The Sadness of Sweetness: The Native Anthropology of Western Cosmology [and Comments

and Reply]
Author(s): Marshall Sahlins, Thomas Bargatzky, Nurit Bird-David, John Clammer, Jacques
Hamel, Keiji Maegawa, Jukka Siikala
Reviewed work(s):
Source: Current Anthropology, Vol. 37, No. 3 (Jun., 1996), pp. 395-428
Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological
Research
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2744541 .
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 CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY Volume 37, Number 3, June I996
? I996 byThe Wenner-Gren Research.All rightsreserved
FoundationforAnthropological OOII-3204/96/3703-0002$4.00

Sweetness and Power (Mintz I985) was forme a land-

mark book because it dared to take on capitalism as a
SIDNEY W. MINTZ LECTURE cultural economy.In a double way it put anthropology
at the centerofhistory:not onlyas a culturaldiscipline,
FOR I994 the academic anthropology we know and love,but in the
formofwhat may be deemed the native anthropology of
Westernsociety,the indigenousconceptionsof human
existence that, at a particularhistoricaljuncture,gave
The Sadness of sweetness its economic functionality.It is this native
WesternanthropologyI would talk ofhere,both in rela-

Sweetness tion to Sid Mintz's classic work and in relationto an-

The Native Anthropology
of
WesternCosmology'
by Marshall Sahlins
This paperattemptsto lenda broad"archaeological"supportto
SidneyMintz'sSweetnessand Powerbydiscussingcertainmajor
anthropologicalthemesofthelongtermin theJudeo-Christian
cosmologythatseem particularly relevantto Westerneconomic
behavior-especiallyconsumption issues-in the i8th century.
The pleasure-pain principleofhumanaction,theidea ofan irre-
sistibleand egoisticalhumannatureunderlying social behavior,
the sense ofsocietyas an orderofpoweror coercion,and a con-
fidencein thegreaterprovidentialvalue ofhumansuffering fig-
ure amongtheseanthropological themes.It is also arguedthat
theycontinueto inhabitmainstream Westernsocial science-
to thebedevilment ofourunderstandings ofotherpeoples.
MARSHALL SAHLINS iS CharlesF. GreyDistinguished ServicePro-
fessorofAnthropology and in the College,University ofChicago
(Chicago,Ill. 60637, U.S.A.). Bornin 1930, he was educatedat
theUniversity ofMichigan(B.A.,I95i; M.A., i952) and at Co-
lumbiaUniversity (Ph.D., 1954) and taughtat Michiganfrom
I956 to I973. His researchinterests are Pacifichistoryand eth-
nography. He has publishedStoneAge Economics(Chicago:Al-
dine,I972), Cultureand PracticalReason (Chicago:University
ofChicagoPress,I972), HistoricalMetaphorsand MythicalReal-
ities (Chicago:University ofChicagoPress,i98i), Islands ofHis-
tory(Chicago:University ofChicagoPress,i985), withPatrick
Kirch,Anahulu(Chicago:University ofChicagoPress,i992), and
How "Natives" Think:About Captain Cook,ForExample(Chi-
cago: University ofChicagoPress,i995). The presentpaperwas
acceptedio viii 95, and thefinalversionreachedtheEditor'sof-
fice6 Ix 95.
thropologyas a discipline. On the one hand, the aim
will be to complementthe argumentsof Sweetnessand
Powerby expandingon certainaspects ofthe indigenous
anthropology.We shall see that it takes some singular
ideas of humanity,society,and natureto come up with
the tristetropethat what life is all about is the search
forsatisfaction,which is to say the meliorationof our
pains. On the otherhand, I will tryto make the point
thatthese cosmic notions did not beginor end with the
Enlightenment.They are native cultural structuresof
the long term that still inhabit academic anthropol-
ogy-as well as otherWesternsocial sciences-and be-
devil our understandingsof otherpeoples.
Concerned with certain Judeo-Christiandogmas of
human imperfection,my argumentcould be described
as an "archaeology"of mainstreamsocial science "dis-
course." It would be pleasing to thinkof it then as the
owl of Minerva takingwing at the dusk of an intellec-
tual era. It has an organization,however,more closely
resemblingthe flightof the postmodernistwifflebird,
movingin ever-decreasing hermeneuticcirclesuntil....
Nor should the mentionof Minervabe taken as a claim
to profoundknowledge.AlthoughI flitovera vast conti-
nent of Westernscholarship,it is only in the capacity
of an anthropologicaltourist,collectingan intellectual
genealogy here and a fragmentof academic folklore
there,while makinga most superficialinspectionof the
greatphilosophicalmonuments.Like most tourists,I no
doubt consistentlymake a fool of myself.Not only are
the expositionsofmain ideas always schematic,usually
idiosyncratic,and possibly wrongbut also insufficient
attention has been paid to alternative traditions-
withoutwhich this paper could not have been written.
The other necessaryapologies are as follows: I do not
considerall the premisesofthenativeanthropology that
are still in vogue as science, only the fouror five that
seem most relevantto Sweetness and Power. I do not
provide an adequate economic and political historyof
the ideas and traditionsI discuss, nor do I prove that
theyare inadequate-or, as I believe,disastrous-forthe
study of non-Westernsocieties. Finally,I am speaking
about male writerswho themselvesspoke mainlyabout
men and to men. Given what they had to say about
"mankind," you wouldn't want to substitute"her" for
"him" or even speak about "he or she."2

2. It is worthreiterating
thatI am discussingsomecommonaver-
i. The I994 SidneyW. MintzLecturewas deliveredat The Johns age mainstream Judeo-Christianideas ofthehumancondition,to
HopkinsUniversity
on AprilI12, I995. the relativeneglectof variantand conflicting
positions.In this

395
396 1 CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY Volume 37, Number 3, JuneI996

Introduction:Flowers of Evil part,man, feltit first;and then/Bothbeasts and plants,

curstin the curse of man."
Paul Ricoeur singles out the biblical storyof the Fall as As forhumanity,pain and death were not the only
"the anthropologicalmythpar excellence,the onlyone, penalties of Adamic pride.There was also a certainstu-
perhaps,that expresslymakes man the origin (or the pidity,the effectof epistemological obstacles. Eating
co-origin)of evil" (I967:28I).3 A willful human act, fromthe tree of knowledge,Adam plunged men into
Adam's sin opened the dolefulabyssbetween"the abso- gross ignorance,simultaneously engenderingunfortu-
lute perfectionof God and the radical wickedness of nate consequences forhuman social relationships.Be-
man." Apartfromthis unhappyconsciousness,Ricoeur forethe sin, when called upon by God to name the ani-
means to distinguishthe Genesis traditionfromcosmol- mals Adam provedhimselfthe world'sfirstand greatest
ogies in which evil is primordialratherthan historical, philosopher:he could distinguishthe species as theyre-
precedingor accompanyingthe creationratherthan the ally were, accordingto their true essences and differ-
effectof the creature.It is truethat in a fairnumberof ences (AarsleffI982:25, 59). Adam had then an almost
othermythologiesthe originofdeath-and/or theorigin divineknowledge.Fromthe correctnames to the confu-
of hungerand toil-is laid to the violation of a divine sion of tongues,however,man experiencedan all-round
admonitionby a legendarytricksteror ancestralhero. fall fromintellectualgrace. A veil was drawnbetween
Yet even if these faults were due to perversityrather one person and another as well as between humanity
than folly,they did not produce an inherentlywicked and the world. Mankind was thus subject to a double
humanity,banished from the presence of God to a dissimulationof reality,social as well as natural.Cov-
purelynaturaland antitheticalworldofthornsand this- eringthemselvesin shame,men and women introduced
tles. There is a differencebetween human evil and re- deception into all communication.Relations between
grettablemisfortune.And Adam (or "Man") was not societies were marked by the incomprehensionand
only the originalagent of evil, but therebyand thence- strifeofBabel-a fittingsequiturto this second attempt
forthhe was corporeallydisposed to it. Man cannotnot of men "to be as gods." And if within societies people
sin, as Augustinesaid. This kind of self-contempt does concealed theirtrue (internal)selves fromone another,
not appear to be a generalpreoccupationof humanity. how could theirassociation have been foundedon any-
What makes the Westernmythologyseem even more thing but this dissimulation,given that mankind had
singular is the cosmological consequences of Adam's been committedto self-lovefromthe Fall? "It is impos-
crime: "The whole creationgroanethand travailethin sible we could be sociable CreatureswithoutHypocrisy"
pain together" (Romans 8:22). Bernard Mandeville (Mandeville I988, vol. I:349). Nature too was hidden
voiced a common (Western)complaint when he ob- fromus. In a neo-Platonicsense, the truthof the world
servedthat it was difficultto distinguishthe obstacles disguiseditself,since it could be known only as the in-
to human endeavorsthat were due to man's bodyfrom adequate sensory impressions of defective empirical
those that came fromthe conditionofthe planet "since things. The day was yet to come when Bacon would
it has been curs'd." It is impossibleto keep thesetribula- attempt to reverse the epistemological values by as-
tions asunder,he said; they "always interfereand mix sertingthat experientialwisdom was man's greathope
with one another;and at last make up togethera fright- forclimbingout ofthe pit into which he had been digg'd
ful Chaos of Evil" (Mandeville I988, vol. I:344). In by OriginalSin. Even so, such empiricismturnedout to
Adam's fall sinn'd we all: human lifebecame penal and be an ideological reconciliationwith a permanentim-
the worldhostile.4In JohnDonne's words,"The noblest perfection.Man had been condemned to an ignorance
as profoundas his wickedness,a "knowingignorance,"
hopelesslyseparatedfromGod's truth(CassirerI963).
regardeven the "Judeo"in the abovephrasecouldbe questioned, Human finitude,thefamous"metaphysicalevil," was
since,as a friendly critichas remarked(and Philo of Alexandria
notwithstanding), the radicaldualismsof Christianity the defectthat encompassed all the others.A line of
are not so
markedin thatbranchofthetradition. Fairenough,buthereI am argument running notably from Augustine through
tryingto hit the centerof the broadside of a bam, the would-beLeibniz repudiatedthe classical pantheisticnotion that
authoritative discourse. God made the universe fromHimself,on the grounds
3. The equivocation("perhaps")is well taken.The Dinka as de- that "from a god only a god can proceed" (Leibniz
scribedbyLienhardt(i96i) comequiteclose to theAdamiccondi-
tionsingledout byRicoeur,as mayotherEast Africanpeoples.In I985:300; AugustineI948; Hick I966). The world,in-
Dinka myth,humanwill andthesearchforfreedom, in opposition cludingthe creature,was createdex nihilo: nothingdi-
to God, likewise broughtsuffering, hunger,and death into the vine as such is in it. Not that God was responsiblefor
world.Certainotherdimensionsof the Christiananthropogeny/evil, which, as the absence of good, He did not make.
theodicy,however,remaindistinct(as is arguedhere).
4. On the GenealogyofMoralsconveysthe comparative senseI What He made was good. But as createdout of nothing,
am trying to evoke:"A singlelook at theGreekgodswill convince and in contrastto the unchangingand perfectnatureof
us thata beliefin godsneednotresultin morbidimaginations, that God, man was corruptible(AugustineDe civitate Dei
therearenoblerwaysofcreatingdivinefigments-wayswhichdo I2.I). Free will was the expressionof this unfortunate
not lead to the kind of self-crucifixionand self-punishment in
whichEurope,formillennianow,has excelled.The Hellenicgods
reflecteda raceofnobleand proudbeings,in whomman'sanimal keep bad conscienceat a distance,in orderto enjoytheirinner
selfhaddivinestatusandhenceno needtolacerateandrageagainst freedom in otherwords,theymadetheoppositeuse of
undisturbed;
itself.Fora verylongtimetheGreeksused theirgodspreciselyto themthatChristianity has made ofits god" (Nietzschei956:227).
 SAHLINS The Native Anthropologyof WesternCosmology | 397

mutabilityand the Fall its catastrophiceffect.Human ofthis world.Ifbourgeoissocietyliberatedegoisticman

finitudewas the root of all evil. Both the cause and the fromthe prisonhouse ofChristianmoralityand allowed
crime consisted in the nature of man as an imperfect desire to parade shamelessly in the light of day-
creatureof lack and need. So did the punishment. finessingsocial justice by the claim that PrivateVices
were Publick Benefits-still there had been no funda-
mental change in the Westernconceptionofhuman na-
The Anthropologyof Need ture. Man was ever an imperfectand suffering being,
withwants everbeyondhis powers.The Economic Man
The punishmentwas the crime,as Augustinesaid. Man of modern times was still Adam. Indeed, the same
was destinedto wear out his body in the vain attempt scarcity-driven creatureof need survivedlong enough
to satisfyit, because in obeyinghis own desireshe had to become the main protagonistof all the human sci-
disobeyedGod.5 By puttingthis love of self beforethe ences.
love of Him alone who could suffice,man became the I have already published this argumentabout "uti-
slave of his own needs (De civitate Dei I3, I4). Or lism" too many times,so I shall tryto be brief.7
should we not say, Westernman, since not many other First,regardingcontinuityand change in the Adamic
peoples-except successful Buddhists,perhaps-know concept of man: The change, as I have implied, was
"truerest" and "deliverance"as synonymsofdeath?But ratherin the value of human imperfectionthan in the
then,this lifeis a "hell on earth,"as Augustinesaid; no fact. Originallyunderstoodby the Church Fathersas a
wonderbabies come into it cryingand screaming.6 formofbondage,each man's endless and hopeless atten-
Still, God was merciful.He gave us Economics. By tion to his own desiresbecame, in the liberal-bourgeois
Adam Smith's time, human misery had been trans- ideology, the condition of freedomitself.8Originally,
formedinto the positive science of how we make the need had distinguished mankind from God's self-
best ofour eternalinsufficiencies, the most possible sat- sufficientperfection.9Afterthe Fall, as St. Basil de-
isfaction from means that are always less than our scribedit, "Nature became corrupted,just as men did,
wants. It was the same miserableconditionenvisioned and failedto providehim withhis needs" (Boas I 948:33).
in Christian cosmology,only bourgeoisified,an eleva- The world "does not make good what it promises,"
tion of freewill into rational choice, which affordeda wroteAugustine;"it is a liar and deceiveth."So man is
more cheerfulview of the material opportunitiesaf- fated"to pursue one thingafteranother.... his needs
fordedby human suffering. The genesis of Economics are so multipliedthathe cannotfindthe one thingneed-
was the economics of Genesis. Lionel Robbins(I952:I5) ful, a single and unchangeable nature" (in Deane
said as much in his famous determinationof what eco- i963:45).1O On becominga scientificanthropology, how-
nomics is all about:
We have been turnedout of Paradise.We have nei- 7. "Utilism"is a termcoinedbyGeorgeEliotto translateFeuer-
thereternallifenor unlimitedmeans of gratifica- bach'scharacterization ofthepragmatic-cum-egoistic senseofGod
tion. Everywherewe turn,ifwe choose one thingwe in theJudeo-Christian tradition:
a God who will suspendtherules
of the universein man's favor,a God whose love forme is thus
must relinquishotherswhich, in different circum- myself-lovedeified(FeuerbachI957, i967). I have adoptedit here
stances,we would wish not to have relinquished. (inpreference to "utilitarianism")
to refer
to theneed-andscarcity-
Scarcityof means to satisfyends of varyingimpor- drivenbehaviorofthe creatureswho worshipthissortofGod.
tance is an almost ubiquitous conditionofhuman be- 8. "That whichin a slave is effected by bondsand constraint in
haviour.Here, then,is the unityof the subject of us is effected by passions,whose violenceis sweet,but none the
less pernicious"(LeibnizI985: 289).
Economic Science, the formsassumed by human be- 9. "Thus it [thespiritualbody]is a whollymiraculousbody,the
haviourin disposingof scarce means. fulfillment ofman's supernatural wish to have a bodythatis free
of sicknessand suffering,
invulnerableand immortal,and hence
For the momentwe will followLord Robbinsin skip- withoutneeds.Forthe manifoldneedsofourbodyare thesource
ping over much of what happenedbetweenthe Fall and ofitsmanifoldailments.... Buttheheavenly,spiritualbodyneeds
its Economic Science, such as the advent of capital- neitherair,foodordrink;it is a divinebodywithoutneeds"(Feuer-
ism-on the heels of the Renaissance change of heart bach I967: 260-6I).
io. Augustinehad his of course,such as Philo of
about the blessings of povertyand the contemptibility Alexandria: "when . . . predecessors,
men have poured themselves out wildly
intotheirpassionsand guiltyyearnings ofwhichit is notrightto
speak,fitting punishment is decreed,vengeanceforimpiousprac-
5. Of coursethetruefaultwas Eve's,who as womanrepresented tices.Andthepunishment is thedifficulty
ofsatisfyingourneeds"
theflesh,thesenses,relativeto Adam'sintellect(Philoi929:225- (in Boas I948:i2). And therewere manymedievalsuccessorsto
26; BaerI970; Twain I904). This proposition-menareto women the same philosophy, such as Pope InnocentIII: "Desiresare like
as themindis to thesenses-has beena long-standing tenetofthe a consumingfirewhichcannotbe extinguished....Whowas ever
nativeWesternfolklore(LloydI984, Bordoi987). contentafterhis desirehas been fulfilled? When man achieves
6. A discipleobservedthat"onlypaganscannotunderstand why whathe desiredhe wantsmoreand neverstopslongingforsome-
Christiansdelightin the chastisementand disciplinewhichtheir thingelse" (Marchandi966:35). Anothercontinuity fromtheAu-
lovingFatherjustlysendsas a necessarymeansto a blessedend" gustiniantradition seemsso simple-minded andvertiginous thatI
(LowithI949:I76, paraphrasing Orosius).Augustine'sline about am inclinedto buryit here,in a footnote. It concernstheso-called
babesborncryingintotheworldwouldbe cheerfully repeatedfor triplelibidothatAugustinespokeabout(afterI John2.i6 and oth-
centuries."We areall bornwailing,"wrotePopeInnocentIII,"that ers):thehumanlustsfortemporalgoods,fordomination, and for
we mightexpressthemiseryofournature"(Marchandi966:8). carnalpleasures(see Deane I963:chap. 2). Is it too crudeto point
 398 1 CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY Volume 37, Number 3, JuneI996
ever, this self-love changed its moral sign (Dumont
I977, I986; HirschmanI977). The originalevil and
source of vast sadness in Augustine,the needs of the
body became simply "natural" in Hobbes or at least a
"necessary evil" in Baron d'Holbach, to end in Adam
Smithor Milton Friedmanas the supremesource of so-
cial virtue.Followingon Hobbes and Locke, the materi-
alist philosophes-Messrs. d'Holbach, Helvetius, La
Mettrie,Condillac & Co.-found that the rational re-
sponse to bodilyneed could providethemwith the hu-
man parallel to the Newtonian science afterwhich they
hankered.Here was a law ofmotionofhuman bodies as
comprehensiveas the law of gravitation."In Hobbes's
terms,men move to-wardsthose thingsthat give them
pleasure and from-wards those that cause thempain. In
additionto universalmotion,pleasure and pain forthe
philosophes became the generallaw of cognition.As in
the formulamade famous by Helvetius, corporealplea-
sure and pain, by awakening need and interest,issue
in the comparisonand judgmentof objects.'2Originally
condemned as the author of sin, self-pleasingman
turnedout to be a good thingand in the end the best
thing,since the greatesttotal good would come of each
person's total self-concern.Slavery was thus trans-
formedinto liberty,and the human lust that once fore-
told eternalperditionbecame the premise of temporal
salvation.Over the long run,the nativeWesternanthro-
pologyprovedto be an extendedexercisein the sublima-
tionofevil. Yet throughall thesehappymetamorphoses,
the sad figureof needfulman remainedthe invariant.'3
Indeed,human needs came to be the reason forsociety
itself:"Because man is sociable, people have concluded
he is good. But theyhave deceived themselves.Wolves
formsocieties, but theyare not good.... All we learn
fromexperienceon this head is thatin man, as in other
animals, sociability is the effectof want" (Helvetius
I795, vol.7:224-25). Helvetius, "c'est avoir besoin."''5Pope, in his Essay on
The recurrentattemptto make individual need and Man, immortalizedthe theory:"Thus God and Nature
greedthe basis ofsociability,as in thistextofHelvetius, linked the generalframe/Andbade Self-loveand Social
has been one of the more interestingprojects of the be the same."''6
outthatthethreemainWesterntheoriesofhumansocialbehavior
oroftheformation ofsocietywouldinvokethesame desires:gain
(Marx),sex (Freud),andpower(Nietzsche,Foucault)?-notto men-
tionthe synthesesthathave been made ofthese,whichis also to
ofkeepingthemapart.
say the difficulties
I I. "Parle seulmouvementil [Dieu]conduitla matiere:/Maisc'est
par le plaisirqu'il conduitles humains"(Voltaire,in Hampson
I968:IO3).
I 2. In Helv6tius'swords:"all judgmentsoccasionedbythecompar-
ison ofobjectsone withanothersupposein us an interestin com-
paringthem.Andthisinterest, necessarilyfoundedon ourlove of
happiness,can onlybe the effectof physicalsensibility, whence
all ourtroublesandpleasurestaketheirsource.... I thusconclude
thatphysicalpleasureand pain is the unknownprincipleof all
actions of men" (I795:204).
I3. So Europeansnevershook offa certaintheologicalguilt.In
" 'Pride'in Eighteenth-Century Thought,"Lovejoydocumentsthe
continuing thesourceofthesin.
castigationofthisoriginalfrailty,
The i8th-century denunciationsof pride,Lovejoyobserves,"are
often,at bottom,expressionsof a certaindisillusionment ofman
abouthimself-a phasein thatlonganddeepening disillusionment
whichis thetragedy ofa greatpartofmodemthought"(I948:i65).
traditionalanthropology.Again a long line of academic
ancestors-stretching back to Vico and Machiavelli
throughthe Enlightenmentphilosophes to the English
utilitariansand theirlatest incarnationsin the Chicago
School of (the) Economics (ofEverything)-haveall ar-
gued that individual self-interestis the fundamental
bond ofsociety.'4 So, ford'Holbach, "A nationis nothing
more than the union of a greatnumberof individuals,
connected to one another by the reciprocityof their
wants,or by theirmutual desireofpleasure" (I889:I47).
Or Mandeville (I988, vol. I:344; see also 4, 67, 369),
who explicitlyrefersthe possibilityofsocietyto the fall
of man:
not the Good and Amiable, but the Bad and Hateful
Qualities of Man, his Imperfectionsand the want of
Excellencies which otherCreaturesare endued with,
are the firstCauses that made Man sociable beyond
otherAnimals the Moment afterhe lost Paradise;
and ... if he had remain'din his primitiveInno-
cence, and continuedto enjoy the Blessingsthat at-
tendedit, thereis no Shadow of Probabilitythathe
ever would have become the sociable Creaturehe is
now.
O felixculpa! Here was anotherredeemingparadoxof
the FortunateFault (Lovejoy I948:chap. I4). Out of the
Sin came Society.Men congregatein groupsand develop
social relations eitherbecause it is to theirrespective
advantageto do so or because theydiscoverthat other
men can serve as means to their own ends. True, the
last violates a famous categoricalimperative,to which
Helvetius counteredin turn:"Everywriterwho, to give
us a good opinion of his own heart,foundsthe sociabil-
ityofman on any otherprinciplethanthatofbodilyand
habitual wants, deceives weak minds and gives a false
idea of morality"(I795, vol. 7:228-29). "Aimer,"said
I4. Nor shouldold Aquinasbe forgot.The idea thatsocietyorigi-
natesto meetindividualneedsofcoursegoesbehindearlymodern
times.Schumpeter notesthatforAquinas,apartfromthe church
society"was treatedas a thoroughlyhumanaffair, and moreover,
as a mereaggregation
ofindividualsbroughttogether bytheirmun-
dane needs.Government, too,was thoughtofas arisingfromand
existingfornothingbutthoseutilitarianpurposesthatindividuals
cannot realize without such an organization"(Schumpeter
I954:9I-92).
i 5.This aphorismoccursin Helv6tius'sDe 1'esprit,
ofwhichwork
Halevy pointsout, "Howevermuch thisbook may be forgotten
today,it is impossibleto exaggeratethe extentof its influence
throughout Europeat the time of its appearance"(I949:i8). The
influencewas especiallymarkedin England.Amongthe firstto
submitto it was Jeremy Bentham.
i6. "Self-love,whichan earliergeneration would have attributed
to man's tumingawayfromtheserviceofGod,is treatedbyPope
as a necessaryforceofnature,withoutwhichreasonwouldremain
inactive" (Hampson i968:ioi). This is also the Hobbesian relation
betweenself-loveand reason.It seems to have becomecommon
in the i8th century,
evenin theperverseformsin whichRousseau
cast it.
 SAHLINS The Native Anthropologyof WesternCosmology 1399

