Cultural Materialism: The Struggle for a Science of Culture [Hardcover]

Marvin Harris (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 28, 2001

Cultural Materialism, published in 1979, was Marvin Harris's first full-length explication of the theory with which his work has been associated. While Harris has developed and modified some of his ideas over the past two decades, generations of professors have looked to this volume as the essential starting point for explaining the science of culture to students. Now available again after a hiatus, this edition of Cultural Materialism contains the complete text of the original book plus a new introduction by Orna and Allen Johnson that updates his ideas and examines the impact that the book and theory have had on anthropological theorizing.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The most important anthropological statement of the nature and meaning of cultural anthropology that has thus far appeared. (Ashley Montagu Psychology Today )

Harris achieves a standard of theoretical exposition that is rare in anthropology. (Bruce Trigger Science )

About the Author

Marvin Harris is in the department of anthropology at the University of Florida.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 408 pages
• Publisher: Altamira Press; Updated edition (August 28, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0759101345
• ISBN-13: 978-0759101340
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,040,237 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars cultural materialism is it, September 28, 2005

By 

H. Keith Hamm - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cultural Materialism: The Struggle for a Science of Culture (Hardcover)

Foundational. This book is the core of cultural materialist theory. I lays out in simple language a theory for describing and explaining the complexity that is human behavior and thought. Many have railed against cultural materialism for being too simplistic, for "naïvely" arguing for evolutionary, universal patterns throughout human societies. Harris spent his life fighting for a scientific approach to anthropology and this was his masterwork towards that goal.

He begins by discussing science in general; its beginnings, evolution and application. At the end of the chapter he says something which resonates throughout the rest of the book and his work. This statement provides a window into the character of Marvin Harris like nothing else Ive read. He says, "No other way of knowing is based on a set of rules explicitly designed to transcend the prior belief systems of mutually antagonistic tribes, nations, classes, and ethnic and religious communities in order to arrive at knowledge that is equally probable for any rational human mind. Those that doubt that science can do this must be made to show that some other ecumenical alternative can do it better. Unless they can show how some other universalistic system of knowing leads to more acceptable criteria of truth, their attempt to subvert the universal credibility of science in the name of cultural relativism, however well intentioned, is an intellectual crime against humanity."

Throughout the first part he discusses his theory. Beginning with the epistemological underpinnings of the theory and ending with application he thoroughly explains and attempts to preempt any questions that might arise. In the second half of the book he compares his theory to other anthropological explainations and descriptions of human behavior and ideas. He discusses sociobiology, Marxism, structuralism and psychological approachs to humans. He ends with a critique of postmodernism or obscurantism as he calls it in this book.

His theory is basically that we are motivated primarily by a few basic biopsychological drives. These drives lead us to produce things and reproduce ourselves. Production and reproduction, in relation with the environment, lead to the organizational structures and the symbols and ideologies of particular societies. This is a system. As such all of the parts feed back into each other so that a change in one part usually leads to a change in all other parts. The primary way change occurs in the system, however, is through alterations in the modes of production and reproduction or because of changes in the environment. This is because these are the only things that are tied directly to our basic biopsychological needs.

It is a shame that anthropology has lost Marvin Harris and his scientific, multi-linear evolutionary theories and wandered into the abyss of postmodernist, interpretationist mishmash.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Highly Relevant Must-Read Book for Environmental and Social Justice Advocates, August 20, 2005

By 

C. Willer (Corvallis, OR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cultural Materialism: The Struggle for a Science of Culture (Paperback)

Marvin Harris' book, Cultural Materialism, is a must read for any student in the social sciences who intends to address issues of war and peace, environmental decline, and social justice. Written in clear, understandable language, the theory presented is compelling and fully relevant to the most pressing issues of today. The updated edition offers an introduction by Allen and Orna Johnson that "examines the impact that the book and theory had on anthropological theorizing." Compared to today's muddled and often unfathomable social theories-Cultural Materialism provides a practical and useful research approach relevant to any social issue and usable by those working for social change. Don't be put off by the title, the book and theory fully address all aspects of culture and in an evolutionally perspective. I particularly recommend the book and theory to those who work on environmental and social justice issues. Conservation biologists seeking to explore sociocultural issues, especially when addressing conservation planning implementation problems, would be well served appreciating the Cultural Materialist perspective.

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most important books of the 20th Century, February 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Cultural Materialism: The Struggle for a Science of Culture (Hardcover)

This book will eventually be recognized as one of the most important of the 20th Century - but not until the 21st Century. In spite of what the previous reviewer said, it does indeed deal with male supremacy - and Cultural Materialism's explanation for male dominance is something that feminists should learn and understand, if they want to do something to end male supremacy.