...so far as anthropology is concerned, it is almost more of a problem to get exhausted ideas out of the literature than it is to get productive ones in, and so a great deal more of theoretical discussion than one would prefer is critical rather than constructive, and whole careers have been devoted to hastening the demise of moribund notions. As the field advances one would hope that this sort of intellectual weed control would become a less prominent part of our activities. But, for the moment, it remains true that old theories tend less to die than to go into second editions.
- From "Thick Description: Toward an Interpretive Theory of Culture."
An obituary for Clifford Geertz can be read here.
Posted by the wily filipino at October 31, 2006 08:42 PM