The Concept of Kinship

Previously published under the title "Cause and Meaning in the Social Sciences", this collection of essays is now available in paperback for a student audience. Ranging widely in philosophy, sociology and social anthropology, and the relationships and interaction between the three, The book employs an analytical and occasionally combative approach to elucidate key questions of social scientific method. The 15 essays: consider the work of other eminent social anthropologists (Evans-Pritchard, Leach, Malinowski); discuss trends and developments in approach to the social sciences, including functionalism and structuralism; and subject to rigorous analysis key issues in anthropological enquiry, such as kinship, the relation between nature and society, and the role of language.