NEED AMONG THE INDIANS OF NEW FRANCE

of created things. Human preferencesare the Deity's
way of organizingthe world as a systemof values-as
Accordingto theJesuitJosephJouvency, one ofthetwomain opposedto meresubstances,which in and ofthemselves
sourcesof disease amongthe Indiansof New Francewas an are nothing(Cusanus, quoted in Cassirer i963:43-44):
insatiabledesireforobjectsof a particularkind.Apparently
sufferingfromsome formof windigo,the patient,whose af- For althoughthe human intellectdoes not give be-
flictionwas thoughtto be congenital,
was treatedbyan equal ing to the value [i.e., does not create the thingsval-
and oppositedisplayof generosity.Withoutstintor thought ued], therewould neverthelessbe no distinctionsin
ofanyreturn, Jouvency his "parents,
reports, friends
andrela-
tives ... lavish upon him whatever it may be, however expen- value withoutit.... Withoutthe power of judgment
sive." The patientconsumessomepartofthegift,distributes and of comparison,everyevaluation ceases to exist,
someto thediviners,"and oftenon thenextdaydepartsfrom and with it value would also cease. Wherewithwe
life"(Jouvency I7IO:258). This provesthatone society'sEco- see how precious is the mind,forwithoutit, every-
nomicsmaybe another'smadness.Orat leastthattheinevita-
ble insufficiencyofmeansrelativeto endsdoes notevokean thingin creationwould be withoutvalue. When
innatedispositionto truckand barter.Farfromsuch wants' God wanted to give value to his work,he had to cre-
servingas thebondofsociety,theIndianwhois besetbythem ate, besides the otherthings,the intellectualnature.
will have a hardtimelivingwithothers.
Cusanus thus prefiguresthe self-regulating market in
A certainanthropologicalfunctionalismwas another the formof a cosmological process.By virtueof human
legacy of the enlightenedAdamic theory,especially as preferences,the universe was commoditized-before
"function"was collapsed into "purpose" and the "pur- the commoditywas universalized.
pose" was the satisfactionofneed. In thisrespect,Mali- Indeed,LorenzoValla had alreadydiscoveredthe deci-
nowski's reduction of culture to corporealneeds was sive principleofthe economisticplenum: the searchfor
a pedantic elaboration of Enlightenmentsocial sci- pleasure."Pleasure,"he wrotein I43I, "iS notonlythe
ence. The main advance achieved by Radcliffe-Brown's highestgood,but the good pureand simple,the conserv-
structural-functionalism was the transpositionof the ing principleof life,and thereforethe basic principleof
same paradigmto societyas a whole,thatis, by conceiv- all value." And insofaras forValla pleasurewas the aim
ing the social totalityas an organism,a biological indi- of all sociability,he also anticipatedthe legion ofWest-
vidual,whose institutionsrespondedin effect(function) ern scholarswho went on to explicate all varietyof so-
and form(structure)to its life needs. HerbertSpencer ciablerelationsas personaladvantages (I977:22I, .223):
was the transitionalfigure.On the one hand,he adopted And what is the aim of friendship?Has it been
the going utilist principlethat society was an arrange- soughtforand so greatlypraisedby all ages and na-
ment that people entered into for the satisfactionof tions forany otherreasons than the satisfactionsaris-
theirpersonal interests.On the other hand, he main- ing fromthe performanceof mutual servicessuch as
tained that society itselfwas a "life" or a superorganic givingand receivingwhatevermen commonly
entity,engaged with other such beings in a struggle need? ... As formastersand servants,thereis no
forsurvival (sociological Hobbesianism).Followingthe doubt theironly aim is one of common advantage.
lead of Durkheim and Mauss, the British structural- What should I say about teachersand students?. . .
functionalistswould sublimateegotisticalman in social What finallyformsthe link betweenparentsand
institutions-which themselves,however,respondedto childrenif it is not advantageand pleasure?
social needs.
It remainedforcapitalism,as the materialdevelopment
ofthisphilosophy,to foreground scarcity,and thuspriv-
Digression: Renaissance Notes ilege pain overpleasure as the primemotiveofintellec-
tual judgments,object values, and social relations.
A word mightbe said about some distinctivecontribu- These revolutionaryideas of value and society were
tions of the European Renaissance to the moral promo- the complementsofa certainkindofindividualism.The
tion of need-driven,self-pleasingman-or to the spirit individual becomes conscious of himself as the free
of capitalism in general-less celebratedperhaps than agent and ultimate end of his own project.As formu-
the Protestantethic but apparentlyjust as influential.I lated in Giovanni Pico della Mirandola'scelebratedOra-
am not speaking simply of the well-knownideological tion on the Dignity of Man (I487), it is man's unique
movements of the i5th and i6th centuries: the self- privilege"to have what he chooses, to be what he wills
affirmation of humanity,the liberationof human will to be." Pico thus develops a certainpermutationof the
and of the individualgenerally,the removalof the onus Chain ofBeingwhichputs natureat humanity'sdisposi-
of sensuousness,an end to the contemptof this world, tion. The last-createdin a universealreadyrepletewith
thus the reconciliationof the mind with natureand of beings of everykind, man was left without a specific
the intelligiblewith the sensible.What gives a real feel- mode ofexistenceor niche ofhis own. At thesame time,
ing of intellectual vertigois that certainItalians con- unlike the othercreatures,who were restrictedby the
ceived capitalism as a total orderof the universe well laws of theirrespectivenatures,men were freeto fash-
beforeit became a systematiceconomy.In I440, Nicho- ion themselvesin whatsoeverformtheywould. "I have
las of Cusa, for example, argued that human will and placed you at the very center of the world," Pico has
judgmentwere God's means of constitutingthe values God say to man, "so that fromthat vantagepoint you
400 1 CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY Volume 37, Number 3, fune 1996

may with greaterease glance round about you on all as popular,to account forsocial practicesand cultural
that the world contains" (i956:3). (Speakingof vantage formsby the innate constitutionof Homo sapiens. The
points,it seems relevantthat the Oration was penned biologicalinfluencesare commonlyconceivedas animal
shortlyafterthe developmentof perspectiveby Brunel- drives and inclinations, which lends them a certain
leschi and Alberti,which is to say soon afterthe artistic "brute" power. Their supposed effectsare expressedei-
technique of opening a window on an indefinitelyex- therdirectlyin social practices-as, forexample,male
pandingworldfromthe viewpointofthe individualsub- dominance-or by antitheticalcustoms designedsome-
ject.) Pico's concept of man as endowed with limitless how to corralthem-as, forexample,norms of sexual-
possibilitiesofself-realization throughtheappropriation ity. One probablydoes not need much persuasionthat
ofnature'sdiversitywas destinedto runthroughnumer- our folk anthropologyis disposed to these explanations
ous reincarnations,fromthe philosophicalguises it as- of cultureby nature.Rangingfromracismin the streets
sumed in Herderor Marx to the crude consciousnessof to sociobiologyin the universitiesand passingbyway of
bourgeoisconsumerism.17 numerousexpressionsofthe commontongue,biological
BernardinoTelesio's description(i565) of the entire determinismis a recurrentideologyof Westernsociety.
universe as organizedby the self-interested actions of Its ubiquity,I will argue,is a functionofits transmission
all creaturesand thingsmakes the vulgarfateofRenais- in anthropological traditions of cosmic dimensions:
sance philosophyseem inescapable (Van Deusen I932). once again, the concept of man as a willfulcreatureof
Telesio's cosmos was a veritablephysicsofpleasureand need, especially as this notion has developedunderthe
pain, these being the senses all objects possess of the market economy, and, also, the theoryof the human
things that respectivelysustain and destroythem. As constitutioninscribedin the GreatChain ofBeing,espe-
some specificcompound of heat and cold in a substra- cially as linked to the antagonisticdualism of fleshand
tum of matter,everyobject or creatureacts to preserve spiritofthe Christiannightmare-the fleshas a brutish,
its own nature-against perpetualoppositionand poten- self-regarding animal natureunderlyingand overcoming
tial destructionby objects of othernatures(Fallico and the betterinclinationsof the human soul.
Shapiro i967:3I5). Note that Hobbes had studiedTele- just as a developedcapitalismand the industrialrevo-
sio, and Sir Francis Bacon called him "the firstof the lution were coming upon them,Europeanphilosophers
new men" because ofhis insistenceon theprinciplethat consummated centuriesof guilt by the discoverythat
human knowledgecan come fromobservationonly,lim- the demands of the fleshincreasedwith the "progress"
ited as it then might be. More recently,Funkenstein ofthe society.Necessarilyso, since progresswas Reason
sees in Telesio "one of the earliest occurrencesof an in the service of needs. Not even Rousseau objectedto
antiteleological,political, ethical, as well as natural, the premisethat desire and want moved the world; his
principleof an 'invisiblehand of nature'" (Funkenstein concernwas onlythatthe ever-increasing wantsofman-
I968:67). No doubt Funkensteinis referring to passages kind were corruptand the course of historytherefore
such as this: "It is quite evidentthatnatureis propelled decadent. Pro or con, the philosophes could agree that
byself-interest. In fact,naturecan tolerateneithera vac- theywere livingin an age markedby the unprecedented
uum nor anythingwithout purpose. All things enjoy extent,diversity,and artificiality ofhumanneeds. Rous-
touchingone another,and maintainand conservethem- seau again excepted, none seems to have noticed the
selves by this mutual contact" (quoted in Fallico and contradiction-which we are still living-between a
Shapiro i967:304). "progress"that supposedlyrepresentedthe triumphof
May we not conclude that the universehad achieved the human spiritover the body,an escape fromour ani-
an ideal state of economic developmentwhile Europe mal nature,on the one hand, and, on the other,the de-
was still struggling with premodernrelationsofproduc- pendence of this happy result on an increasingaware-
tion? In one way or another,the philosophersalready ness of bodilyaffliction-moreneed.'8
imaginedthe cosmos as a capitalistworld order.
I8. The notionthathumanprogress was a movementfrombodily
to intellectualcontrol,a liberationof humanityfromthe con-
The Anthropologyof Biology straintsofmatterandanimalnature,was verygeneralthrough the
middle2oth centuryin Europeananthropological thought.Con-
The matterat issue here is the folkwisdom of "human dorcet,Comte,J.S. Mill, and E. B. Tylormightbe citedas promi-
nature."I mean the settleddisposition,academic as well nentexponents,as also FriedrichEngels:"FriedrichEngelscalls
thefinalvictoryofthesocialistproletariat a stridebyhumankind
fromtheanimalkingdomto thekingdomofliberty"(Luxemburg
I7. "In creatingan objectiveworldby his practicalactivity,in I970:i68). The notionin question,typicallyexpressedas a three-
working-up inorganicnature,manproveshimselfa consciousspe- foldsequenceofdevelopment fromsavagerythrough barbarismto
cies being.... Admittedlyanimalsalso produce.... Butan animal civilization,has specificprecedentsin theMiddleAges,forexam-
onlyproduceswhatit immediately needsforitselfor itsyoung.It ple, in Joachimof Florus:"Now therewas one periodin which
producesone-sidedly,whilemanproducesuniversally....An ani- men livedaccordingto theflesh,thatis, up to thetimeofChrist.
mal producesonlyitself,whilstman reproduces thewholeofna- It was initiatedbyAdam.Therewas a secondperiodin whichmen
ture.... An animal formsthings in accordance with the standard lived betweenthe fleshand the spirit,which was initiatedby
and theneedofthespeciesto whichit belongs,whilstmanknows Elisha,the prophetor by Uzziah, KingofJudah.Thereis a third,
how to producein accordancewiththestandards ofotherspecies" in whichmenlive accordingto thespirit,whichwill lastuntilthe
(MarxI96I:75-76). endoftheworld.It was initiatedbytheblessedBenedict"(inBoas
 SAHLINS The Native Anthropologyof WesternCosmology I 40I

Even as thephilosophes,in speakingoftheperfectibil- sustainedby themarketeconomy.The marketeconomy

ityofthe species,were revealingnew dimensionsofhu- makes it seem to the participantsthat theirway of life
man imperfection, the economywas producingunparal- is precipitatedout of the stirringsof theirfleshthrough
leled satisfactions by capitalizing on "the thousand the rationalmedium of theirwills. Genesis redux.
shocks the fleshis heir to." In this regardthe Invisible Actually there is a double mystificationat work in
Hand of the marketmightwell have been the wrathful the bourgeois fascination with corporeal understand-
hand of God, as it would createthe wealth ofthe nation ings of culture.The subsumptionofuse-value in and as
out of the feelingofprivationit visitedon the person- exchange-valuehas something of the same effect.In
the aforementionedscarcityof means relativeto possi- Marx's classic exposition,the commodityhas a double
ble ends ofpersonalgratification. This was the greatin- nature:it is a use-valuein virtueofthe empiricalproper-
dustrialrevelation:that in the world'srichestsocieties, ties of the object which make it suitable to some peo-
the subjectiveexperienceoflack increasesin proportion ple's "needs," and it is an exchange-valueorprice,exter-
to the objective output of wealth.19Encompassedin an nally attachedto the object by the market,which in the
internationaldivision of labor, individual needs were favorablecase will put it in people's grasp.In choosing
seeminglyinexhaustible.Felt, moreover,as physiologi- between differentgoods, therefore,presumablyin the
cal pangs, as deprivationslike hungerand thirst,these interestof maximum satisfaction,one in fact foregoes
needs seem to come fromwithin,as dispositionsof the specific satisfactionsthat in quality (or use-value) are
body. The bourgeoiseconomy made a fetishof human incommensurablewith those chosen, hence the mysti-
needs in the sense that needs, which are always social ficationin the idea thateconomic activityis therational
in characterand originand in thatway objective,had to maximizationof satisfactions.It dependson the suppo-
be assumed as subjectiveexperiencesof pain. Precisely sitionthatthingsunlike in theirobjectiveattributesand
as the individual was taken as the author and the su- human virtues-their different meanings to us as use-
preme value of his own activityand as the collective values-are indeed comparable as exchange-values.So
economy seemed to be constitutedby and forpersonal the economist is able to subtractapples fromoranges
satisfactions,so the urgingsofthe bodywould appearas and convince us that the remainderis all forthe best.
the sources of the society.20 Yet it remainsto haunt us thatin choosingbetween(for
This peculiarlyintroverted perceptionofan enormous example) taking the kids to see their grandparentsin
system of social values as emanatingfromindividual- Californiaor saving the money to send them to univer-
corporealfeelings,this consciousness, I submit,helps sity,eitherkinshipsuffersor else education.
accountforthepersistentpopularityamongus ofbiolog- This is where biological determinismcomes in, for,
ical explanations of culture. In our subjective experi- once again, in people's existentialawareness, cultural
ence, culture is an epiphenomenonof an economy of formsof everydescriptionare producedand reproduced
the reliefof bodily aches. Biological determinismis a as the objects or projectsof theircorporealfeelings.The
mystifiedperception of the cultural order,especially system of the society is perceived as the ends of the
individual. Not only kinship or college education but
also Beethoven concerts or night baseball games, the
I948:2io). Alternatively, of course,the threestageswere before taste ofone Coke or another,McDonald's, nouvelle cui-
Christ,when men lived in sin, fromChristto judgment,when sine, suburbanhomes and Picket Fences, multimillion-
men livedin hope ofredemption, and kingdomcome.
I9. Hume thus reflectedon the tragichumancondition:"Of all aireleft-handed startingpitchersand the numberofchil-
the animals,withwhich this globeis peopled,thereis none to- drenper family,all these and everything else produced
wardswhomnatureseems,at firstsight,to have exercis'dmore by historyand the collectivityappearin lifeas the pref-
crueltythantowardsman,in the numberlesswantsand necessi- erentialvalues of subjective economizing.Their distri-
ties, with which she has loaded him, and in the slendermeans butionin and as societyseems a functionofwhat
whichshe affords ofrelievingthesenecessities.In othercreatures people
thesetwoparticulars generallycompensateeach other.... In man want.
alone, this unnaturalconjunctionof infirmity, and of necessity, Our intuition of culture as dependenton biological
may be observedin its greatestperfection" (Treatiseon Human natureis compoundedby a certainreceivedidea, much
Nature 3.2.2). Indeed,since needs are endlesslyexpandable,the older than the capitalistcorporeality proper,concerning
effective "unnaturalconjunction"in theWesternviewpointis be-
tweeninfirmity and infinity,a fairdefinitionofhopelessness. the stratifiedarchitectureof the human body. I mean
20. This pointhas been excellently made foranthropologists by the body as made up of "higher"and "lower" parts,op-
Louis Dumont: "In modern society . . . the Human Being is re- posed in compositionand function.Below is the mate-
gardedas theindivisible,'elementary' man,botha biologicalbeing rial bodily lower stratum,as Bakhtin (i984) put it in
and a thinkingsubject.Each particularman in a senseincarnates referenceto Rabelais's
the whole of mankind.He is the measureof all things(in a full grotesqueries:that which links
and novelsense).The kingdomofendscoincideswitheach man's man to the earthand to birthand death,expressinghis
legitimateends,and so the values are turnedupsidedown.What basic bestialityand sexuality.Above is the spiritor soul
is stillcalled'society'is themeans,thelifeofeachmanis theend. affiliatingman with the angels and heavens, thus ex-
Ontologically, the societyno longerexists,it is no morethanan pressinghis rationality,his morality,and his immortal-
irreducible datum,whichmustin no way thwartthedemandsof
libertyandequality.Ofcourse,theaboveis a description ofvalues, ity. One recognizes the legacy of the Great Chain of
a view of mind.... A society as conceived by individualism has Beingbut in its specificallyChristianizedand tragicver-
neverexistedanywhereforthereason. .. thattheindividuallives sion (LovejoyI964; Formigari I973; Augustine De civi-
on social ideas" (I970:9-IO). tate Dei ii.i6, I2.21). Half angel and halfbeast,man is
 402 1 CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY Volume 37, Number 3, JuneI996

