The Interpretation of Cultures

Anthropology refers to the scientific study of human culture, behavior, language, and society. In Chapter 1, Geertz defines the aim of the anthropology as “the enlargement of the human universe of human discourse” (14), in addition to “instruction, amusement, practical counsel, moral advance, and the discovery of natural order in human behavior” (14).

Causal-functional integration refers to the form of integration that characterizes social structure, where “all the parts are united in a single causal web; each part is an element in a reverberating causal ring which ‘keeps the system going’” (145). In Chapter 6, its distinction from logico-meaningful integration supports Geertz’s revision of functional theory through the demonstration that social and culture systems have different forms of integration, and thus are often incongruent. Such tension clarifies the relationship between religious belief and practice, and secular life.

Cockfighting is a blood sport in which two specially bred and groomed roosters are placed in a pit to fight one another until one dies or is injured beyond the ability to continue fighting. Geertz argues that in Balinese culture, cockfighting is a form of deep play, in which status rivalries among competing social factions are symbolically represented.