Purity And Danger by Mary Douglas

1. In Mary Douglas's influential work 'Purity and Danger', published in 1966, she explores the concepts of purity, pollution, and the cultural categorizations that societies create to delineate between acceptable and unacceptable behaviors, objects, and ideas. Utilizing a structuralist framework, Douglas examines how different cultures construct their notions of what is deemed 'pure' or 'impure', often reflecting deeper social structures, values, and beliefs. Through incisive analysis, she highlights that the fears surrounding 'dirt' are not merely about the physical state of cleanliness but rather about the breakdown of social order and the challenges posed to established norms. Douglas's compelling argument posits that rituals and taboos surrounding purity serve to reinforce social cohesion by clearly demarcating boundaries that protect communal identity. This examination invites readers to reconsider the ways in which various forms of classification impact our understanding of morality and social organization, ultimately suggesting that the anxieties we associate with impurity often speak to broader existential concerns within a given culture.

What is the central argument of Mary Douglas's 'Purity and Danger'?

A) Dirt is matter out of place, and purity rituals are about maintaining social order.
B) Purity is a biological instinct to avoid disease and contamination.
C) Dirt is inherently sinful and must be avoided for spiritual salvation.
D) Modern societies have completely abandoned concepts of ritual purity.

2. What does Douglas mean by 'matter out of place'?

A) Objects that are physically dirty or stained.
B) Literally misplaced physical objects.
C) Something that violates a cultural system of classification.
D) Chemically impure substances.

3. How does Douglas interpret the Levitical dietary laws?

A) As a symbolic system based on the classification of animals.
B) As laws designed to promote animal welfare.
C) As arbitrary tests of faith with no symbolic meaning.
D) As primitive health codes with practical benefits.

4. How does Douglas challenge the idea that 'primitive' rituals are irrational?

A) She argues they are rational within their own symbolic and social context.
B) She agrees they are irrational but emotionally necessary.
C) She claims they are based on lost scientific knowledge.
D) She argues that modern science is equally irrational.

5. How does Douglas relate the human body to the social body?

A) The body is completely separate from social concerns.
B) The social body is a metaphor that has no connection to the physical body.
C) The body is a symbol of society, and its boundaries represent social boundaries.
D) The health of the social body determines the health of individual bodies.

6. What is a key criticism Douglas makes of earlier anthropologists' interpretations of ritual?

A) They focused too much on the symbolic meaning and ignored practical functions.
B) They were too sympathetic and failed to be scientifically objective.
C) They correctly interpreted all rituals as health measures.
D) They often dismissed rituals as irrational superstition without understanding their social logic.

7. In what way are pollution beliefs analogous to law, according to Douglas?

A) Both serve to uphold and define the social order.
B) Pollution beliefs are a primitive form of law that modern societies have outgrown.
C) Law is based on reason, while pollution beliefs are based on emotion.
D) They are not analogous; one is legal and the other is spiritual.

8. What does Douglas say about the role of women in pollution beliefs?

A) Women create pollution beliefs to control male behavior.
B) Women are universally considered purer than men.
C) Women are often symbolically associated with pollution due to their perceived ambiguity.
D) Pollution beliefs are never gendered; they apply equally to all.

9. What is the 'grid/group' analysis that Douglas introduces?

A) A mathematical model for predicting ritual behavior.
B) A method for organizing data in anthropological fieldwork.
C) A framework for analyzing social structures based on classification (grid) and social pressure (group).
D) A type of symbolic diagram used in divination rituals.

10. What is the significance of the phrase 'dirt is relative' in the book?

A) Some cultures are more relative in their thinking than others.
B) What is considered dirt depends on the cultural context and system of order.
C) The amount of dirt is relative to how clean a space is.
D) Dirt has no objective existence and is an illusion.

11. How does the concept of sacrifice fit into Douglas's theory?

A) It can be a way of dealing with anomalies and restoring order.
B) It is a wasteful practice that all societies eventually abandon.
C) It is unrelated to ideas of purity and pollution.
D) It is primarily about giving gifts to gods to gain favor.

12. What is the main contribution of 'Purity and Danger' to anthropology?

A) It dismissed the study of religion as unimportant.
B) It provided a new, symbolic interpretation of ritual purity and pollution.
C) It proved that all rituals are based on hygiene.
D) It focused exclusively on economic explanations for ritual.

13. Douglas's analysis draws heavily on the biblical book of:

A) Leviticus
B) Genesis
C) Revelation
D) Psalms

14. What anthropological approach does Douglas primarily use?

A) Psychological
B) Functionalist
C) Structuralist
D) Evolutionary

15. The pig is prohibited in Leviticus because it:

A) Competes for human food
B) Is inherently dirty
C) Carries diseases
D) Does not fit clean categories

16. The book 'Purity and Danger' was first published in:

A) 1956
B) 1986
C) 1976
D) 1966

17. What methodological approach does Douglas use to study purity rules?

A) Statistical analysis
B) Experimental research
C) Comparative analysis
D) Historical chronology

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