Theoretical Study on the “Culture of Waste” based on Mary Douglas’s Theory

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Bibliographic Information

Other Title
  • 「廃棄の文化」に関する理論的検討 : メアリ・ダグラスの議論から
  • ハイキ　ノ　ブンカ　ニ　カンスル　リロンテキ　ケントウ　メアリ　ダグラス　ノ　ギロン　カラ

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Description

Articles

In today’s world, hoarders often provide us with sensational news; this issue has been investigated into with the main focus being on the distinction between “waste” and “stuff.” While the problem of hoarding started around the mid-2000s, there have always been hoarders in society, with newspaper reports dating back as far as 1968. While in 1968, hoarding was considered just a phenomenon, this trend shifted around the mid-2000s when hoarding began to be viewed as a problem. While there have been signifi cant efforts in Japan to properly reduce and dispose waste, problems related to hoarding have highlighted the possible and deep relationship between waste, society, and culture. Therefore, it is no longer possible to only see waste as an environmental problem, a public health problem, or as a moral issue, as it is necessary to delve deeper into the following questions: what does waste mean for people? how do people treat waste? and what benefi ts do people derive from waste? In this paper, waste and waste disposal are reconsidered from a “culture of waste” perspective, which is related to the changes in people’s social lives and consciousness. First, to lay the foundation, the “culture of waste” is reexamined based on the theory proposed by Mary Douglas, in which the theory of “order and disorder” and the argument of “ambiguity” are elucidated. Then, these arguments are further examined in the light of the theoretical criticisms of Douglas’s theory by Anna S. Meigs and Kevin Hetherington. Finally, after these in-depth examinations, the essential issues related to the “culture of waste” are summarized.

Journal

  • 年報人間科学

    年報人間科学 39 1-13, 2018-03-31

    Sociology, Anthropology and Philosophy, Graduate School of Human Sciences, Osaka University

Keywords

Details 詳細情報について

  • CRID
    1390572174764522752
  • NII Article ID
    120006414460
  • NII Book ID
    AN0020011X
  • DOI
    10.18910/67877
  • HANDLE
    11094/67877
  • ISSN
    02865149
  • Text Lang
    ja
  • Article Type
    departmental bulletin paper
  • Data Source
    • JaLC
    • IRDB
    • CiNii Articles

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