Clifford Geertz Quotes

A collection of quotes by Clifford Geertz.

Clifford Geertz (1926-2006) was an American anthropologist renowned for his significant contributions to the field of cultural anthropology. Born on August 23, 1926, in San Francisco, California, Geertz developed a keen interest in social sciences during his academic years. He earned his Bachelor's degree from Antioch College in 1950 and went on to pursue graduate studies at Harvard University, where he obtained his Ph.D. in Social Anthropology in 1956.

Geertz's research and writings focused on understanding various cultural systems and their interpretations. He emphasized the importance of thick description, a method that emphasizes capturing the intricacies and complexities of cultural practices and their contexts. His works emphasized the role of symbols, meaning, and interpretation in social life.

One of Geertz's most notable works is his book "The Interpretation of Cultures," published in 1973. In this influential work, he argued that culture should be understood as a system of symbols that people use to make sense of the world. Geertz's approach helped reshape the field of anthropology, particularly in terms of its focus on the study of meaning and interpretation within cultural contexts.

Throughout his career, Geertz taught at various prestigious institutions, including the University of Chicago and Princeton University. He received numerous awards and honors for his contributions to anthropology, including the prestigious Kyoto Prize in 1989. Clifford Geertz's works continue to be influential in the study of culture and interpretation and have left a lasting impact on the field of anthropology. He passed away on October 30, 2006, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The way in which mathematicians and physicists and historian

The way in which mathematicians and physicists and historians talk is quite different, and what a physicist means by physical intuition and what a mathematician means by beauty or elegance are things worth thinking about.

Clifford Geertz

Beauty Worth

I'm writing a review of three books on feminism and science,

I'm writing a review of three books on feminism and science, and it's about social constructionism. So I would say I'm a social constructionist, whatever that means.

Clifford Geertz

Science Socialconstructionism

Gender consciousness has become involved in almost every int

Gender consciousness has become involved in almost every intellectual field: history, literature, science, anthropology. There's been an extraordinary advance.

Clifford Geertz

Science

To see ourselves as others see us can be eye-opening. To see

To see ourselves as others see us can be eye-opening. To see others as sharing a nature with ourselves is the merest decency. But it is from the far more difficult achievement of seeing ourselves amongst others, as a local example of the forms human life has locally taken, a case among cases, a world among worlds, that the largeness of mind, without which objectivity is self-congratulation and tolerance a sham, comes.

Clifford Geertz

Identity

We need to think more about the nature of rhetoric in anthro

We need to think more about the nature of rhetoric in anthropology. There isn't a body of knowledge and thought to fall back on in this regard.

Clifford Geertz

Knowledge

I think the perception of there being a deep gulf between sc

I think the perception of there being a deep gulf between science and the humanities is false.

Clifford Geertz

Science