not simplya double and dividedbeing,he is condemned is not yeta conflict.For all thatthe distinctionbetween
to the perpetualinternalwarfareof spiritand flesh (a body and soul is universal,what has set the West apart
specificallyPauline permutationof classical dualisms). is the notion of the civil war betweenthem.The idea of
Moreover,the battle is likely to be unequal, given the a war between self and society within every human
ontological densityof corporealbeing and bruteforce, breast,the eternalconflictof fleshagainstspirit,is our
whose inclinationsof avarice and concupiscenceare not peculiar Adamic inheritance."Then began the fleshto
easily resistedby an intangibleand ineffablespirit.2' lust againstthe Spirit,in which strifewe are born,deriv-
Durkheim,forone, was fullyaware thathe was draw- ingfromthe firsttransgression a seed ofdeath,and bear-
ing on a long philosophical-cum-theological traditionin ing in our members,and in our vitiatednature,the con-
making the argumentthat "man is double. There are test or even victoryof the flesh" (AugustineDe civitate
two beings in him: an individual being which has its Dei i3.I3).
foundationin the organism. . . and a social beingwhich If Augustine thus quotes Paul ratherone-sidedly-
representsthe highest reality in the intellectual and "For the fleshlusteth against the Spirit;and the Spirit
moral orderthat we can know by observation-I mean againsttheflesh"(Galatians5:I7)-it is onlysymptom-
society"(I947:I6; cf.Lukes I972:432-33).The human atic ofthe agonisticbody-souldualism developedin the
beingis, on the one hand, a presocial and sensuous ani- Christianityof late antiquity:23 Pace Durkheim, this
mal, egocentricallygivento his own welfare,and,on the schizophrenicstruggleof the animal and the social was
other hand, a social creature,able to submit his self- not even properto the classical Roman dualism. Peter
interestto the moralityof the society. "As thereis no Brown speaks ratherof a "benevolent dualism" or an
one," said Durkheim, "that does not concurrentlylead "unaffectedsymbiosisof body and soul," which would
this double existence,each ofus is animatedbya double "make late classical attitudes toward the body seem
movement.We are carriedalong in the directionof the deeply alien to later, Christianeyes" (BrownI988:27-
social and we tend to follow the inclinationof our na- 29). Connected to the fertilityand intractabilityof the
ture" (I930:36o).22 It deserves emphasis that "our na- wild, the body was inferiorto the administeringmind;
ture"-having sensory appetites as its means and the but the Romans had neitheranxietyabout the city'sca-
selfas its finality-is not only anteriorto the social; it pacity to domesticateit nor the inclinationto severely
is likewise in the pre-Paleolithicof the conceptual.But repress its natural exuberance. Brown quotes Cicero:
in contrastto sensations,which we are unable to trans- "Nature itselfdevelops a young man's desire. If these
mit as such fromone person to another,concepts or desires break out in such a way that they disruptno
symbols are preeminentlysocial. They are collective one's life and undermineno household [by adultery],
representations,organizingour private sensoryexperi- theyare generallyregardedas unproblematic:we toler-
ences,even doingviolence to them,in theformofmean- ate them" (in Browni988:28). Nature spoke throughthe
ingfulvalues of which we are not the authors(see espe- body "in an ancient, authoritativevoice." And if so in
ciallyDurkheimI960:329). Rome, what are we to make ofthe Durkheimianantith-
Now Durkeim thoughtthat the common reportsof esis between a natural animalism of the body and the
body-souldistinctionsfromall overtheworldconfirmed moralityof the soul in the numerous societies where
his argumentsabout duplex man. Beliefsabout a sepa- "nature" itself speaks: that is, societies that know
rateexistenceofthese aspects ofthe human beingrepre- worlds of nonhuman persons, animals that also have
sented the native apprehensionof a universal antago- souls, as well as mental and moral qualities as good as
nism between them.But he was mistaken.A difference or betterthan people's?
Of course the (Western)Middle Ages compoundedthe
Pauline and Augustiniandualism intoparoxysmsoffear
is repeatedin relationto the and hatredof the
structure
2I. The same hierarchical
as made
humanbrainitself,conceivedin muchbiologicalliterature body.24Only death could cure a man
up of "higher"and "lower"centers,the notionbeingthatit was of "the leprosy of the body" (Le GoffI988a:354). The
only our "higher"(and perhapsfragile)intellectualcentersthat
held back the animalpropensities ofthe "lower"(Sacks i995:6i).
22. Perhapsthe mostdevelopedofDurkheim'sexpositions ofdu- 23. Betz's exegesis of Galatians 5:I7 has a triadic form perhaps
plex man is his I9I4 article"The Dualism ofHumanNatureand familiarto psychoanalysis:"In v. I7a the dualismis set up in a
Its Social Conditions,"whereit is said,"Our intelligence,
like our rathersimpleform:fleshand Spiritare namedas oppositeforces,
activity,presentstwo verydifferent forms:on the one hand,are bothagitatingagainsteach other.The fleshand its 'desiring'. . .
sensations and sensorytendencies;on the other,conceptual are humanagentsof evil,while the Spiritis the divineagentof
thoughtand moralactivity.Each of thesetwo partsof ourselves the good.Verse I7b spells out the anthropological
consequences
represents a separatepole ofourbeing,andthesetwopolesarenot of this dualism.... Man is the battlefieldof these forces within
onlydistinctfromone anotherbutareopposedto oneanother.Our him, preventing him fromcarrying out his will. The human 'I'
sensoryappetitesarenecessarily egoistic:theyhaveourindividual- wills,but it is prevented
fromcarrying out its will .. . becauseit
ityand it alone as theirobject.Whenwe satisfyour hunger,our is paralyzedthroughthesedualisticforceswithin.As a result,the
thirst,and so on, withoutbringing any othertendencyintoplay, human 'I' is no longerthe subjectin controlof the body" (Betz
it is ourselves,and ourselvesalone, thatwe satisfy.[Conceptual I979:279-80). As mediatedbytheDurkheimianoppositionofego-
thought]and moralactivityare,on thecontrary, distinguished by centricand social, "flesh,""spirit,"and "humanI" could easily
the factthatthe rulesof conductto whichtheyconformcan be pass forid, superego,and ego.
universalized.Therefore, by definition,theypursueimpersonal 24. For summarystatementsof the medievalregardof the body
ends.Moralitybeginswithdisinterest, withattachment to some- see Delumeau (iggo), Le Goff(I988a:354-55; I988b:83-Io3), Boas
thing other than ourselves" (Durkheim ig60:327). (I948), Brown (i988:428-47), and Gurevich (I985).
 SAHLINS TheNativeAnthropology
ofWesternCosmology| 403

THE HUMAN NATURE OF ANIMALS

This is how Kaluli oftheSouthernHighlandsofNew Guinea
speak about the beginningof things:There were no trees,
animals,streams,orfoodwhenthelandwas firstformed. The
land was entirelyand only coveredwithpeople.Havingno
shelteror food,the people soon beganto suffer. But a man
aroseand commandedtheothersto gatherroundhim.To one
groupof peoplehe said, "You be trees,"to another"You be
fish";anotherbecamebananas,and so on, untilall the ani-
mals,plants,andnaturalfeatures oftheworldweredifferenti-
ated and established.The few people leftover became the
humanbeings.The namethatKaluliuse to referto thisevent
indicatestheyconceiveit on the model of the way people
alignthemselvesintotheopposedgroupsthatfaceeach other
in revengebattles,marriages,or otherceremonialevents.
Constitutedas complementary and interdependent factions,
thesegroupsare eventuallyinvolvedin reciprocalexchanges
thatresolvetheiropposition.In the same way,men and the
beingsof naturelive in reciprocalsocial relationships:not
onlyor simplyin someeconomicsensebut,considering their
commonorigin,in an ontologicalsenseas beingsofequivalent
natures.The creaturesare also men (Schieffelin
I976:94-95).
In the forestone knows the animalsby the soundsthey
make.Soundsarethesalientperceptsof"reality"ratherthan
sight."Day" beginswhen the firstbirdssing,not whenthe
sun appears.Likewise,the formsof animals may be dis-
counted,as theyare reallypeople,and theirvoicesare com-
municating messagesofhumancharacter and import(Schief-
felinI976:96):
Out huntingwithWanalugo,we heardthe plaintive"juu-
juu-juu"of the kalo (a small pigeon).Wanalugoturnedto
me witha wistfulexpressionand said, "You hearthat?It
andcallingforitsmother.".. .
is a littlechildwhois hungry
The everydayKaluli worldof gardens,rivers,and forests
is coextensivewith another,invisibleside of reality.The
remarkthat the voice of the kalo is a littlechild is not
merelya metaphor.The kalo mayactuallybe thesoul ofa
child.
Accordingly,humans and othercreatureslive in reversed
worlds,mirroringeach otherevenin thewaystheyappearto
each other(pp.96-97):
"Do you see thathuge tree?"anotherman asked one day
on thepath."In their[thebirds']world,thatis a house.Do
you see the birds?To each other,theyappearas men."
Similarly, houses in our worldappearas exceptionally big
treesoras riverpools to them,andwe as animalsthere....
Whenaskedwhatthepeopleoftheunseenlooklike,Kaluli
will pointto a reflection
in a pool ormirror
and say,"They
are not like you or me. They are like that."In the same
way,ourhumanappearancestandsas a reflection to them.
This is not a "supernatural" world,forto the Kaluli it is
perfectlynatural.
In thesame generalway,theindigenouspeoplesovera vast
areaofwhatis now Canada knewthatmenandanimalswere
in the beginningthe same kindof culturedbeings.Animals
were humanoidcreatures.They are still in reciprocallife-
givingrelationswithpeople,membersofthesamelargersoci-
ety.And althoughanimalshave sincelost some oftheexter-
nal aspectsofculture-songs,dances,and decoratedartifacts
are amongthe thingsmen now providethem-nevertheless,
theirmentalcapacities,includingspeech,equal thoseofmen,
andin someregards theyareintellectually
superior(Hallowell
I955, I960; BrightmanI993; Fienup-Riordan I990; Black
I977).
Forthatmatter,therewas a strongtradition
ofthesuperior-
ityof animalsto men-includingmoralsuperiority-inthe
classicalantiquityofthe West(Lovejoyand Boas I935:chap.
I3). Animalbehaviorservedas a modelforhumans.Among
thevirtuesoftheanimalscommonlycitedwas theirrestraint
in satisfying
theirneeds:theironlylimiteddesires,including
limitedsexuality,withoutpenchantsforsuperfluities,etc.

hierarchiesofthe Chain ofBeingwerealso sociallyman- wisdom of human natureas a set of deep-seatedgenetic

ifestin periodicupsurgingsof the materialbodilylower compulsionswith which human culturemust come to
stratum,as at carnivalor in what was in some respects terms.The same folkwisdom probablyaccountsforthe
analogous,peasant unrest(BakhtinI984, Le RoyLadurie relative neglect of the two brilliant pieces Clifford
I979, Gurevich I985, P. SahlinsI994). Butthenserfdom, Geertzdevotedto debunkingthephantasmofa determi-
Le Goffwrites,"was believedin theMiddle Ages to have nate and determining human nature(GeertzI973:chaps.
been a consequence oforiginalsin," and,as slaves ofthe 2 and 3).
flesh more than others were, serfsdeservedto be en- If anything,it is the otherway round:human nature
slaved themselves(i 9 8 8 b: i o i). as we know it has been determinedby culture.As Geertz
The fleshwas always the formidablefoe of the spirit observes,the supposed temporalprecedenceof human
if only because of its materiality.In contrastto the im- biologyrelativeto cultureis incorrect.On the contrary,
palpabilityof spirit,bodies have solidity,mass, weight, cultureantedatesanatomicallymodernman (H. sapiens)
and otherintuitionsof irresistibility. And when in the by somethinglike two million years or more. Culture
i gth century the Chain of Being was transformed was not simplyadded on to an alreadycompletedhuman
into-or at least informed-evolutionarytheory,the nature;it was decisivelyinvolvedin the constitutionof
idea of the temporalprecedenceof our animal "inheri- the species, as the salient selective condition.The hu-
tance" was calqued onto the olderfearsof its irrepress- man bodyis a culturalbody,which also means thatthe
The combinedeffectwas the currentcommon mind is a culturalmind. The greatselectivepressurein
ibility.25
hominid evolution has been the necessity to organize
somatic dispositionsby symbolicmeans.26It is not that
25. Starobinski
observesthatthe sentimentofan underlying sav-
ageryhas repeatedlysubvertedWestemnotionsof "civility"and 26. This is anotherway of puttingthe argumentthathas been
"politesse"bymakingthemmereoutwardformsratherthansome- made at least since Rousseauand Herder:thatpeoplediffer from
thinginherentin the individualor society."Reducedto mereap- animalsbytheirrelativelack ofinstinctualgovemance,theirfree-
pearances,politenessand civilitygive freereign,inwardly,in domfromsomaticcontrol,whichis thecomplement to thevariety
depth,to theiropposites,malevolenceand wickedness-inshort, oftheirculturesandtheiradaptability
to a greatvarietyofenviron-
toviolence,whichwas nevertrulyforsaken" (Starobinski
I993: I I). ments.
404 1 CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY Volume 37, Number 3, June1996

Homo sapiens is withoutbodily"needs"and "drives," The Anthropology of Power

but the criticaldiscoveryof anthropologyhas been that
human needs and drives are indeterminateas regards Why,then,do we have thisoppressivesentimentofsoci-
theirobject because bodilysatisfactionsare specifiedin ety as a systemof power and constraint,counterposed
and throughsymbolicvalues-and variouslyso in differ- to our innerdesiresand secretthoughts?Given thatbio-
ent cultural-symbolicschemes. logicallywe are human beingsonlyin potentia,indeter-
Throughoutthe millions ofyearsofhuman evolution, minate creatureswhose inclinationsremain to be cul-
the whole emotional economyof survivaland selection turallyspecified,societymightbe betterconceivedas a
has been displaced onto a world of meaningfulsigns,as means of empowering people rather than subduing
distinct from the direct reaction to sensory stimuli. them. Socialization in a particularlanguageand culture
Amityand enmity,pleasure and pain, desireand repul- is the way people who "all beginwith thenaturalequip-
sion, securityand fear:all these are experiencedby hu- mentto live a thousandkindsoflife... end havinglived
mans accordingto the meanings of things,not simply onlyone" (GeertzI973:45). Recall the well-rehearsed
by their perceptibleproperties.Otherwise,how could parable of Helen Keller's magic moment, when the
you know that fat is beautifulor that a cross-cousin "mysteryof language" was suddenlyrevealedto her: "I
is marriageablebut a parallel cousin is not or tell the knew then that w-a-t-e-rmeant that wonderfulcool
differencebetween holy water and distilled water (as somethingthat was flowingover my hand. The living
Leslie Whiteused to say)?In the event,thegenericdeter- word awakened my soul, gave it light,hope, joy, set it
minationsof "human nature,"the drivesand needs, are free!"(KellerI904:23). Andyetin thegloomyfashions
subject to the specificdeterminationsof local culture. of the present day, the scholars speak of "the prison
So even if man is inherentlyviolent,still "he wars on house of language"-such is indeed the current"hege-
the playingfieldsof Eton, dominatesby being nicer to monic discourse." Society,then, is something"versus
othersthan he is to himself,hunts with a paint brush" the individual," a greatbeast terrorizing him, whether
(Sahlins I964:90).27 this leviathanis conceived as a necessaryconstrainton
What happened in the Pleistocene, Geertz observes, the self-pleasingperson,as in the perspectiveofHobbes
was the substitutionof a geneticsof behavioralflexibil- or Durkheim,or as an unwantedimpositionon personal
ity for one that controlledconduct in detail. Thence- freedom,as in the complementaryopticsofAdam Smith
forth,insofaras human behaviorwas to be patterned, and Michel Foucault. Eitherway, societyis opposed to
the patternswould have to come fromthe symbolictra- the individualas power to libido.
dition. These symbolsby which people constructtheir Otherwisetherecould be anarchy.This was a theory
lives "are thus not mere expressions,instrumentalities already known to the Church Fathers,who learned it
or correlatesof our biological, psychologicalor social fromcertainrabbis and perhapssome "antiprimitivist"
existence; theyare prerequisitesofit" (Geertz I973:49). philosopherssuch as Cicero (Lovejoy and Boas I935,
People are not effectivelydrivenby theirbodies to act Boas I948, Pagels I988, Markus I970, Levenson i988).
in some given cultural way, forwithout culture they Irenaeus put the mattersuccinctly:" 'Earthlyrule has
could not effectively act at all: been appointedby God forthebenefitofnations,so that,
underthe fearof human rule, men may not devourone
They would be unworkablemonstrositieswith very
anotherlike fishes. . . ' " (in Pagels i988:47).29 The most
few useful instincts,fewerrecognizablesentiments,
famous exponentsofthe idea, however,were Augustine
and no intellect:mental basket cases. As our central
and Thomas Hobbes. The City of God (4I3-425) and
nervoussystem-and most particularlyits crowning
Leviathan (I65 i) have virtually the same argument
curse and glory,the neocortex-grew up in great
about the originof society or state, based on the same
partin interactionwith culture,it is incapable of di- premiseofmen made vicious and fearfulof one another
rectingour behavioror organizingour experience
by a restless search forpower afterpower. As Herbert
withoutthe guidance providedby systemsof signifi-
Deane (I963) observed,the anthropologyis remarkably
cant symbols.28
similar, including the actual or potential war of each
against all. In the scarcitythat inevitablyensues from
27. Foran exampleofthisparadigm oftherelationbetweenculture
and biological"humannature,"see Sahlins(I976). the relentless pursuitof self-interest, no one can be sure
28. One ofthefewfullyto appreciate Geertz'sconceptionsof"hu- of securinghis own good withoutsubduingthe persons
man nature"has been SidneyMintz-specificallyin relationto and passions of the others.If forHobbes man became a
the questionof the desireforsugar(i988). Commentingon the wolfto othermen,forAugustine"not even lions or drag-
same passagefromGeertz,Mintznotesthattheusual attemptsto ons have ever waged with theirkind such wars as we
definehumannature"as some pre-cultural bill ofparticulars" are
mostlikelyto expressthe specificculturalpremisesoftheinter- have waged with one another" (De civitate Dei 12.22).
preters.Humannatureturnsoutto be "a distinctive butsomewhat Or, in the venerablemaritimemetaphorAugustinealso
skewedprojectionofthevaluesoftheinventor's society."It is not adopted, "'How they mutually oppress,and how they
such "humannature"thatis universal,Mintzcontinues,"butour that are able do devour! And when one fish hath de-
capacityto createculturalrealities,and thento act in termsof
them."Andpreciselythiscapacityis involvedin thewayswe are
pleasedto describeourselves"beforeculture,"thatis, ourcultural 29. CompareJohnChrysostom:" 'If you deprivethe cityof its
constructionsoftheso-calledhumannature(p. I4). The conscious rulers,we would have to live a lifeless rationalthanthatof the
inventionofhumannatureis its ultimateculturalspecification. animals, biting and devouring one another' " (Pagels I988:IoI).
 SAHLINS ofWesternCosmology1405
TheNativeAnthropology

