What happens in religious traditions when the nature of the ritual is questioned, but the practice of performing rituals is not itself abandoned? How is it that people can accomplish ritual successfully without belief, and even without attributing any meaning to it? This book draws on the authors' observations of such reactions among Jains in western India, and asks what they can tell us about ritual as a mode of human action. Most anthropologists have assumed that ritual is a special kind of happening. The authors argue that we should not define ritual as a distinct type of event but instead look at ritualization, which is a modification of action. What is distinctive about actions which are ritualized? This book proposes a new theory to analyse the qualities which ritualization gives to a wide and disparate range of actions and events. The authors reject the common view that ritual carries intrinsic meaning, and stress the reasons why participants may or may not give meaning to ritual acts. They draw on insights from the philosophy of action, cognitive psychology, and phenomenology, to explore the paradox that in ritual, actors both are and are not the authors of their acts. The book explores the implications for anthropology of this new theory of ritual, with discussions of the relation between texts and action, the importance of bodily experience in ritual enactment, and the sense of selfhood as it is affected by ritual.

The Archetypal Actions of Ritual: A Theory of Ritual Illustrated by the Jain Rite of Worship (Oxford Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology)

Politics & Social Sciences

Laidlaw, James

Humphrey, Caroline

Anthropology

Oxford University Press

Humphrey and Laidlaw present a new and radical general theory of ritual by drawing on an ethnographically rich account of the ritual worship of the Jains of western India. Ritual, they argue, is not a logically separate type of activity, but rather a quality that can be attributed to a wide range of everyday activities. In exploring the issue of what is distinctive about actions which are ritualized, this book makes an ambitious and controversial contribution to social and religious anthropology.

Clarendon Press

The Jains of India are a flourishing and prosperous community, but their religion is focused on the teaching and example of ascetic renouncers, whose austere regime is actually dedicated to ending worldly life and often culminates in a fast to death. This book, which draws upon a detailed study of Jainism in the city of Jaipur, shows how renunciation and ascetism play a central part in the life of a thriving business community, and how world-renunciation combines for Jain families with the pursuit of worldly happiness.

Riches and Renunciation: Religion, Economy, and Society Among the Jains (Oxford Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology)

Social Sciences

The Jains of India are a flourishing and prosperous community, but their religion is focused on the teaching and example of ascetic Renouncers, whose austere regime is actually dedicated to ending worldly life and often culminates in a fast to death. This book, which draws upon a detailed study of Jainism in the city of Jaipur, shows how renunciation and ascetism play a central part in the life of a thriving business community, and how world-renunciation combines for Jain families with the pursuit of worldly happiness.

Riches and Renunciation: Religion, Economy, and Society among the Jains (Oxford Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology)

The Subject of Virtue: An Anthropology Of Ethics And Freedom (New Departures in Anthropology)

The anthropology of ethics has become an important and fast-growing field in recent years. This book argues that it represents not just a new subfield within anthropology but a conceptual renewal of the discipline as a whole, enabling it to take account of a major dimension of human conduct which social theory has so far failed adequately to address. An ideal introduction for students and researchers in anthropology and related human sciences. • Shows how ethical concepts such as virtue, character, freedom and responsibility may be incorporated into anthropological analysis • Surveys the history of anthropology's engagement with morality • Examines the relevance for anthropology of two major philosophical approaches to moral life.

The Subject of Virtue: An Anthropology of Ethics and Freedom (New Departures in Anthropology)

Business & Money

Business Culture

Cambridge University Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Laidlaw, James. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Laidlaw, James

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Laidlaw, James. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Archetypal Actions of Ritual: A Theory of Ritual Illustrated by the Jain Rite of Worship (Oxford Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology)

The Archetypal Actions of Ritual: A Theory of Ritual Illustrated by the Jain Rite of Worship (Oxford Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology)

Riches and Renunciation: Religion, Economy, and Society Among the Jains (Oxford Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology)

Riches and Renunciation: Religion, Economy, and Society among the Jains (Oxford Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology)

The Subject of Virtue: An Anthropology of Ethics and Freedom (New Departures in Anthropology)

The Subject of Virtue: An Anthropology Of Ethics And Freedom (New Departures in Anthropology)