11/13 Bernstein, 73-74, 79-108; Recommended: 51-79

Theme: Rationality and incommensurability

1. According to Bernstein, how is incommensurability distinct from incompatability and incomparability? How is this definition of incommensurability different from the definition that we have been using in class? How is it an openness to what is alien rather than a closure or relativism?

2. According to Bernstein, what are the two sets of extremes that should be avoided when studying alien societies or phenomena?

3. What is Geertz’s distinction between experience-near and experience-distant concepts, and how does it pertain to the study of alien societies?