Open AccessRitual, sprog og verden
Author(s) -
Jeppe Sinding Jensen
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
religionsvidenskabeligt tidsskrift
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.111
H-Index - 3
eISSN - 1904-8181
pISSN - 0108-1993
DOI - 10.7146/rt.v0i20.5336
Subject(s) - transformational grammar , syntax , meaning (existential) , linguistics , generative grammar , philosophy , rule based machine translation , epistemology , sociology
Reflektioner over et brud i ritualforskningen.Theories of ritual have mainly focused on the various functions of ritual. S shift in the study of ritual has occurred through two recent publications, i.e. Rules without Meaning by Frits Staal (1989) and Rethinking Religion by E. Thomas Lawson and Robert N. McCauley (1990). Both works draw on theoretical linguistics, in particular the transformational and generative grammars formulated by Noam Chomsky and attempt to apply this theorizing in pursuit of formal properties of ritual system. whereas Staal concentrates on the purely rule-governed, Lawson and McCauley include semanti dimeensions in their investigations of ritual syntax. this article cirtically surveys both works, their theses and divergences, and their validity and applicability in the history of religion.