Rules, Exceptions, and Social Order

Rules, Exceptions, and Social Order by Robert B. Edgerton explores one of the most basic but perplexing questions of human social life: why do societies both insist on rules and simultaneously create exceptions to them? Drawing on philosophy, anthropology, sociology, and history, Edgerton examines how rules provide the foundation for freedom, security, and social order, yet are often bent, negotiated, or suspended. From Epictetus and Rousseau to Malinowski and Goffman, theorists have debate...