Knowledge Quotes

"The anthropologist is a professional stranger who learns to be strange at home."

"Language is the technology that allowed humans to become human."

"We are all natives in our own culture; some of us simply know it and others don't."

"We study religion because humans are religious animals, not because religion is true or false."

"Comparison is the soul of all knowledge; without it, there is no understanding."

"There is no such thing as a 'natural' category; all categories are made by humans for human purposes."

"The map-territory distinction reminds us that all knowledge is mediated representation."

"Every scholar brings his or her own interpretive lens to the study of religion."

"We are all trapped in our own hermeneutical circles, trying to understand others like us."

"Language does not simply reflect reality; it actively shapes what we can perceive."

"Every interpretation is a translation, and something is always lost in translation."

"The study of other religions is always, in some sense, a study of ourselves."

"Comparison is always comparison from a particular vantage point."

"We must study religion without reducing it to psychology, sociology, or biology."

"We understand ourselves better by understanding how others understand themselves."

"The study of religion must respect both difference and common humanity."

"Symbols work on multiple levels of meaning."

"Meaning-making is an ongoing process."

"Symbols carry multiple layers of significance."

"The symbol opens up depths which do in fact remain unattainable to any other means of cognition."

"The study of religion reveals the deepest structures of human consciousness."

"The serpent represents both death and renewal, chaos and wisdom."

"The cosmos itself can be understood as a sacred text written in symbols."

"The study of religion reveals patterns of human creativity and meaning-making."

"Mythology provides a cognitive map for understanding existence."

"The abominations of Leviticus make sense once you understand the dietary laws are about maintaining categories."

"Understanding culture requires understanding its classification systems."

"Nature itself is never pure; it is always interpreted through culture."

"Classification is a fundamental human need."

"Culture is a system of meanings and values."