The Domestication of the Savage Mind

By: Jack Goody

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Paperback | 23 January 1978

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192 Pages

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Current theories and views on the differences in the 'mind' of human societies depend very much on a dichotomy between 'advanced' and 'primitive', or between 'open' and 'closed', or between 'domesticated' and 'savage', that is to say, between one of a whole variety of 'we-they' distinctions. Professor Goody argues that such an approach prevents any serious discussion of the mechanisms leading to long-term changes in the cognitive processes of human cultures or any adequate explanation of the changes in 'traditional' societies that are taking place in the world around us. In this book he attempts to provide the framework for a more satisfactory explanation by relating certain broad differences in 'mentalities' to the changes in the means of communication, and specifically to the series of shifts involved in the development of writing. The argument is based upon theoretical considerations, as well as empirical evidence derived from recent fieldwork in West Africa and the study of a wide range of source material on the ancient societies of the Near East.

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List of tables and figures	p. vii
Preface	p. ix
Evolution and communication	p. 1
Intellectuals in pre-literate societies?	p. 19
Literacy, criticism and the growth of knowledge	p. 36
Literacy and classification: on turning the tables	p. 52
What's in a list?	p. 74
Following a formula	p. 112
The recipe, the prescription and the experiment	p. 129
The Grand Dichotomy reconsidered	p. 146
Notes to the text	p. 163
References	p. 168
List of abbreviations	p. 174
Index	p. 175
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.

The Domestication of the Savage Mind

At a Glance

Paperback

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

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Key works

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