The last of five talks
5: System and Freedom fby MARY DOUGLAS
Reader in Social Anthropology, University College, London
' We all do this-create systems on flimsy evidence and apply the basic assumptions so confidently that we literally do not perceive contradictory events. We are largely unconscious of how much active interpreting we ourselves contribute to what we see and hear.' The ' law and order ' of our mental and social systems plays a vital part in enabling us to live. But what are we to do about the elements which the systems exclude?