The elementary forms of religious life / Émile Durkheim ; translated by Carol Cosman ; abridged with an introduction and notes by Mark S. Cladis.

By: Durkheim, Émile, 1858-1917 Contributor(s): Cosman, Carol | Cladis, Mark Sydney Material type: Text

TextLanguage: English Original language: French Series: Oxford world's classics (Oxford University Press)Publication details: Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2008. Description: xli, 358 p. : 1 map ; 20 cmISBN: 9780199540129 (pbk.)Uniform titles: Formes élémentaires de la vie religieuse. Subject(s): Religion | TotemismDDC classification: 306.6 LOC classification: GN470 | .D813 2008Online resources: WorldCat details | E-book Fulltext

Contents:

TOC Pt. 1. Preliminary questions. Definition of the religious phenomenon and of religion -- Leading conceptions of elementary religion : Animism -- Leading conceptions of elementary religion : Naturism -- Totemism as elementary religion : historical review of the question, method of treating it -- Pt. 2. Elementary beliefs. Central totemic beliefs : totem as name and emblem -- Central totemic beliefs : the totemic animal and man -- Central totemic beliefs : the cosmological system of totemism and the notion of genus -- Central totemic beliefs : the individual totem and the sexual totem -- Origins of these beliefs : a critical examination of the theories -- Origins of these beliefs : the notion of the totemic principle or mana, and the idea of force -- Origins of these beliefs : the genesis of the notion of the totemic principle or mana -- Notion of soul -- Notion of Spirits and Gods -- Pt. 3. Principal ritual conduct. Negative cult and its functions : ascetic rites -- Positive cult : the element of sacrifice -- Positive cult : mimetic rites and the principle of causality -- Positive cult : representative of commemorative rites -- Piacular rites and the ambiguity of the notion of the sacred -- Appendix : Select List of anthropologists and ethnologists who informed Durkheim's work.

Summary: Summary: In this book, the author sets himself the task of discovering the enduring source of human social identity. He investigates what he considered to be the simplest form of documented religion - totemism among the Aborigines of Australia. For Durkheim, studying Aboriginal religion was a way '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 to one another socially lies at the heart of his exploration, in which religion embodies the beliefs that shape our moral universe. This book has been applauded and debated by sociologists, anthropologists, ethnographers, philosophers, and theologians, and continues to speak to new generations about the intriguing origin and nature of religion and society.

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Holdings
Item type	Current library	Collection	Call number	Copy number	Status	Barcode
E-Book	Dr. S. R. Lasker Library, EWU E-book	Non-fiction	306.6 DUE 2008 (Browse shelf(Opens below))		Not For Loan
Text	Dr. S. R. Lasker Library, EWU Reserve Section	Non-fiction	306.6 DUE 2008 (Browse shelf(Opens below))	C-1	Not For Loan	25964
Text	Dr. S. R. Lasker Library, EWU Reserve Section	Non-fiction	306.6 DUE 2008 (Browse shelf(Opens below))	C-2	Not For Loan	25965

Total holds: 0

First published as an Oxford World's Classics paperback, 2001.

Includes bibliographical footnotes and index.

TOC Pt. 1. Preliminary questions. Definition of the religious phenomenon and of religion --
Leading conceptions of elementary religion : Animism --
Leading conceptions of elementary religion : Naturism --
Totemism as elementary religion : historical review of the question, method of treating it --
Pt. 2. Elementary beliefs. Central totemic beliefs : totem as name and emblem --
Central totemic beliefs : the totemic animal and man --
Central totemic beliefs : the cosmological system of totemism and the notion of genus --
Central totemic beliefs : the individual totem and the sexual totem --
Origins of these beliefs : a critical examination of the theories --
Origins of these beliefs : the notion of the totemic principle or mana, and the idea of force --
Origins of these beliefs : the genesis of the notion of the totemic principle or mana --
Notion of soul --
Notion of Spirits and Gods --
Pt. 3. Principal ritual conduct. Negative cult and its functions : ascetic rites --
Positive cult : the element of sacrifice --
Positive cult : mimetic rites and the principle of causality --
Positive cult : representative of commemorative rites --
Piacular rites and the ambiguity of the notion of the sacred --
Appendix : Select List of anthropologists and ethnologists who informed Durkheim's work.

Summary:
In this book, the author sets himself the task of discovering the enduring source of human social identity. He investigates what he considered to be the simplest form of documented religion - totemism among the Aborigines of Australia. For Durkheim, studying Aboriginal religion was a way '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 to one another socially lies at the heart of his exploration, in which religion embodies the beliefs that shape our moral universe. This book has been applauded and debated by sociologists, anthropologists, ethnographers, philosophers, and theologians, and continues to speak to new generations about the intriguing origin and nature of religion and society.

Sociology

Tahur Ahmed

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