Science, Folklore and Ideology

Download or read book Science, Folklore and Ideology written by Geoffrey Ernest Richard Lloyd and published by Bristol Classical Press. This book was released on 1999 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This text takes a set of central topics from ancient Greek medicine and biology - relating especially to beliefs about animals, women and drugs - and studies first the interaction between scientific theorising and folklore, and second the ideological character of ancient scientific inquiry. Within this framework the author looks at the development of zoological taxonomy, the repercussions of prevailing Greek assumptions concerning the inferiority of the female sex on medical practice, pharmacology and anatomy. Anthropology is used to provide a comparative dimension to the discussion of ancent Greek popular beliefs.