- ISBN13: 9780805210385
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
In addresses written for a wide general audience, one of the twentieth century’s most prominent thinkers, Claude Lévi-Strauss, here offers the insights of a lifetime on the crucial questions of human existence. Responding to questions as varied as ‘Can there be meaning in chaos?’, ‘What can science learn from myth?’ and ‘What is structuralism?’, Lévi-Strauss presents, in clear, precise language, essential guidance for those who want to learn more about the potential of the human mind…. More >>
Myth and Meaning: Cracking the Code of Culture
Strauss does a fine job here in detailing the evolution of myth as superstition to the remnants of ancient societies that relied on the nature and role of myth to advance and refine the functions of society.
These lectures offer up a good and expansive view of mythology and the views thereof.
Rating: 4 / 5
This book was hard to put down. While it’s a very short text, it has really whet my appetite for more of his books. I would also recommend this book as an introduction to the work of Lévi-Strauss.
Something that makes the book so accessible is that, as explained in the first few pages of the text, his ideas are simplified because he is discussing his ideas in English (his second language). However, they still maintain a richness that I think would be lost if someone else were to try to translate or simplify his ideas.
Rating: 5 / 5
This is the perfect summary of Levi-Strauss’ thinking. It’s an edited transcript of a series of lectures he made, and recapitulates the essence of his work. There’s no easier or faster way to understand this seminal social scientist, either as an introduction to his other works or as a refresher.
Rating: 5 / 5
The book is a recommended introduction to anthropology and the theories of Levi-Strauss. Myth and Meaning: Cracking the Code of Culture describes, among other things, how some myths have certain attributes common in between them and how they would evolve. The author describes how in certain cultures twins are viewed as evil and theories how that might have evolved. At the end, the book discusses how myths should be interpreted.
Rating: 5 / 5
Meaning and Myth is a short collection of Levi-Strauss’ lectures. It is remarkable because it gives insight into the thoughts of this famous anthropologist. The recorded lectures were given orally, which creates new respect for the genius of a man who could speak so fluently and eloquently in a language that is not his native tongue.
If you have no interest in anthropology, you will probably not enjoy the book, but if you have a stong interest, this is a great way to start to understand the mind of one of the world’s greatest anthropologists.
Also, the foreword by Wendy Doniger was one of the funniest, cleverest, most insightful forewords I have read. This surprised me immensely since I usually hate any part of a book not written by the author.
I highly recommend “Mening and Myth: Cracking the Code of Culture” if you have an academic interest in the subject of anthropology and are looking for a starting point.
Rating: 5 / 5