Sex, culture, and myth

360 Pages·1962·22.412 MB·English

by  Bronislaw Malinowski

BRONISLAW
MALINOWSKI
SEX*
E
and
Brilliant significant
essays, previously uncollected, by
the foremost pioneer in the
human
science of behavior
$6.95
Bronislaw Malinowski
AND MYTH
SEX, CULTURE,
Malinowski's sensitive and astute inter-
pretations of the role of sex and of religion
—
the needs of man's body and man's
—
spirit are unsurpassed. Now some of the
most important work of this pioneer of
modern anthropology, hitherto unavailable,
is brought together for the first time in
book form in Sex, Culture, and Myth.
Based on his research among primitive
tribes but directed primarily to modern
problems, this book considers, with Mali-
nowski's well-known forthrightness, the
questions of marital fidelity versus promis-
cuousness; premarital experimentation ver-
sus caution; monogamy versus polygamy;
and parental authority versus permissive-
He
ness. also discusses the theories of
Freud. James Fraser, Westermarck, Have-
lock Ellis, and other controversial figures.
Sex, Culture, and Myth moves from the
question of sex to other social phenomena,
including the institution of the family and
the relationship of kinship, and then, more
specifically, to myth and totem, and dogma
and religion. It devotes attention to the
contemporary tension between the rational
and empirical claims of science and the
counterclaims of religious faith. In addition,
this fascinating and important book in-
cludes the Riddell lectures on "The Foun-
dalioiis of Faith and Morals."
Few writers of our time have equaled
Bronislaw Malinowski's ability to fuse an
understanding of human needs with the ob-
jectivity of scientific analysis and conjec-
ture.
II AHCOUKT, HRACE & WORLD, INC.
750 Third Avenue, New York 17, N. Y.
Digitized by the Internet Arcinive
2014
in
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CULTURE, AND MYTH
SEX,

SEX,
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
CULTURE,
and
MYTH
BRONISLAW MALINOWSKI
&
HARCOURT, BRACE WORLD, INC.
NEW YORK
©
1962 by A. Valetta Malinowska
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced
in any form or by any mechanical means, including mimeograph and
tape recorder, without permission in writing from the publisher.
FIRST EDITION
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 62-19590
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CONTENTS
I
SEX, FAMILY, AND COMMUNITY 1
MARRIAGE
1. 3
2. THE FAMILY: PAST AND PRESENT 36
3. PARENTHOOD—THE BASIS OF SOCIAL STRUCTURE 42
APING THE APE
4. 89
PIONEERS IN THE STUDY OF SEX AND MARRIAGE 114
5.
Sigmund Freud 114
Edward Westermarck 117
Robert Briffault and Ernest Crawley 122
Havelock Ellis 129
6. KINSHIP 132
The Impasse on Kinship 150
II
Illi
CULTURE AND MYTH 165
7. CULTURE AS A DETERMINANT OF BEHAVIOR 167
MAN'S CULTURE AND MAN'S BEHAVIOR
196
8.
THE GROUP AND THE INDIVIDUAL IN FUNCTIONAL
9.
ANALYSIS
223
10. MYTH AS A DRAMATIC DEVELOPMENT OF DOGMA 245
11. SCIENCE AND RELIGION 256
A
Fundamental Problem of Religious Sociology 266
CONTENTS
12. ON SIR JAMES FRAZER 268
Science and Superstition of Primitive Mankind 268
The Deeper Criticism of the Bible 275
Frazer on Totemism 277
13. ELEMENTARY FORMS OF RELIGIOUS LIFE 283
14. THE LIFE OF MYTH 289
THE FOUNDATIONS OF FAITH AND MORALS
15. 295
Preface 295
I The Three Aspects of Religion 298
II A Sociological Definition of Myth 302
III The Spirit World in Myth and Observance 307
IV The Sacred Story and Its Context of Culture 312
V
Totemic Miracles of the Desert 316
VI The Evidence of Other Ethnographic Areas 325
VII Conclusions on the Anatomy and Pathology of Religion 3 33
Index 337