Summary
Contents
Subject index
Without taking a single psychology course, ordinary people learn to understand, predict, and explain one another’s actions, thoughts, and motivations. Many cognitive scientists and philosophers claim that our everyday or folk understanding of mental states constitutes a theory of mind. That theory is widely called folk psychology (sometimes commonsense psychology). The terms in which folk psychology are couched are familiar ones of ‘belief’ and ‘desire,’ ‘hunger,’ ‘pain,’ and so forth. According to many theorists, folk psychology plays a central role in our capacity to predict and explain the behavior of ourselves and of others. This book has two goals: (a) to provide a framework for analyzing folk psychologies, and (b) to describe multiple forms that folk psychologies assume in different cultures.
Rites and Rituals
Rites and Rituals
What purposes do cultural ceremonies serve?
Folk psychologies, as cultural patterns of thought and belief, can be reflected in rites and rituals. The initial, major portion of this chapter offers examples of functions performed by such observances. The final short segment of the chapter concerns the effect of cultural change on rituals. Throughout the chapter, the terms rites and rituals are treated as synonyms.
Functions of Rites and Rituals
Cultural rituals can have a variety of purposes, including those of (a) soliciting the aid of supernatural powers in times of need, (b) appeasing sensitive mystical beings, (c) establishing individuals' cultural identity, (d) promoting group solidarity, (e) enforcing group boundaries, (f) signifying key life events, (g) maintaining social-exchange traditions, (h) settling disputes, and (i) ...
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