voured,the greaterthe less, itselfalso is devouredby including those of the aeons of prehistory,survived
some greater'" (in Deane i963:47).30 ForAugustine,the without the benefit of state. Augustine had himself
postlapsarianhuman condition was just as nasty and imaginedhow theymanaged,forhe arguedthatGod was
anguishedas the life of man in the Hobbesian state of pleased to derive humanityfromone individual-as a
nature. In this earthlyexistence, the Saint lamented, single cognatic descent group,we could say-in order
" 'there is but false pleasure, no securityof joy, a tor- that "they might be bound togetherin harmonyand
mentingfear,a greedycovetousness,a witheringsad- peace by the tie'sof relationship"(De civitateDei I4.I).
ness' " (Deane I963:6I). The Bishop of Hippo also anticipatedE. B. Tylor's fa-
The remedywas the institutionof state. Whetherit mous incest theory,notingthatthe prohibitionof sister
came about throughGod's providence(Augustine)orhu- marriage(in the generationssucceeding Adam's prog-
man reason (Hobbes), men were thus able to suppress eny) would have the effectof multiplyingkinshiprela-
theirenmity-if not theiravidity.The state, law, and tions and therewithsocial concord. Indeed, the social
morality,pale reflectionsthoughtheyare in Babylonof values of exogamy and endogamy are brilliantlyex-
theirperfectionin Sion, were conditionsof the possibil- poundedin The City of God (I5.I6). The farther outthe
ityofhuman society,which otherwise,giventhe selfish exogamicrule,Augustineobserved,thegreaterand more
and violent dispositionsof fallen man, would dissolve differentiated will be the kindredgroup. The process,
again into anarchy.3'But the formsofhuman rule,to be however,should know a limit and be counteractedby
remedial,had also to be punitive:imposed on naturally marriageamong cousins or othersof the same descent,
wicked men "to keep them all in awe." The state then lest distantkin escape and relationshipscease.33All the
perpetuatedthe viciousness it suppressed,since it used same, kinshipamong fallenman can be no guaranteeof
men's fearof losing theirlives, theirproperty, and their peace. Echoing Cicero and forestallingRousseau, Au-
libertyas the legal sanctions of order.The complement gustine sadly concludes that even the bonds of family
of the Westernanthropologyof self-regarding man has are brokenby "secret treachery,"producingan "enmity
been an equally tenaciousnotionofsocietyas discipline, as bitteras the amity was sweet, or seemed sweet by
cultureas coercion.Where self-interest is the natureof the most perfectdissimulation"(I9.5).
the individual,power is the essence of the social.32 The etymologicalrelationshipsin Westernlanguages
Motivated by the notion of the social as the control betweenpolis, political,and police and civilityand civi-
of the individual,Westernphilosophershave too often lization are best explainedby the traditionaltale of the
conflatedthe originof societywith the originof state. bad men and the leviathan.A largeamountof scientific
Of course the supposition is ethnographicallyabsurd. anthropologyhas likewise been constructedfromthis
The greatmajorityof societies known to anthropology, native ideology,beginningwith Durkheim's insistence
on the coercive nature of the social fact-corollary to
the underlyinganimal egoism of duplex man. Raymond
3o. The fishmetaphor, whichIrenaeushad takenfroma rabbinical Aron(I970:4I-42)
tradition, was repeatednotonlybyAugustinebutagainthroughout recognized thecriticalroleofthespe-
theMiddleAges.Huizingasaysit was proverbial: "Les granspois- cificallyHobbesian streakin Durkheim's philosophy:34
sons mangentles plus petits" (Huizinga 1954:229). And it still
lives,interestingly enough,as a one-linedefinition of capitalism: Accordingto Durkheim,man when leftto himselfis
bigfisheatinglittlefish. motivatedby unlimiteddesires.Individualman re-
3I. Augustineon the functionality of coercion:"Surelyit is not sembles the creaturearoundwhom Hobbes con-
withoutpurposethatwe havetheinstitution ofthepowerofkings, structedhis theory:he always wants more than he
thedeathpenaltyofthejudge,thebarbedhooksoftheexecutioner, has, and he is always disappointedin the satisfac-
theweaponsofthesoldier,therightofpunishment oftheoverlord,
even the severityof the good father.All thosethingshave their tions he findsin a difficultexistence.Since individ-
methods,theircauses,theirreasons,theirpracticalbenefits. While ual man is a man of desires,the firstnecessityof
thesearefeared,thewickedarekeptwithinboundsand thegood moralityand societyis discipline.Man needs to be
live morepeacefullyamongthewicked"(in Deane i963:138-39). disciplinedby a superiorforcewhich must have two
32. It is truethatAugustine and Hobbes-as also Machiavelliand
EdmundBurke-were apologistsforthe formsof absolutismof
theirday (see Pagels I988 on Augustine).But theysharethe idea 33. Augustinenotedthatcousinmarriagewas infrequent though
ofstateorsocietyas counterposed to antisocialmanwiththelikes notprohibited bydivineorhumanlaw. Peopleshrankfromit "be-
of Vico, Hume, Freud,Durkheim,and Foucault,to name a few cause it lay so close to whatwas illegitimate, and in marrying a
who cannotso easily be typedas ideologuesof the totalitarian cousinseemedalmostto marrya sister-forcousinsareso closely
state.Particularfunctionaluses of the idea of societyas power relatedthattheyare called brothersand sisters,and are almost
wouldseem to be situationalversionsofthesame genericanthro- reallyso. But the ancientfathers,fearingthatnear relationship
pology(-cum-cosmology) ratherthan vice versa.Hume provides mightgraduallyin the courseofgenerations diverge,and become
exemplarystatementsof the generictheory:"This avidityalone, distantrelationship, or cease to be relationship at all, religiously
of acquiringgoods and possessionsforourselvesand our nearest endeavouredto limitit by the bondofmarriagebeforeit became
friends, is insatiable,perpetual,
universal,and directly destructive distant,and thus,as it were,to call it back whenit was escaping
ofsociety.Thereis scarceanyone,who is notactuatedbyit; and them.Andon thisaccount,evenwhentheworldwas fullofpeople,
thereis no one, who has not reasonto fearfromit, whenit acts thoughtheydid not choose wives amongtheirsistersor half-
withoutanyrestraint, and givesway to its firstand mostnatural sisters,yettheypreferred themto be of the same stockas them-
movements, so thatuponthewhole,we areto esteemthedifficul- selves" (De civitateDei 15.I6).
tiesin theestablishment ofsociety,to be greaterorless,according 34. The dualityofcommandand lovabilityin theoverlying social
to thosewe encounterin regulating and restraining thispassion" orderis a versionofthe anthropology ofprovidence, discussedin
(Treatiseon Human Nature3.2.2). thenextsection.
406 CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY Volume 37, Number 3, June1996
A SYMMETRICAL AND
The particularstructureby which Augustinerepresented a It onlyneeds to be added thatcommonpeople were "lost"
kinshiporder-and presumably, then,by which that order
failedto securehumanpeace in comparisonto the relative
success of imperialRome-almost perfectly describesthe
classicHawaiiansystem,notonlyin thedetailofgenerational
or "Hawaiian" terminology butin the complementary work-
ingsofexogamyand endogamyin a fieldofbilateralkinship,
the in-marriage amongdistantkin reversing thenormalten-
denciesof kindreddissolution(Kirchand Sahlinsi992:i96-
2o8). Whatmakesthisconvergence evenmoreremarkable is
the ideologicalconclusion,equal and oppositeto the Chris-
tian-Hobbesian mythof society,thatthe Hawaiian intellec-
tualDavid Malo drewfromthestructures in question.Written
in thelate I830s or earlyI84os as one ofa seriesofspecula-
tionson how Hawaiianchiefs(ali'i) came to be differentiated
fromthe underlying commonpeople (ka-naka), Malo's story
could have been his own inventionratherthan a received
Still,the difference
tradition. maynotbe important, sincein
its naturalistic-scientific much the same can be
particulars,
said aboutHobbes's.Notingthatit has neverbeen explained
why"in ancienttimesa certainclass ofpeoplewereennobled
and made into ali'i ['chiefs']and anotherinto subjects[ka-
thefollowing
naka]," Malo (i95 i:60) offers as a firstpossible
explanation:
Perhapsin the earliesttime all the people [kanaka]were
ali'i and it was onlyafterthe lapse of severalgenerations
thata divisionwas made into commonersand chiefs;the
reasonforthisdivisionbeingthatmen in pursuitof their
owngratification andpleasurewanderedoffin onedirection
and anotheruntiltheywerelost sightofand forgotten.
characteristics:it must be commandingand it must
be lovable. This forcewhich at once compels and at-
tracts,can, accordingto Durkheim,only be society
itself.
The same theoryunderlies notable works of Durk-
heim's successors. It is entailed in the necessity for
reconciliationthatMarcel Mauss discoveredin the gift.
The total prestationhas been describedas "a kind of
social contract"wherebypeople reciprocallysurrender
everything to one another,in contrastto the classic con-
tractin which they unilaterallysurrenderforceto the
One who will bear theirperson.Yet theHobbesian alter-
native of isolation and Warreis as much the reason for
the one as forthe other(Mauss i966:277):
fora long period of time and in a considerablenum-
ber of societies,men confronteach in a curious
frameof mind,involvingan exaggeratedfearand hos-
tilityand an equally exaggeratedgenerosity....
There is no middle ground:completetrustor com-
plete mistrust;one lays down one's arms and re-
nounces magic or gives everythingaway fromcasual
hospitalityto one's daughtersand one's goods. It is
in conditionsof this kind that men put aside their
self concernand learnedto engagein givingand re-
turning.
They had no choice. Two groupsof men thatmeet
can only withdraw-or in case of mistrustor defi-
ance, battle-or else come to terms.
INVERSE LEVIATHAN
and "forgotten" insofaras theydidnothaveextensivegeneal-
ogies-of the sortthat distinguished the Hawaiian aristoc-
racy.As a rule,commonersdid not specificallytracetheir
ancestry beyondtheirowngrandparents. Butthegreatgeneal-
ogies of the chiefsconnectedthemat once withthe gods
whomtheyrepresented relativeto ordinarypeople-as well
as withone anotherin complexnetworksofbilateralkinship.
That commonerswereexcludedfromsuchprivileges was fit-
tingpenaltyto theirinclinationto pursuetheirown desires.
ForMalo, then,and byperfectcontrastto Hobbes,thepri-
mordialhumanconditionwouldbe peaceable:thepeopleall
livedtogether in a groupandas nobles,whichmeantnotonly
thattheywereconnectedbyblood(koko)butthattheyknew
how to give thingsto one another.Hierarchyoriginatedas
thedifferentiation ofsocietyfrombelow,whencertainpeople
developeda restlessself-interestandleftthecollectivity.This
by contrastto the Hobbesiancommonwealth: a collectivity
thatdevelopedout ofan antecedentconditionofisolatedself-
interested individuals,and was markedbythedifferentiation
ofa superiorrulingstratum.Takingtheirdepartures froman-
titheticalbeginnings,thetwophilosophers pass each otherin
oppositedirectionson theirrespectivewaysto thekingdom.
A commentappendedbyMalo's editor,N. B. Emerson,speaks
of the implicationsforkingship,thus makinga connection
withthepresentcomparison to Leviathan:"The development
of this thoughtwould have explainedthe whole mystery of
whyone becamea kingand theothersremainedcommoners,
kanaka ormakaainana" (in Malo I95 I:63).
And just why did Radcliffe-Brown take the promotion
of sociabilityas the main functionof institutions?Why
did he describe the social arrangementof "primitive"
people in juridicalmetaphors?What kind of disintegra-
tion did he fearifunilineal descentdid not exist to allo-
cate rightsin persons?It is as if a pervasiveintuitionof
an underlyingchaos, a kindofRadcliffe-Brownian move-
ment of self-interested human atoms, has weighedlike
a nightmareon the brain of the social anthropologist.
PerhapsFrenchand Britishanthropology are specially
disposed to the anxiety of anarchyand a corollaryre-
spect fororderand power. A parallel singularitywould
be the developmentof the concept of "civilization" in
these countriesduringthe late i 8th century,in contrast
to the German (and Russian) concept of "culture" as a
total way of life. "Civilization" again entailed the pre-
suppositionof an original,brutishcreaturewhose anti-
social dispositionsare graduallybroughtunder control
througha process of domestication:"the civilizingpro-
cess" (Elias I978). Imposed on the uncouth poor, the
emergentbourgeoisie,or the colonized peoples-all of
whom, like the medieval serfsbeforethem,represented
the bestial-cum-fallenside of humanityrelativeto the
bons gens-this "civilization" was a governmentof the
untamedbody,an overlayofcontrolon a basic savagery.
But to the likes of Herder,it was a Gallic affectation(of
the Prussian aristocracy)by comparisonwith the dis-
tinctive"culture" a people inheritedfromancestraltra-
ditions.Unlike the superficial"civilization," "culture"
 SAHLINS The Native Anthropologyof WesternCosmology 1407

