Mixed Messages: Cultural and Genetic Inheritance in the Constitution of Human Society | Agenda Bookshop Skip to content
Please note that books with a 10-20 working days delivery time may not arrive before Christmas.
Please note that books with a 10-20 working days delivery time may not arrive before Christmas.
A01=Robert A. Paul
Age Group_Uncategorized
Age Group_Uncategorized
Author_Robert A. Paul
automatic-update
Category1=Non-Fiction
Category=JFC
COP=United States
Delivery_Delivery within 10-20 working days
Language_English
PA=Available
Price_€20 to €50
PS=Active
softlaunch

Mixed Messages: Cultural and Genetic Inheritance in the Constitution of Human Society

English

By (author): Robert A. Paul

As social and symbolic animals - animals with language and systems of signs - humans are informed by two different kinds of heritage, one biological, the other cultural. Scholars have tended to study our genetic and symbolic lineages separately, but in recent years some have begun to explore them together, offering a dual inheritance theory. In this book, Robert A Paul offers an entirely new and original consideration of our dual inheritance, going deep inside an extensive ethnographic record to outline a fascinating relationship between our genetic codes and symbolic systems. Examining a wide array of cultures, Paul reveals how the inherent tensions between these two modes of transmission generate many of the features of human society, such as marriage rules, initiation rituals, gender asymmetry, and sexual symbolism. Exploring differences in the requirements, range, and agendas of genetic and symbolic reproduction, he shows that a properly conceived dual inheritance model does a better job of accounting for the distinctive character of actual human societies than either evolutionary or sociocultural construction theories can do alone. Ultimately this book offers a powerful call for a synthesis of the traditions inspired by Darwin, Durkheim, and Freud-one that is critically necessary if we are to advance our understanding of human social life. See more
Current price €30.59
Original price €33.99
Save 10%
A01=Robert A. PaulAge Group_UncategorizedAuthor_Robert A. Paulautomatic-updateCategory1=Non-FictionCategory=JFCCOP=United StatesDelivery_Delivery within 10-20 working daysLanguage_EnglishPA=AvailablePrice_€20 to €50PS=Activesoftlaunch
Delivery/Collection within 10-20 working days
Product Details
  • Weight: 567g
  • Dimensions: 17 x 23mm
  • Publication Date: 24 Apr 2015
  • Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
  • Publication City/Country: United States
  • Language: English
  • ISBN13: 9780226240862

About Robert A. Paul

Robert A. Paul is the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Anthropology and Interdisciplinary Studies at Emory University. He is the author of Moses and Civilization and The Tibetan Symbolic World the latter published by the University of Chicago Press.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue we'll assume that you are understand this. Learn more
Accept