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Cows, Pigs, Wars, and Witches book cover

Cows, Pigs, Wars, and Witches

The Riddles of Culture

Marvin Harris

Uncover the hidden reasons behind seemingly bizarre behaviors with this thought-provoking book. Author Marvin Harris challenges the idea that changing minds will change the world, instead identifying concrete social and economic conditions as the root of behavior. Learn how understanding these conditions can help us make sense of our own lifestyles and make rational political commitments. The book also includes a critique of counterculture shamanism and a call for objective consciousness.
Publish Date
1989-12-17T00:00:00.000Z
1989-12-17T00:00:00.000Z
first published in 1974
Goodreads Rating
3.93
ISBN
9780679724681
Recommendations
1
Recommendations
2016-02-19T00:00:00.000Z
Mind-blowing anthropology. Great argument that the reasons that religions worship cows or hate pigs, that tribes wage wars, or Europe's 200 years of witch hunts, are all very practical economic reasons usually unknown to the participants or washed out of history. But they're revealed here in zoomed-out hindsight. My notes here can't describe it. You have to read the whole book. Riveting.      source