inhabitedone's innerbeing: as a way offeelingand per- ing sense of the human condition. The "fundamental
ceiving; hence as the modes of thought,particularto and characteristicpremise of the usual proofof opti-
each people, bywhich experiencewas conceptuallycon- mism," wrote Lovejoy, "was the propositionthat the
structedand emotionallysustained.Developingfromin- perfectionof the whole depends upon, indeed consists
side out, to behavior, "culture" in this Herderian- in, the existenceofeverypossible degreeofimperfection
Boasian perspectivewas indeed empowering,whereas in theparts"(i964:2I). Likea celebrated
beehiveofthe
"civilization,"as the externaldisciplineofinnerdisposi- time, "everyPart was full of Vice, Yet the whole mass
tion,was domination.35 a Paradise."
Everything happensas ifwe had been waitingforFou- The projectof derivinga greaterbeneficialorderfrom
cault. In his darkvision of societyas a totalizedsystem the afflictionsof the human lot was an i8th-century
of coercive power, Foucault becomes the modern version of Augustinian theodicy.36For Augustine evil
prophetof the Hobbesian-cum-Judeo-Christian anthro- was a privationratherthan God's creation.The many
pology. Such seems to be the archaeologyat issue. Yet and subtle degreesoffinitudein sublunarythingsdeter-
Foucault was "a man of a thousandmasks," as one of mine in a contrastiveway the perfectgoodness of the
his biographerssaid, so it is arguablehow seriouslywe world-in the well-wornaesthetic metaphor,like the
should take the guise he assumed to say that power shadows thatgive formand beautyto a painting.Hence
arises in struggle,in war, and such a war as is of every "it is good thattherebe evil," as a i2th-century textput
man againsteveryman. "Who fightswhom?" he asked. it (Hick i966:97). And it seems fittingthatin Alexander
"We all fighteach other"(Foucaulti980:208). Critics Pope's celebrationofthe optimistphilosophy,the good-
and exegetes hardly notice Foucault's connection to ness of the providentialorder is achieved in spite of
Hobbes exceptto repeathis own disclaimerthatthe idea pride,the originalsin. At the same time, looking for-
of power he advocated was "the exact opposite of Hob- ward to the coming Westernsciences of society,this
bes' project in Leviathan" (p. 97). We are enjoined to greater harmony is realized in spite of any human
give up our fascinationwith sovereignty,"cut offthe knowledge,will, or reason-but rathermysteriously and
king's head," freeourselvesfroman obsession with the mechanically,as if by an InvisibleHand:
institutionsof state. Power is everywherein society.It
All Nature is but Art,unknownto thee:
is investedin the structuresand cleavages of everyday
All Chance, Direction,which thou canst not see;
life,omnipresentin quotidianregimesofknowledgeand
All Discord, Harmony,not understood;
truth.If by the Hobbesian contractthe subjects consti-
All partialEvil, universalGood:
tute an omnipresentpower,in the Foucauldian view an
And, spite of Pride,in erringReason's spite,
omnipresentpower constitutes the subjects. All the
One truthis clear, "WHATEVER IS, IS RIGHT."37
same, when Foucault speaks ofan incessantwar ofeach
againstall and in the next breathalludes to a Christian Adam Smith's invocationof the InvisibleHand is the
divided self-"and there is always within each of us best-knowninstance,but classical economics is hardly
something that fights something else" (Foucault the onlyintellectualsuccess thatcan be claimed by this
i980:208)-one is too temptedto believethathe and metaphysicsof the imaginedtotality.The same general
Hobbes have more in common than the factthat,with sense of the structureof the world informedmedieval
the exceptionof Hobbes, both were bald. and modernnaturalsciences. And,on themodel ofprov-
idential theoriesof the state, the ideologyreappearsin
modernanthropologicalviews of "society" or "culture"
The Anthropologyof Providence as a transcendent,functionaland objective order.(You
will recognizethe "superorganic"ofKroeber,White,and
Vous composerezdans ce chaos fatal HerbertSpencer.)All these cognate concepts have the
Des malheurs de chaque etreun bonheurgeneral. double-levelstructure,the heavenly and earthlycities
VOLTAIRE of the neo-Platonic,Christian cosmology.They all in-
Pleased with the conceit that "this is the best of all voke an unseen,beneficentand encompassingsystemof
possible worlds,"the famousoptimismof the i 8th cen- the whole that mitigatesthe defectsand tribulationsto
turywas nonethelessan unhappyphilosophy.Its neces- which empirical matteris subject (cf.EhrardI963, vol.
sarycomplementwas the receiveddogmaofhuman suf- I: II_,2),38 especially the travailsto which man is sub-
fering,to which it merelyadded some consolation.So if
the shock waves of the greatLisbon earthquakeof I755 36. AndbeforeAugustinethetradition goesbackto Plotinusespe-
also tumbled the belief that nature had been designed cially,whose formulation of the Chain ofBeingas a hierarchy
of
forman's benefit,it was because thispious notionofan perfection entailsboththeAugustinian theodicyand,withcertain
overarchingProvidencehad alreadysupposeda depress- assumptions, the optimists'notion of the best possible world
(LovejoyI964:6I-66; Hick I966).
37. By "partialEvil" is meanttheevilin or suffered
byindividuals
(cf. Pope 1970:133n).
35. Fortheassertionsaboutthehistory of"culture"and "civiliza- 38. Berkeley'sparticularversionof the InvisibleHand theory(or
tion"in theseparagraphs, see Elias (1978), Ben6ton(I975), Benven- theodicy)is particularly
strikingfortheway it necessarilycount-
iste (197I:chap. 28), Berlin(1976; i982:1-24), Bunzl(i99s), Meyer erposesa systematicabstractwhole to thepainsofourfiniteand
(n.d.[i952]), and Sahlins(i995). imperfect experiences:"As to the mixtureof pain or uneasiness
 408 i CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY Volume 37, Number 3, June1996
ject: Providenceis the positive complementof human
evil. It turnsout that God loves those who love them-
selves. Lifemightbe unbearablewereit notforthe imag-
ined totalitythatgives purposeand solace to individual
suffering or, better,makes the partial evils of an alien-
ated existence the means of universal welfare.Thus,
each personmaximizinghis own scarce resources.... 39
So the higherwisdom of Westernsociety has often
been just that-a higher wisdom implied in earthly
things.It is oftennoted thatthe ChristianProvidenceis
a transformation of the Aristotelianteleologyofnature.
Justso, fromGalileo and Kepler throughNewton and
Einstein,early modernphysicistswere convinced that
God could not have made the universeas disorderlyas
it mightseem in everydayexperience.Indeed, Newton
held that the fixedlaws of naturewere edicts promul-
gated by God.40The kinship between natural law and
whichis in theWorld,pursuantto thegenerallaws ofNature,and
actionsof finiteimperfect spirits:this,in the statewe are in at
present,is indispensablynecessaryto ourwell-being. Butourpros-
pectsare too narrow:we take,forinstance,the idea ofsome one
particularpain into our thoughts,and accountit evil; whereasif
we enlargeourview,so as to comprehend thevariousends,connex-
ions,and dependenciesof things,on whatoccasionsand in what
proportions we are affectedwithpain and pleasure,thenatureof
humanfreedom, and the designwithwhichwe are put into the
world;we shall be forcedto acknowledgethat those particular
things,whichconsideredin themselvesappearto be evil,havethe
natureofgood,whenlinkedto thewholesystemofbeings"(Trea-
tise concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge ? I53). But
then,the philosophythatrequiresGod in orderto guaranteethe
realityofthingswhenwe aren'tlookingat themis aboutas good
an expressionoftheprovidential theoryas one mightfind.
39. Again,thisChristiananthropology ofProvidencehas classical
antecedents, as in Stoicphilosophy:"Those thingswhichyou call
hardships, whichyou call adversities andaccursed,are,in thefirst
place,forthegoodofthepersonsthemselvesto whomtheycome;
in the secondplace . .. theyare forthegoodofthewholehuman
family,forwhichthe godshave a greaterconcernthanforsingle
persons"(SenecaOn Providence3.1). But,on theotherhand,"The
Greeksdid not see the Homericgodsabove themas mastersand
themselvesbelowthemas servants, as didtheJews.Theysaw, as
it were,only the reflection of the most successfulspecimensof
theirowncaste,thatis,an ideal,nota contrast to theirownnature.
They feltrelatedto them,therewas a reciprocalinterest, a kind
ofsymmachia[alliance].Man thinksofhimselfas noblewhenhe
giveshimselfsuchgods,andputshimselfintoa relationship simi-
lar to thatofthelessernobilityto thehigher....
"Christianity, on the otherhand, crushedand shatteredman
completely,and submergedhim as if in deep mire.Then,all at
once, into his feelingof deep confusion,it allowed the lightof
divinecompassionto shine,so thatthesurprised man,stunnedby
mercy,let out a cryofrapture, and thoughtfora momentthathe
carriedall ofheavenwithinhim" (NietzscheI984:85).
40. Obviously,the transformation ofdivineto naturallaw meant
the end of transcendent being(CassirerI95I:45), butforall that,
and even beyondthe theologicaldispositionsofNewton,Galileo,
et al. (P. 42), a certaintranscendence ofmeanexperience byhigher
(intellectual)order,the Christianeditionof Platonism,inhabits
thenewnaturalscience:"Thus thenewconceptionofnature,seen
in the perspectiveof the historyof thought,owes its originto a
doublemotiveand is shapedand determined byapparently oppos-
ingforces.It containsboththeimpulsetowardtheparticular, the
concrete,and the factual,and the impulsetowardthe absolutely
universal;thusit harborstheelementalimpulseto holdfastto the
thingsof thisworldas well as the impulseto riseabove themin
orderto see themin theirproperperspective. The desireand joy
Divine Providenceis part of the theologicalcontinuity
initiatedby the apparentlyradicalchangesspokenabout
as the "humanization" of the Renaissance and the "sec-
ularization"ofthe Enlightenment-endingin the trans-
ferof the attributesof an omnipotentDeity to a Nature
at least as worthyof reverence(BeckerI93.2; Fun-
kensteinI 986:3 57-5 8). Fora longtimedespised,Nature
nonetheless manifestedGod's handiwork,and now it
appropriatedHis powers-in ways thatare still withus,
such as the virtuesforhuman health of whatevercan
be called "natural." But then, the greatmedieval sym-
bolics of nature and its providentialsciences had been
constructedfromthe same cosmic premises.
Back then, in the Middle Ages, the world was still
deceptive,even as man was vile. But forthosewho knew
how to discoverthem,the sensibletracesofGod's hand-
iworkcould be foundin the objectsofnatureand manip-
ulated forhumanbenefit.Nothingwas exactlywhat-or
as bad-as it seemed. In some regardor another,any-
thing could be a sign of the Absolute.4' Eco cites the
affirmation of JohannesScotus Eriugenia:"In my judg-
ment there is nothing among visible and corporeal
thingswhich does not signifysomethingincorporealand
intelligible" (Eco I986:56-57; cf. Glacken I967:238).
Mediated by the greaterTruthand Powerthatotherwise
mendacious thingscould signify,a systemof providen-
tial knowledge linked these worldlyobjects according
to certainperceptibleresemblances.The walnut looks
like the brain,hence it is good forheadaches. Yellow
and greenstones could cure jaundice and liverailments,
whereas red stones were forstoppingfluxesand hemor-
rhages. Resemblances such as those between walnuts
and brains'now seem arbitraryto us, bringingtogether
things"in reality"or "objectively"quite distinct.42Yet
of the senses uniteherewiththe powerof the intellectto break
awayfromall theobjectsofconcreteexperienceand to riskflight
intotheland ofpossibilities"(p. 38).
41. ForAugustine, God's Providencewas theexplicitguaranteeof
theabsolutereadingsofearthlythings.These allegoricalinterpre-
tationscouldbe likenedto digging up truths" 'fromcertainmines
of Divine Providence,whichis everywhere infused'" (Robertson
I958:xiv; cf.On Christian Doctrine2.40.60). Augustine'smethods
ofscripturalexegesis,moreover, provedto havea certaincompati-
bilitywithmedievalartas well as its symbolicscience-all alike
in theirappealto an abstractpatternbeneaththesurfaceofthings.
D. W. Robertson further
notesthedifference betweenthisintellec-
tualrelationto objects,words,orimagesandwhatmightbe called
thebourgeoismodeofapprehension in andas personal-bodilyfeel-
ing.Referring to thefigurative
dispositionin medievalwriting and
muchofthesymbolismin medievalart,he writes,"The function
offigurative expressionwas not to arousespontaneousemotional
attitudesbased on thepersonalexperienceoftheobserver, but to
encouragetheobserverto seekan abstractpatternofphilosophical
significancebeneaththesymbolicconfiguration. In thisrespect,as
in otherrespects,medievalartis considerably moreobjectivethan
modernart,even in thoseinstanceswhereit is least 'realistic'"
(p. xv).
42. Thus Foucaulthighlighted the Cartesiancritiqueofwhatwas
a fadingscience of resemblances:" 'It is a frequenthabit,'says
Descartesin thefirstlines ofhis Regulae,'whenwe discoversev-
eralresemblances betweentwothings,to attribute to bothequally,
even on pointsin whichtheyare in realitydifferent, thatwhich
we have recognizedto be trueof only one of them'" (Foucault
1973:51).
 SAHLINS
JESUS AND COSMIC ENTROPY
Accordingto Glasse (i965:30), "The Huli [ofthe Southern
HighlandsofNew Guinea]havelittlepersonalinterestin the
fateofthesoul. Theyhaveno beliefin judgement in theafter-
life,and the destinationof the soul in no way dependsupon
a person'scharacteror behaviourpriorto death.Theirviews
aboutthedestination orhabitationofthesoul arein facthazy
and uncertain;theyarewillingto speculateaboutthewhere-
aboutsofghostsbut the questionhas no greatsignificance."
(Thefateofthoseslainin battleis an exception, as theirghosts
go to a desirablerestingplace in the sky-"about whichthe
Huli againhave fewconcretenotions.")That the Huli seem
notto be obsessedwithwhatwill happento themafterdeath
has been baffling especiallyto Christianmissionaries,who
findthemselvesfrustrated bythisindeterminacy of"soul be-
liefs"in theirattemptsto peddletheGoodNews aboutsalva-
tionand a fortiori themeaningofJesus'ssacrifice.Of course,
whattheymaybe up againstis thisworldlyreligionconcerned
withpeople'sexistencehere-and-now, thusnotgivento spec-
ulationabout the after-life. Conversionto Christianity here
requiresconversionto a religionof death.In the Huli case,
however,themissionariesat leasthad theadvantageofdeal-
ing with a people whose ideas about the contemptibility of
this worldcould challengethose of medievalChristianity.
The problemwas that the indigenousHuli cosmologyin-
cludednothinglike thesavinggraceofDivineProvidence. No
higherorderofgoodcouldbe foundin earthlycircumstances,
no greaterpurposeto humansuffering. On the contrary, the
world was headingtowardchaos and death unless people
could establishappropriate exchangerelationships withthe
evermorenumerousand viciousspiritualbeings(dama)who
were causingthe decline.This confirmed pessimismmakes
it possible to understandthe Huli's willingnessto adopt
Christianity-ontheconditionthattheycouldtakeresponsi-
bilityforJesus'sdeath.Like manyof theirown traditional
dama, Jesuswas not so mucha savioras a sourceofmisery.
His deathcould not make the Huli free,since theyhad not
yetpaid the compensationforit (Glasse I965; Biersackn.d.;
Allen and Frankel I99Ia, b; Frankel I986; Goldman I993;
Ballardi992a, b).
The Huli live in a dyingworld.TheirWeltanschaung "con-
tainsa strongsenseofdecline,ofthedeterioration ofthephys-
ical earthand thedecayoftheircultureintoanarchyand im-
morality"(Allen and FrankeliggIa:95). Alreadyrealizedin
fallingyieldsof crops,diminishing herdsof pigs,epidemic
diseases,and rebelliousyouth,the developingentropyis an
all-rounddisaster,eventuallythreatening to dissolvesociety
in incest,fratricide, and parricide.Thereis a sense,however,
thatthefallcan be reversed, as has happenedbefore, perhaps
morethanonce-thus a sense ofrecurrent cyclesofdestruc-
tion and renewal.Apparently evokingthe distantmemories
ofa greati8th-century volcanicexplosionon LongIsland(off
northeastern New Guinea),the renewalentailsthe return,
effectedby ritual means, of a time of darkness(mbingi)
markedby the fall of ashlike materialfromthe sky,after
whichgardens,pigs,and humanswould enjoya remarkable
prosperity(cf.Blong i982, Mai i98i). (Note that such volcanic
in themselvesto accountfortheHuli
eventsarenotsufficient
worldview,since thisapocalypticphilosophyis sharedonly
bya fewneighboringpeoplesofsouthernNew Guinea,justa
ofthoseaffected
fraction bytheLongIslanderuption[Biersack
ofWesternCosmology1409
TheNativeAnthropology
IN THE NEW GUINEA HIGHLANDS
n.d.].)The returnof the time of darknessis not inevitable,
however,norare its effects necessarilybenign."Huli beliefs
do notadequatelyexplainit [mbingi]forthem,"andmuchas
they desire it they also fear its potentialdestructiveness
(Glasse I965:46). Everythingdependson a potentiallyfallible
humanagency.IfHuli areunabletoaccomplishtheprescribed
ritualsor to placate the maliciousdama, the resultwill be
world disasterratherthan world renewal (Ballardi992b).
Memoriesremainoftwo suchritualmiscarriages in the2oth
century,one of which was the crucifixion of JesusChrist
about I925 (Frankel i986:23-24; Allen and Frankel
iggib:27I-72; Glasse I965:46; Biersack n.d.).
As Huli recountit, a "red-skinned" boy namedBayebaye
whomtheyidentify
(Perfect), also as Jesus,was killedin the
course of a ritualdevotedto the returnof darkness,upon
whichhis bodywas dismembered and distributedin people's
gardens.(ChrisBallard[I992b] reportsthatthiswas a normal
ritualprocedure,or a normalalternativeto the sacrificeof
a red-skinned pig,but otheraccountseitherleave the event
unexplainedor attributeit to some sortof error,as onlythe
blood fromthe boy's prickedfingershouldhave been sacri-
ficed [Glasse I965, Frankel I986]. "Red-skinned," it mightbe
noted,is the way Huli characterizewhite people.)Frankel
relatesthatthe namesofBayebayeand Jesus"are frequently
used interchangeably," and as manyHuli feelresponsible for
thecrucifixion, "a numberofattemptsto givecompensation
to missionaries havebeenmade" (i986:23).The boy'smother,
a womanoftheDuna people(tothewest),is identified as the
VirginMary.Nothinghas beenreported aboutherimmaculate
conception,however,nor has she been any matemalsolace
to the succeedinggenerationsof suffering mankind.On the
contrary, thecurseshe laid in responseto herson's deathhas
broughtdisasterin everyshapeand form.
Missionariesof fourChristiansects appearedamongthe
Huli in theearlyI950Sand experienced considerable success.
It has been suggestedthatthe parallelbetweenthe storyof
Bayebayeand the killingof Jesus"is a majorstrandin the
explanationoftheHuli's enthusiasmforChristianity" (Fran-
kel i986:23).Butone wondersifit is nottheotherwayround,
the enthusiasmforChristianity beingthe reasona certain
parallel-with Huli playingthe role of Pilate-was devised
postfactumbetweenthetwo traditions. Hereit is important
thatthedestruction brought bycolonizationprecededthead-
ventofwhitemen in theSouthernHighlands,in theformof
epidemicdiseasesespecially.Fromthe turnofthe igth cen-
tury,thesemisfortunes have also been accompaniedbyvari-
ous naturalafflictions, such as the prolongeddroughtthat
began in the same year as "firstcontact"with Europeans,
I935. Huli have explainedtheirtribulations as due to theun-
leashingofmaliciousdama spiritsfromtheplacestheywere
previously confined, and,accordingly, theyperceivedthefirst
visitsofwhites-includingthe notoriousFox brothers, pros-
pectorswhose killingsof Huli fullyjustifiedthe percep-
tion-as appearancesofevil dama. Onlylatercouldtheycon-
clude-without much alteration of their original
interpretations-that thewhiteswreakedhavocamongthem
because compensationfor Jesuswas still unpaid (Frankel
i986:25). " 'This is thetimeforus to die,'" an old man told
theanthropologist: " 'Thereis notmuchtimeleftto us now.
The world is dry.... the earth is old and worn out'" (p. 24).
4IO I CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY Volume 37, Number 3, JuneI996

it was just these obscure affinitiesthat signifiedan in- scorn.46In this connection Dumont refersto Mande-
visible Providenceand-by amulets or alchemy,just as ville's "PrivateVices, PublickBenefits"argument.Man-
in curing-synthesizedthe Adamic oppositionofnature deville's formularecognizedsomethingnot yet explicit
and humankind. "Objectionable in itself," the world, in Hobbes: somethingsui generis,outside and beyond
Huizinga remarks,"became acceptable by its symbolic particularhuman subjects,orderingtheirparticularin-
purport.Foreveryobject,each commontradehad a mys- terests."This something,"Dumont (I977:78) explains,47
tical relation with the most holy, which ennobled it"
is the mechanism by which particularinterestshar-
(I 9 54:2o6 ).43
monize: a mechanism (as in Hobbes, but on an inter-
EdmundBurkecould say somethingsimilarabout the
personal,not a personal,level), thatis, not some-
originsand holiness of the State: "He who gave our na-
thingwilled or thoughtby men, but somethingthat
tureto be perfectedby our virtuewilled also the neces-
exists independentlyof them. Societyis thus of the
sarymeans of perfection:he willed therefore the State"
same natureas the world of naturalobjects,a nonhu-
(BurkeI959:I07). Augustine's idea ofthestate(orsoci-
man thingor, at the most, a thingthat is human
ety)as a providentialorganizationof human evil seems only insofaras human beingsare partof the natural
to echo across the centuries.44 The sequiturappears in
world.
certainmodernacademic discourseson the functional-
ity and objectivityof society.45Anthropologicalschools And yetthe apparentliberationfromtheologythatcould
such as structural-functionalism and culturalmaterial- imaginesocietyunderthe descriptionofa worldofnatu-
ism manifesta kind of naive trustin a beneficial,self- ral objects owed a lot to the religionthatinventedsuch
regulatingsocial order that determinessome good or a world: of pure matter,distinctfromGod, createdby
utilityin each and everycustomarypractice.It is as if Him out ofnothing.48
in societyand cultureeverything were forthe best. For The success of the providentialprincipleas a theory
structural-functionalists,the societyis designedin such of society,however,was no simple Tylorian"survival."
a way that any particularcustom or relationship,how- It is true that as a structureof the longue duree, the
ever baleful or conflictual,mysteriouslypromotesthe idea managed to maintainitselfdespitethe lapse of the
generalgood,thatis, maintainsthe social systemas con- Roman imperial authorityto which it was initially
stituted.Explicationsby class, power,or hegemonyare
generallymore cynical expressionsof the same princi-
46. An ethnographic
ple. On the other hand, the materialistschools that recent confirmation ofDumont'sinsightcomesin a
articleby KatherineVerdery(I995), whichcapitalizesbril-
foundthatAztec cannibalismsuppliedpeople with nec- liantly(ifone maysay so) on recenteconomiceventsin Romania
essaryproteinsor thatNew Guinea pigfeastskeptpopu- bydocumenting the developingconsciousnessofan abstracttotal
lations fromexceedingtheirecological carryingcapaci- orderthataccompaniesa novel obsessionwithprivateinterests.
ties returnedto a cheerier,if equally credulous,respect Here the sentimentofsuch an impersonalsocial objectis height-
ened by the contrastbetweena modem,money-making pyramid
forthe Invisible Hand. schemeand theideologyofagencyassociatedwiththeancien(so-
As Dumont again suggests,however, this greaterso- cialist)regime.
cial wisdom,byits metamorphosisofthe grubbysubjec- 47. Burkeprovidesa characteristic exampleof the naturalization
tivityofhuman actions into an abstractcollectivegood, oftheprovidential social processin speakingoftheancienregime
has become an academic object in and foritself.In a as andall that
having"thatvarietyofparts... all thatcombination,
oppositionofinterests.. . thatactionand counteraction
which,in
curious parallel to the developmentof naturalscience, thenaturaland in thepoliticalworld,fromthereciprocalstruggle
the providentialqualityof societymakes it a properob- of discordantpowers,drawsout the harmonyof the universe"
ject of positive anthropology-and of postmodem (I959:40, emphasisadded).
48. Vico's New Science repeatedlydescribeshow privateself-
interested vices are turnedinto social virtuesby the guidanceof
Divine Providence.Forexample,themilitary, merchant, and gov-
43. "To escapefromthisvain,deceivingandungenerous worldis, erningclasses were createdout of "the threevices which run
fromthebottomto thetopofmedievalsociety,theincessantproj- throughout thehumanrace,"ferocity, avarice,andambition,from
ect. To findthe otherside ofthe mendaciousterrestrial reality- which have thus resulted"the strength, riches,and wisdomof
integumenta, veils,fillmedievalliterature andart,andtheintellec- commonwealths"(Vico i984:62 [New Science? I32-33]). In the
tual or aesthetictechniqueof the Middle Ages is above all an Conclusion,Vico summarizestheprinciple:
unveiling-tofindthehiddentruth... thatis themainpreoccupa- "It is truethatmenhave themselvesmadethisworldofnations
tionofmen oftheMiddleAges" (Le Goffi964:420). ... but this worldwithoutdoubthas issued froma mindoften
44. ChadwickwritesofAugustine:"Government was forhim an diverse,at timesquitecontrary, andalwayssuperior to theparticu-
exemplificationof the providential principleof orderimposedon larendsthatmenhadproposedto themselves;whichnarrowends,
the disruptiveforces let loose by the Fall.... The domination of made means to serveunderends,it has alwaysemployedto pre-
one man overanothermay be abused,but it is the lesserof two servethehumanraceupon thisearth....
evilswherethealternative is anarchyand everymanforhimself" "The evidence clearly confirmsthe . . . position of the political
(Chadwick i986:i02). philosophers, whose princeis the divinePlato,who shows that
45. Vico spokeofthe "eternalproperty thatwhenmenfailto see providencedirectshuman institutions"(P. 425 [New Science ?
reasonin humaninstitutions, and much moreif theysee it op- I I08-9]).
posed,theytake refugein the inscrutablecounselshiddenin the The whole cosmologyof the InvisibleHand was announcedin
abyssofdivineprovidence"(NewScience? 948).His ownrecurrent the firstparagraph ofthe firsteditionoftheNew Science,where
recourse to Providenceto account for human institutions- it is said, " 'We wish thereto be a forcesuperiorto nature. ..
notwithstanding the verumfactumprinciple-seemsitselfa case whichis to be foundsolelyin a God who is not thatverynature
in point. itself'" (in Momigliano1977:253-54).
 SAHLINS The Native Anthropologyof WesternCosmology I 4I I

