the enduring source of human social identity. He investigated what he considered to be the simplest form of documented religion - totemism among the Aborigines of Australia. Aboriginal religion was an avenue 'to yield an understanding of the religious nature of man, by showing us an essential and permanent aspect of humanity'. The need and capacity of men and women to relate socially lies at th…
Read More ↓Title Statements
- Full title :The elementary forms of religious life / Emile Durkheim ; translated by Carol Cosman ; abridged with an introduction and notes by Mark S. Cladis.
Summary
"In The Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1912), Emile Durkheim set himself the task of discovering the enduring source of human social identity. He investigated what he considered to be the simplest form of documented religion - totemism among the Aborigines of Australia. Aboriginal religion was an avenue 'to yield an understanding of the religious nature of man, by showing us an essential and permanent aspect of humanity'. The need and capacity of men and women to relate socially lies at the heart of Durkheim's exploration, in which religion embodies the beliefs that shape our moral universe."--Jacket
Read More ↓Edition Statements
- Publication Date:©2001.
Publication Statements
- Publisher(s):Oxford University Press
- Place of Publication:Oxford
- Language:eng
- Publication Date:©2001.
The Physical Object
- Description:1 online resource (xli, 358 pages) : : maps
Edition Identifiers
- ISBN:9780192637994, 0192637991
- oclc:on1085906080
- LC Classification:GN470
- Dewey Decimal:306.6
Table of Contents
The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. 1. A Definition of the Religious Phenomenon and of Religion. 2. The Leading Conceptions of Elementary Religion: I. Animism. 3. The Leading Conceptions of Elementary Religion: II. Naturism. 4. Totemism as Elementary Religion: Historical Review of the Question, Method of Treating It. 1. Central Totemic Beliefs: I. The Totem as Name and Emblem. 2. Central Totemic Beliefs: II. The Totemic Animal and Man. 3. Central Totemic Beliefs: III. The Cosmological System of Totemism and the Notion of Genus. 4. Central Totemic Beliefs: IV. The Individual Totem and the Sexual Totem. 5. The Origins of These Beliefs: I.A Critical Examination of the Theories. 6. The Origins of These Beliefs: II. The Notion of the Totemic Principle or Mana, and the Idea of Force. 7. The Origins of These Beliefs: III. The Genesis of the Notion of the Totemic Principle or Mana. 8. The Notion of Soul. 9. The Notion of Spirits and Gods. 1. The Negative Cult and its Functions: Ascetic Rites. 2. The Positive Cult: I. The Element of Sacrifice. 3. The Positive Cult: II. Mimetic Rites and the Principle of Causality. 4. The Positive Cult: III. Representative of Commemorative Rites. 5. Pia…
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