"If we can abstract pathogenicity and hygiene from……" — Mary Douglas
"If we can abstract pathogenicity and hygiene from our notion of dirt, we are left with the old definition of dirt as matter out of place. This is a very suggestive approach. It implies two conditions: a set of ordered relations and a contrevention of that order. Dirt then, is never a unique, isolated event. Where there is dirt there is a system. Dirt is the by-product of a systematic ordering and classification of matter, in so far as ordering involves rejecting inappropriate elements."
—
Mary Douglas
★
★
★
★
★
0.0 avg (0 ratings)
37 Quotes by Mary Douglas
Mary Douglas has 37 quotes on this site.
A few more worth reading:
-
I am convinced that living in an enclave shapes the personality, and living alone shapes the personality too.
-
Without the letters of condolence, telegrams of congratulations, and occasional postcards, the friendship of a separated friend is not a…
-
I am sure it must be true that people opt out of the mainstream society because they feel that there…
-
It is only partly true that religion does more harm than good in society. The community makes God into the…
-
Since 1970, relationships can be more volatile, jobs more ephemeral, geographical mobility more intensified, stability of marriage weaker.
-
The natural response of the old-timers is to build a strong moral wall against the outside. This is where the…
-
Our technological infrastructure alienates us from each other. No need to form a workplace community, everybody there will be out…
-
The theory of cultural bias... is the idea that a culture is based on a particular form of organization. It…
-
Behind a leader there must be followers, but they should always be on the lookout for the main chance and…
-
If people want to compete for leadership of a religious group, they can compete in piety. A chilling thought. Or…
-
The human body is always treated as an image of society.
-
It seems true that the growth of science and secularism made organized Christianity feel under threat.
See all 37 quotes by Mary Douglas »
More Abstract Quotes
This quote is filed under Abstract Quotes,
one of 741 quotes in that category. Here are a few more:
-
To those who have exhausted politics, nothing remains but abstract thought.
— Honore de Balzac
-
I was a really lousy artist as a kid. Too abstract expressionist; or I'd draw a big ram's head, really…
— Jean-Michel Basquiat
-
In the abstract conception of universal wrong, all concrete responsibility vanishes.
— Theodor Adorno
-
None of the abstract concepts comes closer to fulfilled utopia than that of eternal peace.
— Theodor Adorno
-
Good science fiction is intelligent. It asks big questions that are on people's minds. It's not impossible. It has some…
— Nicolas Cage
-
Science fiction is a way that I can go into the abstract, go into the imagination, and audiences are still…
— Nicolas Cage
-
I am searching for abstract ways of expressing reality, abstract forms that will enlighten my own mystery.
— Eric Cantona
-
Abstract art: a product of the untalented sold by the unprincipled to the utterly bewildered.
— Al Capp
-
Change means movement. Movement means friction. Only in the frictionless vacuum of a nonexistent abstract world can movement or change…
— Saul Alinsky
-
'Woman on the Plaza,' with its distinct horizon, snow-like surfaces, wintry wall, stunning sunlight, sharp shadows, and hurrying figure, would…
— Sam Abell
-
Old ideas give way slowly; for they are more than abstract logical forms and categories. They are habits, predispositions, deeply…
— John Dewey
-
It is difficult to talk about fashion in the abstract, without a human body before my eyes, without drawings, without…
— Giorgio Armani
See all 741 Abstract Quotes »