adapted(Pagels I988). Dumont's discussion(I982) ofthe If anythingthe Christianreligionwent on to widen

dialecticsofhierarchyengagingthe stateand the church the riftbetween man and nature by its opposition to
throughthe Middle Ages helps explainwhy.Briefly,the classical pantheisms-corollary to the contemptibility
churchhad gambledits ideal superiority byenteringinto of the material world that followed upon originalsin.
a contest for temporalrule. Thereforewhen the state Christianshad serious doctrinalproblemswith a God
emergedvictoriousfromthis conflictit was gracedwith who was everywhere,as this would undermine the
the status and functionsof its holy adversary,notably whole Christology(Funkenstein I986:45). Hence the
includingthe guardianshipofmorality.The earthlycity emphasis on a creation ex nihilo, which differentiated
absorbed significantaspects of the heavenly city. If the Faith fromthe emanationistcosmogoniesof classi-
Durkheim concluded that "God" was anothername for cal antiquity.But then, in developingthis difference,
society,was this not because it was alreadytrue-that Augustine unwittinglyreproachesjust about all other
is, of his particularsociety?It is not that God was soci- religions-including the Polynesian,the basic concepts
ety deifiedbut that societywas God socialized. of which he inventsas the reductioad absurdumof the
"irreligious"idea that the world is the body of God.
"And ifthis is so," he says, "who cannotsee what impi-
The Anthropologyof Reality ous and irreligiousideas follow,such as that whatever
one may trample,he must tramplea part of God, and
The inventionof a pure object world occurredlong be- in slaying any living creature,a part of God must be
foreDescartes distinguishedthinkingthingsfromex- slaughtered?"(De civitateDei 4.I2). Perhapsnot coinci-
tendedthings.It was also well beforethe reignofcapital dentally,given the resemblancesbetween the classical
in Europe,which Marx thoughtput an end to "nature Greek and New Zealand Maori cosmogonies(Schrempp
idolatry"and forthe firsttime made nature"purelyan I992), Augustine most accuratelydescribes the ritual
object forhumankind,purelya matterofutility"(I973: predicament of the Maori who tramples the Earth
409-I0). (Note forfuturereferencethe conflationofutil- MotherPapa, attacksthe god Tane in cuttingdown trees
itywith objectivity-or at least objectification-which or killing birds, and consumes Rongo when he eats
is indeedthe bourgeoisideology.)But it was Christianity sweet potatoes (e.g.,Best I924, vol. I:I28-29). Western
and beforethat Judaismthat firstdisenchantednature, people have been spared such blasphemybecause God
renderingit merelyan object forhumankindmany cen- made the world out of nothing."But what is my God?"
turiesbeforeits exploitationby capital-which religion Augustine asked. "I put the question to the earth. It
had thus prepared.Insistingupon an absolute gap be- answered,'I am not God, and all thingson earthdeclared
tween God and His creation,between worldlythings the same' " (Confessionsio.6). Nature is pure material-
and divinity,the Judeo-Christian traditionthus distin- ity,withoutredeemingspiritualvalue.
guisheditselffroma "paganism" it understoodprecisely Dare one claim that the determinationof nature as
as natureidolatry."The deificationof naturewas seen pure materiality-absent gods, incarnatespirits,or any
as the real essence of paganism by both Christiansand such nonhuman persons-is a unique Westerninven-
Jews" (FunkensteinI986:45; cf. Feuerbach I967:9I et tion?True, worldlythingscould representor be signsof
passim; Berman I98I ).49 The ancient Hebrew religion God, but theyare not God. Nor is this differentiation of
was absolutelyunique, Henri Frankfort was wont to ar- "natural" from"supernatural"the same as the nature-
gue, in its insistence on the absolute transcendenceof culturedistinctionswidely practicedaroundthe world.
God: a god beyond ontological comparison to any It is thefurther argumentthatnatureis onlyres extensa,
worldlyphenomenon.God was not in the sun or stars, made of nothing,lacking subjectivity.The idea, more-
the rain or wind-nowhere in nature."In Hebrew reli- over,becomes the ontologicalcounterpartof an equally
gion-and in Hebrew religionalone-the ancient bond singularepistemology,insofaras knowledge of nature
between man and nature was destroyed" (Frankfort cannot be achieved by communication and the other
I948:343).50 ways subjectsunderstandsubjects.Mediated byAdam's
Fall, knowledgeof natural thingsis reducedto sensory
experience of the obduratematteron which humanity
49. Glackenmakesthegeneralpointin a discussionofAugustine:
"In theJudeo-Christian
doctrine,
thedistinction
betweentheCre- was condemned to lay waste its powers.Here was a cer-
ator and the created . . . is unequivocal, as it must be: there can
neverbe anyquestionoftheinferiority ofthenaturalorder,lovely
as it is, to God. It is a distinctionthatlies at therootofChristian "The dominanttrendof Hebrewthoughtis the absolutetran-
beliefand in the Christianattitudetowardnature:one should scendenceofGod. Yahwehis notin nature.Neitherearthnorsun
neverbecome so entrancedwith the beautiesof naturethathe norheavenis divine;eventhemostpotentnaturalphenomenaare
mistakesthemforanything otherthancreationslike himself.... butreflections
ofGod's greatness....
Augustineproteststhatthepaganideas ofthegodsstartwiththe "The God of the Hebrewsis purebeing,unqualified,
ineffable.
conceptionofearthas motherofthegods.The earthis no mother; He is holy. This means he is sui generis.... It means that all
it itselfis a workof God. Augustineexpressescontemptof and values are ultimatelyattributes
of God alone. Hence all concrete
disgustwiththe effeminate and emasculatedmen consecratedto phenomenaare devalued....
the worshipof the GreatMotherEarth"(GlackenI967:I96-97; "Nowhereelse do we meetthisfanaticaldevaluationofthephe-
see also pp. I5 I, I 6o). nomenaofnatureand theachievements ofman: art,virtue,social
50. Frankfort and Frankfort expressthepointevenmoregenerally order-in viewoftheuniquesignificance ofthedivine"(I946:367,
in anotherwork: 369).
 4121I CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY Volur4e 37, Number 3, JuneI996

RELATIVITY OF SUBJECT-OBJECT DISTINCTIONS

To speakofthe"humanizednature"ofmanyotherpeoples- scribethelatterthenin isolationfromhim as the"ob-

and also in certainrespectsof Westempeoples-is not to
adoptthelanguageof"participation" in theLevy-Bruhlsense,
insofaras thatnotioninvolvessome mechanismof "projec-
tion" of the subjectonto the object.Amongotherprerequi-
sites,"mind"has to be invented,something thatseemsto be
farfromuniversal.The epistemological dynamicsmaybe bet-
terexemplified byLienhardt's(i96i:I49) discussionofDinka
relationsto extemal"Powers":
The Dinka have no conceptionwhichat all closelycorre-
spondsto ourpopularmodemconceptionofthe"mind"
as mediatingand,as it were,storingup experiencesofthe
self.Thereis forthemno suchinteriorentityto appear,
on reflection,to standbetweentheexperiencing selfat
anygivenmomentand whatis or has beenan exterior in-
fluenceupon theself.So it seemsthatwhatwe should
call in some cases the "memories"ofexperiences, and re-
gardtherefore as in some way interiorto theremember-
ingpersonand modifiedin theireffect uponhimby that
appearto Dinka as exteriorly
interiority, actinguponhim,
as eventhe sourcesfromwhichtheyderived.
Fromthisit also seems to follow(pp. i55-56) that
it is not a simplematterto dividetheDinka believer,for
analyticpurposes,fromwhathe believesin, and to de-
ject" ofhis belief.The Dinka themselvesimplythiswhen
theyspeakofthePowersas being"in men'sbodies,"but
also "in thesky"or in otherparticular
places.Their
worldis not fortheman objectofstudy,butan active
subject.
Lienhardt'sexplicationthusinvertstheusual dogmasofpar-
ticipation-andthusoffers a moreinteresting
wayof"saving
theappearances"
(pp.i6i-62; cf.Barfield
I988): "To useour
Europeantypeofdistinctionbetweennatureand Mind,it is
ratherthatsome men on occasionincorporate in themselves
theultra-human forcesofNature,thanthattheyendowNa-
turewithqualitiestheyrecognizein themselvesand in hu-
mankind."Withoutthemediationofmind,subjectiveexperi-
ences of empiricalintuitionswill appear as attributesor
"powers"of the perceivedobjects.Hence forDinka the dis-
ease catches the man. The philosophyis a kind of anti-
Berkeleyism,theeliminationofthesensingmindleavingthe
extemalobjectas theessenceofall "ideas."
On the possibilityof nonexperiential
beings,entities,and
powers,see also thenextbox,"The RealityoftheTranscen-
dent."

tain praxis theoryof knowledge, appropriateto this- de Condillac,stillknewtheterrible

