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The New Science of the Enchanted Universe
An Anthropology of Most of Humanity
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The New Science of the Enchanted Universe
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
This book suits readers interested in anthropology, religious studies, and cultural philosophy, especially those keen on exploring non-Western worldviews and the intersections of spirituality with social and political life.
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
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Description
From the perspective of Western modernity, humanity inhabits a disenchanted cosmos. Gods, spirits, and ancestors have left us for a transcendent beyond, no longer living in our midst and being involved in all matters of everyday life from the trivial to the dire. Yet the vast majority of cultures throughout human history treat spirits as very real persons, members of a cosmic society who interact with humans and control their fate. In most cultures, even today, people are but a small part of an enchanted universe misconstrued by the transcendent categories of 'religion' and the 'supernatural'. The New Science of the Enchanted Universe shows how anthropologists and other social scientists must rethink these cultures of immanence and study them by their own lights.
In this, his last, revelatory book, Marshall Sahlins announces a new method and sets an exciting agenda for the field. He takes readers around the world, from Inuit of the Arctic Circle to pastoral Dinka of East Africa, from Arawete swidden gardeners of Amazonia to Trobriand Island horticulturalists. In the process, Sahlins sheds new light on classical and contemporary ethnographies that describe these cultures of immanence and reveals how even the apparently mundane, all-too-human spheres of 'economics' and 'politics' emerge as people negotiate with, and ultimately usurp, the powers of the gods.
The New Science of the Enchanted Universe offers a road map for a new practice of anthropology that takes seriously the enchanted universe and its transformations from ancient Mesopotamia to contemporary America.
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Praised as a "feisty final statement" by Jonathan Spencer in Science, the book is celebrated for its passionate and eloquent argumentation. Vincent P. Pecora in European Legacy regards Sahlins as a masterful anthropological time traveller deeply committed to immersive understanding. David N. Gellner in Society calls it a valuable contribution for both academic teaching and wider intellectual contemplation. Additionally, Anna Della Subin from The Nation highlights the book’s electrifying ideas that weave together the political, enchanted, and divine, while Tok Thompson notes its engaging call for recognising spiritual realities in anthropology.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780691215921
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Format: Hardback
Date Published: 26 April 2022
Country: United States
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Illustration: 1 b/w illus.
Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly
DIMENSIONS
Width: 156.0mm
Height: 235.0mm
Weight: 250g
Pages: 208
About the Author
Marshall Sahlins (1930-2021) was the Charles F. Grey Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at the University of Chicago and the author of many books, including Stone Age Economics and Culture and Practical Reason.
Frederick B. Henry Jr. is an independent scholar and translator.
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