The Reality Of Symbols

"Bedaux brings the discussion of meaning in northern painting back to the basics: the description of real objects, the evocation of everyday associations, the employment of standard visual metaphors, symbols and allegories. With the first publication of an eighteenth-century iconographical program drawn up by the Hague painter Mattheus Verheyden, he demonstrates the continued importance of allegory, that stepchild of iconography." -- Cover page 4.

Charles W. Morris' doctoral thesis Symbolism and Reality, written in 1925 at Chicago under George H. Mead, has never before been published. It sets out to prove that thought and mind are not entities, nor even processes involving a psychical substance distinguishable from the rest of reality, but are explicable as the functioning of parts of the experience as symbols to an organism of other parts of experience. Being then the symbolic portion of experience, the psychical or mental can neither be sharply opposed to the rest of experience nor identical with the whole of experience. This edition includes a preface by Achim Eschbach, an extensive bibliography of Morris' works, and indices of names and subjects.

Collection of 10 articles previously published on various aspects of ritual symbolism among the Ndembu of Zambia; p.83-4; brief mention of C.P. Mountford on Aboriginal colour symbolism; Primarly for use in cultural comparison.

The Second Edition of Symbols, Selves, and Social Reality introduces students to the symbolic interactionist perspective in sociology. This book differs from other texts on interactionism in several important respects. First, it offers a stronger empirical focus, linking discussions of the central ideas and premises of symbolic interactionism to pertinent research, including ethnographic studies conducted by each of the authors. Second, the book emphasizes topics that are inherently interesting to students, such as the dynamics of self-development, impression management, identity transformation, gender play, rumor transmission, and collective action. Third, it includes an analysis of the changing nature and experience of selfhood in contemporary society. Fourth, the authors provide a useful set of pedagogical tools at the end of each chapter, including a summary of key points and concepts, a glossary of key terms, a list of suggested readings, and questions for reflection and discussion. Finally, Symbols, Selves, and Social Reality offers a discussion of the personal relevance of symbolic interactionism, its salience for social policy, its broadening theoretical scope, and its relationship to new and increasingly prominent perspectives emerging within sociology. The new edition covers an even broader range of ideas and topics than the First Edition. It also features several updated sections and boxed inserts. These address such topics as: * The impact of postmodernity on students' experiences of self. * The dynamics of mass panics. * Status passages experienced by students. * Ethnomethodology and the construction of reality. * The necessity of language. * Internet technologies and their effects on interaction. * New methods of ethnographic analysis. * The dramatic elements of social movements. * The value and future of interactionism.

This book first published in 1973 offers a broad survey of the study of symbolic ideas and behaviour. The study of symbolism is popular nowadays and anthropologists have made substantial contributions to it. Raymond Firth has long been internationally known for his field research in the Solomons and Malaysia, and for his theoretical work on kinship, economics and religion. Here from a new angle, he has produced a broad survey of the study of symbolic ideas and behaviour. Professor Firth examines definitions of symbol. He traces the history of scientific inquiry into the symbolism of religious cults, mythology and dreams back into the eighteenth century. He compares some modern approaches to symbolism in art, literature and philosophy with those in social anthropology. He then cites examples in anthropological treatment of symbolic material from cultures of varying sophistication. Finally he offers dispassionate analyses of symbols used in contemporary Western situations - from hair-styles to the use and abuse of national flags; from cults of Black Jesus to the Eucharistic rite. In all this Professor Firth combines social and political topicality with a scholarly and provocative theoretical inquiry.

A thorough survey of great interest and value to scholars in this field. Contributions in this series stem from a Symposia on Indian Religions which took place over ten years (1975 to 1984). The Seventh Symposium housed in Oxford, UK in 1981 was concerned with the theme of symbolism in Indian religions and like its previous one-theme conference on mysticism, generated much interest and led to this publication.

+This is the first unit of three devoted to an explication of the structure and function of symbols. The following topics are covered. Ch-1 SIMPLE SYMBOLS Ch-2 PSYCHOANALYTIC SYMBOLS Ch-3 POETIC SYMBOLS Ch-4 TRANSCENDENT SYMBOLS CH-5 - THE ONTOGENESIS OF THE SYMBOLIZING FUNCTION CH-6 – THE ONTOGENESIS OF SYMBOLS FROM BIRTH TO SIX YEARS OF AGE CH-7 - THE ONTOGENESIS OF SYMBOLS FROM THE LATENCY AGE TO THE ADULT YEARS CH-8 - THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF SYMBOLS CH-9 - DREAM SYMBOL CHARACTERISTICS IN SPECIFIC SLEEP STAGES CH-10 - CONSCIOUSNESS AND AFFECT MANAGEMENT THROUGH PSYCHOANALYTIC SYMBOL FORMATION CH-11 - SYMBOLS AND THE SENSE OF REALITY