reasonswhy.Before
worldlythings."For the Christiantheologians,"Gure- theFall,he said (I973:IO9_Io),52
vich writes, "labour was above all educational"
The soul couldabsolutely,
withouttheaid ofthe
(i985:26i). He quotesOrigen:"'God createdman as a senses,acquireknowledge.BeforetheSin,it was in
being who needs work in orderthat he may fullyexer- a systemaltogetherdifferent fromthat in which it is
cisehiscognitive powers'" (cf.GlackenI 967: I 8 5).51 For foundtoday.Free of ignoranceand concupiscence,it
a long time, however,this was hardlythe best way of commandedits senses, suspendedtheiraction and
knowing,and the thingsthus knowablewere ofno great
modifiedthem at will. It had ideas anteriorto the
value. "Scorn all thatis visible" was the greatmedieval
use of the senses. But thingschangedmuch by its
injunction.As comparedwith the experienceofthe con-
disobedience.God took fromit all that empire:it be-
temptibleobjects of a contemptibleworld, the higher came as dependenton the senses as if these were the
neo-Platoniccontemplationofintelligibleentitiescould physicalcause of that of which theydid but occa-
be said to continuein such guises as revelationand the sion; and therewere forit only the knowledgesthat
medieval symbology,togetherwith the invidious con- the senses transmittedto it.... Thus when I shall
trastsof ideal formand empiricaltoken.But even when saythatwe have no ideas thathavenotcometo us
the embeddedempiricistphilosophycame out fromun- throughthe senses, it must be rememberedthatI
der in the 17th and i8th centuries,most of its prac- speak only of the state we are in since the Sin.
titionersstill understoodits limitations,whichwere the
limitationsof human finitude.Some, such as the Abbe As if the senses were "the physical cause of that of
which they did but occasion." Here was the famous
metaphysicalevil-in many respects the worst afflic-
5 I. On the praxistheory, "For,to tion of all. Hobbes, Locke, Hume, and the Frenchlu-
Boas also quotesPhilo-Judaeus:
tell the truth,God has appointedtoil formen as thesourceofall
good and all virtue,apartfromwhichyou will findnothingfair mieres were fullyaware that if knowledge came from
establishedforthehumanrace.Forjustas withoutlightitis impos-
sible to see, since neithercolorsnoreyesare sufficient forvisual 52. In a compendium famousin its dayon TheFall ofMan; or The
perception-for naturecreatedlightas a linkforthetwobywhich Corruption ofNature(i6i6), GodfreyGoodmanhadalreadyargued
theeyeis connectedandjoinedto color,butin darknessthepower that "any skill that todayrequiresstudyand labor to acquire,
ofeach is useless-in thesamewayalso theeyeofthesoul cannot 'must'have been possessedby man,innately,beforetheFall,and
apprehend virtuouspracticesunlessit makesuse oftoil,likelight, requiredno laboriousprocessof leaming.Goodman'sinstances
as a co-worker"(Boas I948:i2). The currentdualismof the sym- rangefromabilitieslike swimmingto intellectualactivityandhu-
bolic and thepragmaticwould thusbe a development on thetwo man communication in general.... Today'we (thatis, oursouls)
modes of medievalknowledge,thatis, by signsof thingsand by doe not receivethe thingsthemselves,but the speciesor images
workon things.However,thesearenotdissociatedin otherepiste- ofthings'(P.46). 'Wereit not,thatmanis falne,'we shouldbe able
mologies,as seemsto be impliedbyTambiah(i990), following the to reasoninfallibly;the soul dealing'directly'with 'intelligible
venerableWestemintellectualtradition (see SahlinsI995 :chap.4). objects' themselves" (Hepburn I973:507).
 SAHLINS
the senses alone, we could neverknow the trueessences
of things. "We see appearances only . . . we are in a
dream" (Voltaire).Some even triedto wake us fromthe
dogmatic slumber during which we dreamed that in
seeing the appearanceswe were lookinginto things-in-
themselves.But most Westernphilosophers-including
most of the academy-reconciled themselvesto a con-
cept of "reality" that remainedburdenedwith the con-
joined imperfectionsof the postlapsurianepistemology,
ignorance and labor. "Reality" is the sensoryimpres-
sions we could obtain fromthe world in the course of
practicalengagementwith it. What thereis is the meta-
physicalcomplementof our bodilypleasuresand pains.
Even Descartes, forall his distrustof experience,could
be confidentof judgmentsbased on perceptionsof plea-
sure and pain, forGod would not have deceived us in
this but on the contrarygave us a decent sensorygrip
on the worldforthe sake of our own preservation(Sixth
Meditation)."As to my self,"said Locke, "I thinkGOD
has given me assurance enough of the Existence of
Thingswithoutme; since by theirdifferent application,
I can producein my selfboth Pleasure and Pain, which
is one great concernmentof my presentstate" (Essay
concerningHuman Understanding4.11.3). And to the
skepticswho would not trusttheirsenses but affirmed
that our whole existence is just the "deluding appear-
ancesofa longDream,"Lockehadthisanswer(4.1 .8):
That the certaintyof Things existingin rerumNa-
tura,when we have the testimonyof our Senses for
it, is not only as great as our framecan attain to,
but as our Conditionneeds. For our Faculties being
suited not to the full extentof Being,nor to a per-
fect,clear, comprehensiveKnowledgeof thingsfree
of all doubt and scruple; but to the preservationof
us, in whom theyare; and accommodatedto the use
of Life; theyserve to our purposewell enough,if
theywill but give us certainnotice of those Things,
which are convenientor inconvenientto us. For he
that sees a Candle burning,and hath experimented
the forceof its Flame, by puttinghis Fingerin it,
will littledoubt,thatthis is somethingexistingwith-
out him.... So that this Evidence is as great,as we
can desire,being as certainto us, as our Pleasure or
Pain; i.e. Happiness or Misery;beyondwhich we
have no concernment,eitherof Knowingor Being.
Such an assurance of the Existenceof Things with-
out us, is sufficientto directus in attainingthe
Good and avoidingthe Evil, which is caused by
them,which is the importantconcernmentwe have
of being made acquainted with them.
Locke, it is said, repudiatedthe doctrineof Original
Sin (Cranston I985:389). Yet his own sensationalist
epistemology,yieldingfarfromperfectknowledgeand
constitutingjudgmentsof thingsthroughthe pleasures
and pains theyevoke-such beingall thatGod intended
for us in "the days of this our pilgrimage" (Essay
4.14.2)-this epistemological doctrine surely (pan-)
glosses the Adamic condition as a positive philosophy
of empiricism.
ofWesternCosmology| 413
TheNativeAnthropology
THE REALITY OF THE TRANSCENDENT
Kantwarnedaboutspeculating in theabsenceofsensibleintu-
itions.Insofaras thoughtinvolvesthea prioricategories-of
space, time,substance,quantity,etc.-that constituteintu-
itions as objectiveempiricaljudgments,the extensionof
thoughtto transcendental realmsor objectsentailsno meta-
physicalpassageintoa domainofunreality. On thecontrary,
transcendental objectswill have all thequalitiesofobjective
experiencesor empiricalintuitions-exceptthatofempirical
intuition.Hence "religion"or beliefin unperceived "spirits"
and also its nonexistencein manysocieties:thefrequent eth-
nographic reportofthenon-pertinence oftheWestemdistinc-
tion betweenthe "natural"and the "supematural."It also
followsthatin theeventofa contradiction betweentheem-
piricalandtranscendental, therealityofthelatteris privileged
overtheperceptible oftheformer.
attributes The nonsensory
is the morereal-as Hallowell (i960:34) relatedof Ojibway
people:
An informanttoldme thatmanyyearsbeforehe was sitting
in a tentone summeraftemoonduringa storm,together
withan oldmanandhiswife.Therewas oneclapofthunder
afteranother.Suddenlytheold man tumedto his wifeand
asked,"Did youhearwhatwas said?" "No," shereplied,"I
didn't catch it."
Hallowell goes on to note that"outwardappearanceis only
an incidentalattributeofbeing."As he and otherstudentsof
Ojibwayhave discovered, thenonempiricalaspectsofobjects
and persons-includingin the latter categoryother-than-
humanpersonssuch as theThunderbird-makeup a greater
andmorepowerful realitythanmeresensoryimpressions. In-
deed, a fundamentaldogma of Ojibway epistemology, ac-
cordingto MaryBlack(I977:I0I), is "theunreliability
ofout-
ward appearanceor the 'face-value'interpretationof sense
data."
Hobbesand manyothersbeforeLockehad thesame
theoryofthemediationofobjectivity byutility,as did
the Frenchphilosophesand manyothersin Locke's
wake.53Buthowmanysagesthenorsincehaverealized
theculturalenormitiesoftheproposition thatwe know
thepropertiesoftheworldin virtueofhow theyaffect
oursatisfactions?
"Jugerestsentir,"Helvetiussaid.The
arbiterof whatthereis, the determinant and value of
significantempiricalproperties,
is a solipsisticproject
ofadaptationto nature.54
Hencethelong-standing equa-
tionin thenativeWesternwisdombetween"objectiv-
53. Funkensteincalls thisan "ergeticsenseofknowing,"knowing
by doing,and associatesit withVico, Descartes,and Hobbes,by
contrastto thecontemplative ideal ofmanymedievaland ancient
philosophers (i986:290-93). For Berman, "the equation of truth
withutility,thepurposivemanipulationoftheenvironment, is the
Cartesianor technologicalparadigm"(I98I:46). See also Schmidt
(I97I;IIo-II) and Lenin(I972).
54. Nidditch writes: "The empiricism of Hobbes (I588-I679),
Locke (i632-I704), andHume (I7II-76) shouldbe seenas a com-
poundof severaldoctrines, not all of themexclusivelyepistemo-
logical.Amongtheseare,as a firstapproximation:thatournatural
powersoperatein a social and physicalenvironment thatwe seek
to adapt ourselvesto, and thatthe variablefunctioningof these
powers in that environment is the agency by which we get and
retainall ourideas,knowledge,andhabitsofmind;thatourcapaci-
ties of conscioussense-experience
and of feelingpleasureor dis-
comfort are primarynaturalpowers. . ." (I975:viii).
4141 CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY Volume 37, Number 3, JuneI996
"THEY
When Jesuitmissionariesinstalledthemselvesin southern
China in I583, theyopeneda culturaldebateofcosmological
proportions with the Confucianliterati.As JacquesGernet
observesin his fascinatingaccount of the confrontation,
Chinaand theChristianImpact(1i985), theWesternandEast-
ernintellectualsdiffered pointsbutfun-
notjuston particular
damentally-ontologically. The missionaries"foundthem-
selves in the presenceof a different kind of humanity"
(i985:247). Common ground could perhaps be found in the
resemblances
superficial
relatively betweentheChristianGod
and the Chinese conceptof Heaven. But the resemblances
would end abruptlywiththe further Westerndistinction be-
tweenthe Creatorand the creature.Nor could the scholar-
gentryrecognizethewholesuiteofclassicalWesterndualisms
complementary to this basic ontologicaldivide: between
mindandbody,selfandworld,spiritualandmaterial,rational
and sensible."'The mode ofaction[theDao] ofHeavenand
Earthcan be summedup in a word,'" said HuangZhou. "'It
is not double' " (i985:205).
Mateo Ricciunderstoodwell thatthisChinesesenseofthe
unity-indeed,consubstantiality-of Heaven,Earth,and the
io,ooo creaturesrenderedthe doctrinesof originalsin and
inherenthumanevil impossible.In The TrueMeaningofthe
Masterof Heaven, Ricci introduceda Chinese scholarwho
claimedthattheMasterofHeavenis "withineverybeingand
is one withit. This encouragesmen not to behavebadlyso
as not to tarnish their basic goodness; . . . not to harm others
so as not to insult the Sovereignon High,who is within
them."But this blasphemyinfuriates the Westernliteratus,
who declaresit theworstmistakehe everheard."To saythat
thecreaturesandtheircreatorareidenticalis an arrogantdec-
larationof the devil Lucifer"(GernetI985:I54). Fromsuch
Jesuittextsthe Chinese concludedthatthe Westerners de-
testedlife,an attitudethathad to be theveryoppositeofthe
truewisdomthemissionaries claimedtobe expounding. "The
Barbarians say: 'I believe in eternal life.' . . . It is easy to see
fromthisthattheyhaveunderstood absolutelynothingabout
the meaningoftheword'life'" (p. 2o8, citingXu Dashou).
WhatRicci did understandabout humanlifeappearsin a
long disquisitionin The True Meaning of the Master of
Heaven on thepainsofearthlyexistence.Suchprofound mis-
erywas proofthatman was an exile in thisworld."'Who is
evercontentedwithwhat he has and does not seek outside
formore?Ifmenweregivenall therichesand all thepeoples
of the world,theywould stillnot be satisfied.The fools!' "
(GemetI985:I70). Tongrong, a Buddhistmonk,observedthat
theJesuitshad no rightto thuscensuremenforbeingdiscon-
tentwiththeirlot, since accordingto the missionariessuch
was theirGod's will. And ofcoursevariousChinesescholars
cameup withnumerouspermutations on thequestion-long
rehearsedin theWestas well-how a God so goodcouldhave
let Adam and Eve fall into sin. He should have made the
ancestorsof humanity"supremelywise and quite excep-
tional,"wrotetheauthorofHumbleRemarkson theDistinc-
tionbetweentheDoctrines."Whyweretheindividualscalled
ity" and "rationality"(or,it may be, "practicalrational-
ity"). The objectivityof objects-their relevant per-
ceptible features-is factoredby corporealwell-being.
It is an objectivityfor us, an objectivityof our happi-
ness.
Justso, the initial stagesof the Freudian"realityprin-
ciple," involvingthe separationofego fromexternalob-
DETEST LIFE"
YadangandEwa suchbadpeople?"(p.232). Xu Dashou asked,
if theMasterofHeavenwentto so muchtroubleto produce
his firstheirsandthenincitedthemto becomethefirstcrimi-
nals, "Is that behaviourworthyof a being so divine and
holy?" (p. 236). And amongthe manywho commentedon
thedisproportion betweenthefirstcrimeandthepunishment,
FabianFucanwrotein i620 fromJapan(p. 236):
A holylaw forbade AdamandEve toeat themacan [a Portu-
guese termused in Japanto denotea kindofpersimmon].
It is reallytheheightofabsurdity! It is like settingout to
foolan old womanor gulla child.A persimmon couldnot
possiblybe a director indirectcause in an affairas impor-
tantas attainingthehighestHeavenorelse fallingintohell.
In all the fiveprohibitions
and ten laws ofBuddhaand in
all theBuddhistcodesofdiscipline,I haveneverfoundany
preceptthatwarnedagainstpersimmons.
Butit was nottheBuddhistclassicsso muchas thecontinu-
ing Chinese traditionof the substantialidentityof Heaven
andEarththatmovedtheliteratito rejecttheChristianpessi-
mism.This identitywas the basis of the contrastive Confu-
cian optimismto the effectthatthe seed ofgoodis in every
man,so thatwiththepropernurture-asbythemediationof
theimperialvirtueor theexampleofthesage-people could
reproducein theirownbeingthebeneficent andpeacefulorder
of Heaven. Tranquilityand goodnessbeingthe objectiveof
earthlylife,even as souls were annihilatedafterdeath,the
doctrinewas doublyopposedto the Christiandogma:lifeas
becominggood ratherthan bound to evil. So, as Gernetre-
counts(P. I46), it was indispensablefortheJesuitsto getthe
Chineseto understand thattherationalsoul
was ofa substanceradicallydifferent fromthatofthebody
and inanimatethings,and thatthissoul was theexclusive
privilegeofmankind.Suchideaswerein contradiction with
theirentirephilosophy.Forthe Chinese,theuniversewas
composedofone singlesubstance,so everything in it was
a matterof combinationsand degrees,the realitiesof the
worldbeing-to use ourterminology-allmoreorless spir-
itual or material.The spiritof man was held to be more
subtleand sharpthanthatofanimalsbutnot different in
substance.Ricci had pouredscornon such a mad idea. He
writes:"If I were to tell foreignkingdomsthatin China
thereare educatedmenwho say thatanimals,plants,met-
als and stonesare all intelligentand of the same kindas
man,theywouldbe dumbfounded."
In the end, the Jesuitsconcludedthat the Chinese were
materialists,sincetheyconsidered"brutematter"and Heaven
to be all ofthesame substance.The Chineseliteratifortheir
partconcludedthattheJesuitswerematerialists, "sincethey
deprivedthe universeof its invisibleforms,turningit into
brutematterdirectedfromoutsideand lackingthespontane-
ous intelligencethatall creaturesdisplay"(p. 203).
jects (as fromthe mother'sbreast)by differentiatedsen-
sations of pleasure and pain, make up a psychoanalytic
versionof the Hobbesian epistemology.Displacing the
sensoryeconomics of objectivityfromthe state of na-
tureto the state ofinfancy,certainpassages of Civiliza-
tion and Its Discontents seem to rehearsethe opening
chaptersof Leviathan-leading up to the same antithe-
 SAHLINS
sis betweenthis species ofindividualrationalityand the
culturalorder.55Taking the same psychoanalyticprem-
ises to a providentialanthropologicalconclusion,Geza
Roheim came up with what seems in manyrespectsthe
quintessentialWesterncharacterizationofculture:"the
sum total of effortswhich we make to avoid beingun-
and Kluckhohn
happy"(Kroeber n.d.[I952]:209).
In sum, the historical-cum-logicalpresuppositionof
empiricalunderstandingis the lapsed Adam,the limited
and suffering individualin need of the object,who thus
comes to know it sensually,by the obstacles or advan-
tages it offersto his happiness. Perceptionand satisfac-
tion are recurrentaspects of an embodied theoryof
knowledgethatseems the appropriatephilosophicalcor-
ollary of the transferof enchantmentfromnature to
capital.
The Sadness of Sweetness
Man harbors too much horror;the earthhas been a
lunatic asylum fortoo long.
NIETZSCHE, The GenealogyofMorals
The body,then,has had to bear the structuresofsociety
in a particularlyintense and notablypainfulway. This
is the point I wanted to make about the archaeologyof
Sweetness and Power. At a certainperiod in Western
historyall of human society and behavior came to be
perceived,popularlyas well as philosophically,through
themastertropeofindividualpleasuresand pains. Again
as in Leviathan, everythingcame down to the simple
and sad idea of life as movementtowardsthose things
thatmade one feelgood and away fromthosethingsthat
hurt.I say "sad" because anyonewho defineslifeas the
pursuitof happinesshas to be chronicallyunhappy.For
too long now this has been the prevailingsentiment-
that " 'tis uneasiness which is the chiefif not the only
spurto Humane Industryand Action,"preciselynot the
pleasure we take in thingsbut the pain we feel in their
absence (Locke Essay 2.2o.6).
In a recentbook called Sin and Fear, JeanDelumeau
55. An infant,wroteFreud,"mustbe verystrongly impressedby
thefactthatsome sourcesofexcitation, whichhe will laterrecog-
nize as his own bodilyorgans,can providehim with sensations
at any moment,whereasothersourcesevade him fromtime to
time-among them what he desiresmost of all, his mother's
breast-and onlyreappearas a resultofhis screaming forhelp.In
this way thereis forthe firsttime set over againstthe ego an
'object,'in theformofsomething whichexists'outside'andwhich
is onlyforcedto appearbya specialaction.A further incentiveto
a disengagement oftheego fromthegeneralmass ofsensations-
thatis, to the recognitionof an 'outside,'an externalworld-is
providedby thefrequent, manifoldand unavoidablesensationsof
pain and unpleasurethe removaland avoidanceof whichis en-
joinedbythepleasureprinciple, in theexerciseofits unrestricted Perhaps we can understandnow why Mintz's work on
domination. A tendencyarisesto separatefromtheegoeverything sweetnesshas producedsuch a concentratedrushof in-
thatcan becomea sourceof such unpleasure,to throwit outside tellectual energy,especially among anthropologists.
and to createa purepleasure-ego whichis confronted bya strange
and threateningoutside.... In this way one makes the firststep
oftherealityprinciplewhichis to domi- mental cultural themes in Westernhistory,it reveals
towardstheintroduction
nate development" (I96I:I4).
of WesternCosmologyI 4I5
TheNativeAnthropology
providesan extensivehistoricalcatalogue of the miser-
ies of the human conditionin which European authors
have wallowed, especially since the I3th century.The
dolors Delumeau recounts are too many and varied to
repeathere.But somehow the observationof an obscure
I 7th-centurymoralist,PierreNicole, seems best to sum
up this history of sadness: "Jesus," he said, "never
laughed" (Delumeau I990:296). Jesus never laughed.
Soon enoughprovingthateveryonewas unhappywould
become one ofthe majorsatisfactionsofFrenchphiloso-
phy. Pain, said d'Alembert(i963:IO-II), is "our most
lively sentiment;pleasure hardlyever sufficesto make
up to us forit":
In vain did some philosophersassert,while sup-
pressingtheirgroansin the midst of sufferings, that
pain was not an evil at all.... All of them would
have known our naturebetterif theyhad been con-
tent to limit theirdefinitionof the sovereigngood of
the presentlife to the exemptionfrompain, and to
agree that,withouthopingto arriveat this sovereign
good, we are allowed only to approachit more or
less, in proportionto our vigilance and the precau-
tions we take.
This sad thoughtwas penned about the time when,
as Sid Mintz has taught,Westernpeople were learning
to make the IndustrialRevolution tolerableby getting
hooked on the "softdrugs"ofsugarand tea, coffee,choc-
olate, and tobacco (Mintz i985). None of the beverages
in this list were sweetenedin theircountriesof origin.
All, however,were taken with sugarin Europefromthe
time of theirintroduction.It is as if the sweetenedbit-
ternessof the tea could produce in the registerof the
senses the kind of moral change people wished forin
their earthly existence-"the days of this our pil-
grimage."
Yet as Mintz (I993:269) has remarkedof the meliora-
tive consumptionthat continues into moderntimes-
"retailtherapy,"as it is sometimescalled-all this does
not entirelydispel our guilt (or should we not say our
originalsin?):
It is not difficultto contendthat contemporary
Americansociety,even while consumingmaterial
goods at an unprecedentedpace, remainsnoticeably
preoccupiedby the moral arena in which sin and vir-
tue are inseparable,each findingits realityin the
presenceof the other.We consume; but we are not,
all of us and always, by any means altogetherhappy
about it.... The feelingthat in self-deniallies vir-
tue, and in consumptionsin, is still powerfully
present.
At
the same time thatit epitomizesand synthesizesfunda-
the historicalrelativityof our native anthropology.
4I6 i CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY Volume 37, Number 3, JuneI996
Comments
THOMAS BARGATZKY
Departmentof Ethnology,Universityof Bayreuth,
D-9544o Bayreuth,Germany.II XII 95
Westernscience is Westernscience,imbuedwithnative
Westernideas which can hamperthe understandingof
its object. In a book on the concept of nature and its
history,the German philosopher Georg Picht (I989)
shows,forexample,thatnaturalscience is foundedupon
threebasic premises:the idea of the absolute epistemo-
logical priorityofthe subject(Descartes),theidea ofmo-
tionless identityor being (Parmenides),and the idea of
the indispensabilityof conceptual thinking(Aristotle).
Accordingto Immanuel Kant,these principlesare abso-
lute and timeless. Picht,however,shows that theyare
a productof Europeanhistory.Should we decide to call
them into question, modern science would lose the
groundunderits feet(Bargatzkyi995).
Picht draws our attentionto the ontologicalpremises
on which Westernscience in generalhas been founded.
In the same vein, Sahlins points to certain Judeo-
Christianpremises which inspire "native Westernan-
thropology"and bedevil our understanding ofotherpeo-
ples. He deservespraise forhis couragein remindingus
that anthropology,too, is firstand foremosta Western
enterprise-a fact which tends to be repressedtoday,
when the political-correctness craze is paralyzinga dis-
cipline which has not yet recoveredfromthe vertigoof
postmodernDadaism.
As Sahlins shows, the human sciences since the Age
ofEnlightenment have triedin vain to exorcisetheology.
Our "native Westernanthropology"is so imbued with
basic WesternJudeo-Christian ideas thatthe attemptto
ridit of them is tantamountto abolishinganthropology
itself. Nevertheless, the practitionersof a discipline
most ofwhom are said to be eitheratheistsor agnostics
need not despair.As the sayinggoes, 'If you can't fight
them,join them." The factthatJudeo-Christian notions
inhabitacademic anthropologyor the social sciences in
generaldoes not in itselfrenderinvalid everything that
has been built upon that foundation,as Sahlins himself
seems to suggestin the section titled"The Anthropol-
ogy of Power": "Why,then,do we have this oppressive
sentimentof society as a system of power and con-
straint,counterposedto our inner desires and secret
thoughts?Given that biologicallywe are human beings
only in potentia . . . societymightbe betterconceived
as a means of empoweringpeople ratherthan subduing
them."
This is exactly the point of view elaboratedby the
German sociologist Arnold Gehlen (I940, I956, I957)
since the I940S in a series of influentialbooks. Gehlen
proceeds fromthe biological fact that we are humans
onlyin potentia and createsan affirmative theoryofin-
stitutionswhich conceivesthe family,society,the state,
and religionas institutionsempoweringpeople, giving
themdignity,ratherthansubduingthem.Paradoxically,
the impact of Gehlen's "enormouslyimportant"theory
of institutions has been confined to the German-
speakingcountries,probablybecause it is closely linked
with an attack on the "Enlightenment"thinkingwhich
has dominatedsocial thoughtin much of the English-
speakingworld(Dunlop1994:367). Sincethe 1970S, for
example,the NorthAmericanintelligentsiahas adopted
Gehlen's antagonist,JurgenHabermas,as one of its he-
roes-the proponentof a philosophyof emancipation
from"oppressive"traditionalinstitutions!This circum-
stance is relatedto the state of affairsthat Sahlins deals
with,and I will returnto it later.
Sahlins shows how the Judeo-Christian traditionof
the absolute perfection of God and the radical
wickedness of man became transmuted,via St. Au-
gustineand Adam Smith,into the modem "anthropol-
ogyof Providence"which professesfaithin a beneficial,
self-regulatingsocial orderthat mitigatesthe defectsof
human finitude,thus realizinga "greaterharmony"in
spite of any human knowledge,will, or reason. I would
like to add onlythatin whatRogerKessing(I974) has
labeled "cultural adaptationist" culture theories Sah-
lins's "Invisible Hand" appears disguised as an all-
embracingecosystem(Bargatzkyi984).
A scholar who dares to deal with importanttopics of
such dimensionswithinthe space assignedto an article
should not be subjectedto pedanticcriticismforhaving
failed to be more comprehensivehere or there.Sahlins
himselfadmits to havinggiveninsufficient attentionto
alternative traditions of the general Judeo-Christian
worldview.Alas, because of this neglect,his argument
falls shorton one crucial point. Like many beforehim,
Sahlins retells the tale that the Judeo-Christiantradi-
tion, insistingupon an absolute gap between God and
His creation,is responsibleforthe desecrationofnature,
renderingit merely an object for human exploitation
which reached its climax under capitalism. This aca-
demicallyfashionabletheoryis, however,at best a his-
toricalhalf-truth(Dubois I974). Erosion,the destruction
of plant and animal species, excessive exploitationof
naturalresources,deforestation, and man-madeecologi-
cal disasters have occurred at all times and all over
the world and are not peculiar to the Judeo-Christian
tradition(cf.BargatzkyI986:56-57, I39-40; Bennett
I976:78 n. II, I34). In addition, the Judeo-Christian idea
ofman as an imperfectcreaturedoes not necessarilylead
to the disenchantmentof natureand the devaluationof
the body, which is, afterall, God's temple. There is a
long traditionof love forlife and nature,rangingfrom
Psalm I04 to the Franciscanreverenceforand the Bene-
dictine stewardshipof nature. What is more, the love
between God and His human creatureshas been ex-
pressed in erotic imageryfromthe Song of Solomon
throughAlanus ab Insulis to Hildegardof Bingen and
Donatello, to list but a few examples. St. Augustine's
teachingsrepresentbut one of the many variantideas
createdduringthe more than 3,000 yearsof a multicul-
turallyimpregnatedJudeo-Christian history.The ques-
tionwe have to faceup to is this:Whyhas thisparticular
strandof theological thoughtgained such prominence
 SAHLINS
in the past 500 years?Lack of space preventsme from
being more explicit,but I suggestthat capitalism has
createdthe intellectualenvironmentsuitableforthe ef-
florescenceof a doctrine which celebratedindividual
need and greedas the ultimate sources of social virtue.
Christianity,then,did not createcapitalism,but capital-
ism has promoteda version of4Christianity adapted to
its needs.
At present,however,capitalism has no more use for
Christianity.It is much betterservedby enlightenedand
well-meaning intellectuals who are devoted to un-
dermining,throughpermanent"cultural critique,"the
veryinstitutionsin our societieswhich standin theway
ofthe finalexpansionofan unrestrainedcapitalism.Our
consumptionof sugarwill increase in the future,I dare
say.
NURIT BIRD-DAVID
Departmentof Sociologyand Anthropology,
Universityof Haifa, Haifa, Israel. i9 XII 95
Too humbly,Sahlins introduceshis excellent paper as
the workofa tourist,but it providesan orientationmap
forall ofus wishingto tourthatlittle-visited land,West-
ern cosmology.Since anthropologicalaccounts of other
cultureshave been so influencedby thiscosmology,stu-
dentsembarkingon any anthropologicalprogramwould
do well to familiarizethemselveswith it first.
This "map," however,leaves out an importantdetail:
the unusual alterityof the Westernworld (see Fabian
i983). Sahlins touches on this issue in his section on
"the anthropologyof reality,"but it would have needed
to be furtherelaboratedto make the point.It is too sim-
plistic-and itselftypicalof Westernalterity-to char-
acterize indigenous "reality" as simply the reversalof
our own: a world not of "objects" but "subjects" (be
these gods, incarnate spirits, or nonhuman persons).
Such a characterizationuniversalizes our own concep-
tual opposition-in "finding"it reversedin other cul-
tures-rather than pinpointingits uniqueness.
Sahlins does not trace the historyof Westernalterity
back to the mythical, biblical roots of the Judeo-
Christiantraditionas he acutelydoes forotherWestern
cosmological"monuments,"thoughit can be suggested
that Westernalterityis authorizedby Genesis. Genesis
providestwo versionsof man's creation.In the firstone
(Genesis I), God createdman and woman,togetherwith
otheranimals, on the last day of Creation.In the second
version (Genesis 2), the basis of the Fall's story,how-
ever,God createdAdam (man),plantedforhim a garden,
and,forAdam not to be alone (i 8), created,further,birds
and animals (i9). Adam, however,named the latter;he
classifiedratherthan socialized with them, separating
them fromhimselfand fromeach other(20). God then
createdEve fromAdam's own fleshand bones-that is,
from Adam's own essence. Adam knew (yadaa) her,
which in the biblical sense of the word means that he
sexually relatedto her,throughthe body. This is about
separatingbeings into essential categoriesratherthan
ofWesternCosmologyI 4I7
TheNativeAnthropology
sociallyrelatingto them.This motifreappearsin further
biblical stories,notably the Tower of Babel. Thus, as
Sahlins points out, Adam "proved himselfthe world's
first. . . philosopher"but a philosopherof a particular
kind: the firstone to deny what JohannesFabian has
called "coevalness." In many othercosmologies,if not
in all, the accent is put, rather,on social relationships
(cf.Stratherni988).
This missing detail supportsthe centerpieceof Sah-
lins's thesis: a Western-specific epistemologyaccording
to which knowledgeis best gainedthroughsensationsof
pleasure and pain. In a worldseen as made of separated,
disconnectedmembers,one learns about the othernot
throughcommunicationbut ratherthroughimpressions
on one's own disconnected self, one's own mind and
body. An "anthropologyof alterity"would add to but
not alter the gist of Sahlins's thesis.
JOHN CLAMMER
Departmentof Comparative Culture,Sophia
University,4 Yonban-cho,Chiyoda-ku,Tokyo I02,
Japan.I 4 XII 9 5
A numberof factorshave broughtabout somethingof a
deepening crisis in anthropology,and, interestingly,
these factorsare not at all the same ones that exercised
us a generationago: the disappearance of traditional
"tribal" societies, debates about the relationshipof an-
thropologyto sociologyand, indeed,to otherdisciplines
such as linguistics(which,at a time when Levi-Strauss
was considereda forceto be reckonedwith, was still
seen as havingmade theoreticaladvances well ahead of
those achieved by anthropology),and the feelingof a
distinctlack ofwelcome on the partofthe govemments
of developingcountrieswhich once providedthe envi-
ronmentformost anthropologicalfieldwork.New chal-
lengeshave arisen,largelyunforeseenat thattime:femi-
nism and its sometimes radical challenges to the
epistemologyof traditionalanthropology,postcolonial
discourses,deepeningecological and economic crisesin
many parts of the world, and the rise of non-Westem
forms of religious fundamentalism,which, whatever
theirpolitical implications,pose substantialontological
alternativesto the hegemonyof Westernscientism.
The last time I heard Sahlins speak was at the decen-
nial conferenceofthe Association of Social Anthropolo-
gistsat Oxfordin I993. That conferencewas interesting
to me because of the pervasiveair of uncertaintyin the
plenarysessions where issues of the nature and future
of the disciplinewere debated combinedwith a dogged
adherenceto traditionin manyof the workingsessions.
This was an interestingcontradictionin itselfand one
made more fascinatingby the fact that the solutions
proffered in the plenaries were mostly of the orderof
encouragingan interestin cybemetics,in postmodem-
ism, or in the expression of traditionalquestions in
hyper-politically-correct language. What was not then
and is still rarelyaddressedsystematicallyfromwithin
the discipline is the epistemology and ontology of
4I8 | CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY Volume 37, Number 3, fune I996
"Western"social thought,which I assume in this con-
text means mainstream academic anthropologyespe-
cially as taughtand practisedin the main universityde-
partmentsof North America and Europe. It is precisely
this problemthat Sahlins refreshingly addressesin this
essay, and while I have doubts about subsuming so
much under"Western"(a good deal ofFrenchanthropol-
ogy,forinstance,takes a somewhat different epistemo-
logical tack fromthat of much NorthAmericanor Brit-
ish anthropology, which is presumablywhy much of it
is not read or taken seriouslyin those places), it is a
veryuseful,indeed,essential exerciseto standback and
examine the deep-levelassumptionswhich have formed
at least major partsof the contemporarydiscipline.
While sociologistshave experiencedthe emergenceof
the "sociology of sociology," anthropologistshave but
rarelyapplied theirown techniquesof culturalanalysis
to themselves. Furthermore,they have rarely (with
some major exceptions,such as Louis Dumont) seen as
significantin theirown societies those featuresof life
which theyview as fundamentally influencingsocial or-
ganizationand ontologicalconceptionsin others,in this
case specificallyreligion,which Sahlins places at the
centerofhis analysis.The deep influenceofChristianity
not onlyin creatingsocial institutionswhich have dom-
inatedhistoricallifein the West but,even moresignifi-
cant,in creatingcosmologicalconceptionsincludingim-
ages of the self,a model of the relationshipbetweenself
and nature,and a theoryof the inevitabilityofmiscom-
munication in human interactionsand of the nonper-
fectabilityof human institutionshas profoundlyinflu-
enced the Westernpsyche.Talking of psyches,one can
hardlyimagineFreud,forinstance,despitehis own Jew-
ishness,appearingin a non-Christianmilieu. Indeed,his
ideas have provedsingularlyunattractivein culturalen-
vironmentsof a totallydifferent kind-in Japan,forin-
stance,wherealthoughhis workis perfectly well known
it is neitherpracticednor taken seriouslyexcept by a
tinyminority,usually those who have been exposed to
a Western/Christian environment.
Sahlins's essay seems to me to stand at an especially
interestinghistorical juncture the full implications of
which he does not seem to have workedout in thisenor-
mously rich and delightfullyentertainingpaper. As an
anthropologistof Western anthropologybut someone
who has never actually worked systematicallyon the
West,in manyways Sahlins situateshimselfwithinthe
very discourse that he is examining.But whereas Du-
mont envisions, at least implicitly,an alternativean-
thropologyderivingfromhis readingof Indian society,
Sahlins is not willinghere to take thatnextstep as even
Marx, with his own distinctivetheoryof the relation-
ship between ideologyand economics, was. While this
is a paper fartoo rich in detail to be adequatelydebated
in one briefcommentby a single commentator,this is
ultimatelythe question that Sahlins raises forme. Inso-
faras this critique of Westerncosmologycan be taken
as valid,wheredo we go fromhere?Is anthropology (and
presumablywith it a lot ofthe restofthe Westernintel-
lectual legacy) to be abandoned,or can these questions
be asked in new ways? The real issue in this essay is
the possibilityof transcendingthe Enlightenment.The
classical Western response to this is to start to talk
about postmodernism. Epistemologically, however,
most postmodernistthinkingis simplyan extensionof
modernistthinking.Are we trappedin languageand in
power(commonviews which,I am delightedto see, Sah-
lins criticizes)?
The answer,I believe,lies in the verycentralexplana-
toryelement in Sahlins's model-religion. If it is the
religiouscosmologyof Christianitythathas formedthe
epistemologiesof the West, then one would reasonably
suppose that even the most radical-seemingWesternal-
ternatives(postmodernism, poststructuralism, and their
immediatepredecessorsmodernism,marxism,structur-
alism, and psychoanalysis)derivefromthis basic source
and thence from one another: Althusser (remember
him?) fromMarx via structuralism,Lacan fromFreud,
and so on. Readingthis paper in Japan,however,makes
me thinkthatthe next step is the comparativedevelop-
ment of Sahlins's model. Christianityand to a greatex-
tentJudaismand Islam share a cosmology.Any anthro-
pology based on these will likewise have much in
common philosophically,and so too will economic sys-
tems derivingfromthem. Buddhism and Shinto,how-
ever,have radicallydifferent worldviews.While Shinto
is a formofvitalism-an approachwhich containsviews
quite antitheticalto Westernscience in its olderpositiv-
ist guise, among them the permeabilityof the boundary
between human and animal and the animate natureof
all the manifestationsof natureincludingsuch entities
as rocks.Buddhismis even moreradicalin its epistemo-
logical consequences. Fundamental questions such as
the identityof the self,the relationshipof the body to
the mind,the place of naturein the constitutionofhu-
man individualsand of society,and the natureof logic
and of science are thereaddressedin a way that allows
the formulationof an alternative cosmology. These
statementsshould not, of course, be taken as a call to
religiousconversion!Rather,they are intendedto sug-
gest that the way out is not to enlargethe prisonhouse
but to build a more spacious mansion next door, once
havingseen that the prisonwalls are an illusion. I hope
I am not misrepresenting him,but this,giventhe thrust
of Sahlins's argumentand the centralplace of religion
withinthe argument,seems to be the most outstanding
implicationof his provocativepiece.
JACQUES HAMEL
Departmentof Sociology,Universityof Montreal,CP
6I28 Succursale Centre-ville,Montreal,Quebec,
Canada H3 C 3J7.20 XI 95
"Is anthropologyindissolubly linked to the West, its
birthplace?" asks the French anthropologistGodelier
(i995). Continuingin this vein, Sahlins shows how an-
thropologygoes back to the cosmologyconstructedon
the basis ofthe sin committedby Adam when he agreed
to bite into the apple proffered by Eve. Man has ever
since had to atone forhis Fall ifhe is deservedlyto expe-
riencesatisfaction.This atonementto which human be-
 SAHLINS of WesternCosmologyI 4I9
TheNativeAnthropology

