Maurice Godelier The Mental and the Material Thought Economy and Society Translated by Martin Thom“Te cna od he mate Lae Th Liter by als! oxea ve 8 ia mari pba pike ae aya 198 Typos Baten by jer and Ld, Bit, Eland ‘Tae Taclerd Pe, ‘Theor, Nove ISBN 08am 165 Contents Preface “The Mental andthe Material L._ The Material and Social Appropriation of Nature 1. Ecosystems and Social Systems 2. ‘Terstory and Property in Some Pre-Gapitalist, Sociein I The Mental Part of Reality The Mental Pat of Realy 4. The Role of Thousht in the Production of Social Relations ML Critical But Non-Polemical Considerations 5. Kae Polanyi and the ‘Shing Pla’ ofthe Economy in Societies 6 Polis af Relation of Production. A Dislogue with Edouard Will IV. Estates, Castes and Clases 7, Hawt, Castes and Glasser Appendix Index v " 15 a & Ea 26 2sForCinvde Lév Straus Publisher's Note The ie of Gade’ bool in French i it mat We Ive tonlted = for lk of Bee aemative the word "ear mona butwe te aware ta tha pay dior what sere Gadcber inc by ig the word el which faciy wed in Fosch carp pion dco Goaher’ enon wa ote iat cout though nal hs fens and process, nso and unconscious conve and orsountte: ‘Menral tends to undeply the unconscious TGptrl tough and oretuce scones aspect soa. Simca epresenions sone Preface ‘The Mental and the Material My poin of departure in thisbook lesa afc, anda hypotesis "The fact i this: human Beng, in conta to other soci animals oot ust Hive i society hey race scl in ear fe In the course of their existence, they invent new ways of ‘inking and of acing ~ both upon themselves and upon the pure which sutrounds them. They therefore produce culture Und ene hasan for History) ‘Of couse ote sci anumals too are he product of history, ‘but it one they ave not made: that of the natural evcuton of Tring matter and of the arimal and vegetable species which atu has engendeted ithe cour ofthe earth's enstence and ‘thi thereat enter into is eompastuon. "This fact tot just Hee any ee, for an account oft involves an analy of uth the evolution of nature and the specily of, ‘an within that natures All erin this sense Gs iit lighter ‘hadow Ive wih to explain the human race apd is history, 0 ‘Geeop the natural or the human sciences, ve cannot bet take this reality ab our taring-pint ur ow can fact be Thought without a hypothesis to iter pret H? One tuch hypothesis docs exst — whic, though not fev believe t pomess 2 vernendious explanatory potential. 1 oy be sted lions: man bengr ze 4 hilo Bema th ons nae ti indeed tis cacy which defines ther a aman, OF al the fons which et them in movement and prompt ther o invent new forms of society, the most profound is