Mary Douglas's classic work of cultural anthropology Purity and Danger points out the relativism inherent in our concept of dirt: Soil on the forest floor has a kind of purity, but move it to the kitchen floor and it's filth. It's not about dirt, she argues, but order, and whether something is out of its natural place.
Purity and Danger
Purity and Danger
Purity and Danger
Mary Douglas's classic work of cultural anthropology Purity and Danger points out the relativism inherent in our concept of dirt: Soil on the forest floor has a kind of purity, but move it to the kitchen floor and it's filth. It's not about dirt, she argues, but order, and whether something is out of its natural place.