ings are henceforthconstraineddeterminestheiraction knowledge, the practical knowledge that actors call
on theirenvironment-nature,theirfellow human be- upon in theirimmediateactions on theirenvironment,
ings,and themselves-in the formof a cosmologywith theirsociety.Accordingto Giddens,thisknowledgepro-
a strongfocus on the utilitarian,a cosmologythat has duces ontological security.This refersto most human
become characteristicof Westernsocieties. beings' confidence in "the continuity of their self-
In an exceptionallybrilliant interpretation,Sahlins identityand in the constancyof the surroundingsocial
shows the developmentof such a cosmologyin Judeo- and material environments of action" (Giddens
Christianreligions,philosophy,and, in many respects, i990:92). We mightgo even fartherand posit that this
anthropology.As a sociologist,I leave it to the profes- knowledgeconstitutesa "theory,"a practicaltheoryin
sional anthropologists,philosophers,and historiansof the sense that it is on the basis of this theorythat all
ideas to assess the meaningand rigourofthisinterpreta- human beingscontroltheiractions on the environment,
tion.In the followingI insteadoffersome commentson society,and, indirectly,themselves.
the lessons I have drawnfromthis exegesis of utilitari- Anthropology, like sociology,moreover,is also a sum
anism, of which capitalism is the most currentexpres- of knowledgebut of anothertype.By definition,it has
sion. The capitalist economy in fact subscribesto this no practicalgoal: its ultimate aim is to show how this
utilitarianismto the point that it has provedto be the "practical theory"compriseshuman beings' actions on
culturepar excellence of such a worldview. theirenvironmentin orderto explain the latter.To do
In this neoliberal era forWesternsocieties it is first so, anthropologyis compelledto take note ofthis "prac-
of all interestingto note thatthe economyis also a cul- tical theory."It is in factby assessing its relativitythat
ture-it is groundedin a cosmologystructured in relation action can be explained in terms of anthropological
to the "environment"and, thus,being.We mighteven knowledge,which maintains that in Westernsocieties
speak of an ontologyof the economy. Such consider- this action is closely linked to a utilitariancultureor
ations conjureup an entirelydifferent meaningforeco- cosmology.
nomic constraints-market "necessities" which today This practical theory or knowledge is displayed
appearin these societies in formswhich are supposedly throughlanguage,the "mystery"of which anthropolo-
objectivebut neverthelessprove to have an appearance gistsmust penetrate,as Sahlins notes. It is by clarifying
necessaryto the functioningof capitalism.Lukacs sug- the contentof the language throughwhich meaningis
gests in this regardthat "these objective forms,which commonlyassignedto action thatthe action can be ex-
sproutjust as inevitablyfromthe soil of capitalism,all plained by knowledgewhich does not presentitselfin
be seen as ideas necessarilyheld by the agents of the the formof obvious fact.
capitalistsystemof production"(LukacsI97I:I3-I4). By showingtoday,in thisneoliberalera,thatthe capi-
In otherwords,these objectiveformsappear as a com- talist economy has been structuredby an entirelyrela-
mon meaning forpeople belongingto these societies. tive culture, anthropologyhas proven its great use-
They are a product,in Sahlins's expression,oftheir"na- fulness or utility-utility that in many ways runs
tive anthropology." counterto the cosmologyof Westem societies.
Anthropologyemerged in the wake of this culture,
and the way in which its goal and objectiveweredefined
was markedby this culture.Sahlins's expositionleaves KEIJI MAEGAWA
no doubt in this regard.But the historyof anthropology Instituteof Historyand Anthropology,Universityof
attests in a more general sense to methods capable of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305, Japan.5I XII 95
creatinga distance with respectto this cultureand, in-
deed, this utilitariancosmology.In fact,although the Mintz (i985) mainly exploredthe Westernside of the
goal of studyingotherculturesis specificallylinked to storyin modern world history,that produced by the
Western culture, anthropologyhas nonetheless at- West in relation to the rest of the world. Though his
temptedto distance itselffromthis culture by imple- approach is similar to that of the Annales school as a
menting methods designed for this purpose. These historyof totality,the difference is that Mintz seemed
methodshave enabled anthropologiststo conduct field to place the conjunctionof the West and the restin the
studiesfromwhich theyhave learneda greatdeal; they center of his analysis. Unlike the world-systemtheo-
have enabled them to recognize the relativityof their rists,however,in the courseofhis analysisofthe impor-
cultureand thus to considerit, in lightof this distance, tance of sugar,tea, and coffee,the Westerndelicacies in
as an object fromwhich theycould remaindetached. developingcapitalism in modernworld history,he did
Its methodologyhas therefore helpedanthropology de- not deal with these thingssimply as objects of an en-
tineits goal and its objectiveon anotherlevel than that forcedworldwidedivisionoflabor.Instead,he "daredto
of the appearance which society immediatelypresents take on capitalism as a culturaleconomy."
to its actors in the formof a utilitariancosmology.An- Sahlins's explorationamounts to a "reverseanthro-
thropologycan thus clearlyshow how society,nature, pology," an effort
whichRoyWagner (1975 :3 I), whoorigi-
and, in short, the environmentexist for their actors nally used such terms as "invention," "convention,"
Dnlywhen linked to a culture and, more broadly,to a and "objectification"in the analysis of culture(though
cosmologythroughwhich it is given a common mean- some of the recent"objectificationists"have tendedto
ing.This common meaningis in factthe native anthro- "appropriate"its meaningsto implythe "operation"of
pologymentionedby Sahlins. It is, in short,a sum of culture),
referredto as "literalizing the metaphors
420 1 CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY Volume 37, Number 3, JuneI996

of modernindustrialcivilizationfromthe standpointof tweenthe West and the othersbut also the culturalcon-
tribalhistory."His academic commitmenthas been to tinuityof the West.
describe the other side of the story,that producedby Startingfromthepositionofthe "transcendent"West,
the rest of the world in responseto the appearanceand Sahlins explores the non-West'sinterpretation and ac-
encroachmentof the West in modernworldhistory. commodationof the West in termsofnon-Westerncos-
Whatis common to the two is thatbothpay consider- mology(such as Hawaiian priests'of Captain Cook) and
able attentionto theformationofthemeaningsofthings arrives at a relativization of the West, including its
and events-in the processes of "intensification"and interpretationof the non-West in terms of Western
"extensification"in the case ofMintz and in theprocess cosmology (modern anthropology).This relativization
of continuity and change (or, rather, continuityin emergesnot simplyfromcomparison(froma "transcen-
change) in the case of Sahlins. Both go beyondculture dent" position)but fromhermeneuticreflectionon the
as an encompassingentitywith "a transcendent,func- historicalprocess of developmentofthe "transcendent"
tional and objective order" (in contrastto modem an- West.
thropologicalapproaches such as evolutionism,func-
tionalism,and structural-functionalism) to considerthe
importantroles which actorsin each societyplay in the JUKKA SIIKALA
transformation of meanings. Social Anthropology, Box I3 (Pohjoisranta2D),
In addition to reverseanthropology,Sahlins's atten- FIN-oooI4 Universityof Helsinki, Finland
tion is here directedto Mintz's side of the storybut in (Jukka.Siikala@Helsinki.FI). I3 XII 95
the contextofa searchfortheoriginand historyofWest-
ern cosmology.He raises this issue not just as an object Sahlins's tour de force invites a minor act of resis-
of self-reflection but as "the native anthropologyof tance-asking fora cup of coffeewith "no sugar-salt,
Westerncosmology."Focusingon the analysisof main- please." For one who comes froma society in which
stream scholarly "discourse," his "archaeological" ex- sugar in the formof stickybuns and doughnuticing is
ploration,which is a metascience, extends not just to the cultural glue tyingthe society together,Sahlins's
the originof the modernworld system or even to the "native anthropology"is at once illuminatingand pro-
Enlightenmentbut as farback as to the Fall. In the cos- voking.On the one hand, it illuminatesfromthe point
mology of the West, with God being absolutely tran- of view of comparativeethnographythe relativityand
scendent and nature being pure materiality,realityfor pervasivenessofournotionsofman,nature,and society.
mankind is achieved through sensory impressions. The lines of thoughtascribedin social theoryto Adam
Needs derivingfrometernalhuman insufficienciesare Smithor his "fabulous" predecessorBernardMandeville
subjectivelyexperiencedas pain, but Providence,"the can in factbe tracedto the basic mythicaltextsofJudeo-
imaginedtotality,givespurposeand solace to individual Christianculture.Theory thus seems to be verymuch
suffering." FromProvidence,human miseryis recontex- based on folk models of the longue duree. This is the
tualized into the "positive science ofmakingthe best of way I have had to read Sahlins's article:not as an idea-
eternalinsufficiencies":Economics based on an "invisi- historicalanalysis of the Westernsocial and philosophi-
ble hand of God," which is later"mystified"in the idea cal traditionbut as a piece of thematicallyorientedhis-
of "rational choice," making the cosmos a capitalist toricalethnography.
world order.In addition,modernanthropologyprojects As forthe need forsalt insteadofsugar,mycomments
the Westernnotion of a self-regulating social orderonto mainlyconcerna sidetrackof Sahlins's article:the con-
non-Westernothers.In fact,however,even "bodily sat- ception and consequences of his interpretationof the
isfactionsare specifiedin and throughcultural-symbolic concept of cultureunderlyingmuch of the folk model
values." describedand anthropologyin general.Sahlins has sev-
Texts fromSahlins's base, Oceania, and fromChina eral uses for the concept of culture. In its Herderian
are occasionally insertedinto the flowof the analysisof sense, culturesets Helen Kellerfree,enablingher to ex-
native Westerndiscourse which delineates its cosmol- pressherselfthroughlanguage,and becomes lived,inner
ogy,contrastingthese others'views on the culturalcon- reality. In the modern anthropologicalsense, it is a
structionof need, the natureof human beings and ani- "symbolic tradition"which at worst takes the formof
mals, the principle of social structurebased on the a superorganic,a place outside and above the individual.
primordialhuman condition,the world afterdeath and Emancipationand agencyin this kind of culturewould
the relationshipbetweenthe naturaland the supernatu- requirethe ability"to shed shackles ofthe past,thereby
ral, the subject-objectrelationship,the relationshipbe- permitting a transformative attitudetowardsthefuture"
tween nature and mind, the realityor importanceof (Giddens 199I:2II).
transcendentalobjects, and the evaluationofhumanity. Is the differencebetween these extremes really so
Ontological divisions based on the distinctionbetween great?In his discussion of "The General Society of the
the Creatorand the creaturein the West, such as mind Human Race" Jean-Jacques Rousseau takes up the ques-
and body,selfand world,spiritualand material,rational tion,claimingthat "if the generalsocietyexisted ... it
and sensual, are explicated and contrastedwith their would ... be a corporatebeing (personnemorale) with
fundamentalunity in the other worldviews. Sahlins, its own qualities distinctfromthose of the particular
however,clarifiesnot only the cultural differencesbe- beingswho constituteit" (Rousseau I993:I72). The
 SAHLINS
characterof this moral person would, however,be not
that of the monstrousLeviathan but more reminiscent
of lifebeforethe Fall: "And the whole earthwas of one
language, and of one speech. . . . And the Lord said,
Behold, the people is one, and they have all one lan-
guage" (Genesis I I: I, 6). This is exactlywhat Rousseau
supposed, too: "There would be universal language
whichnaturewould teach to all men." Happinesswould
not be the transformation of privatevices into public
benefits,but "public felicity,farfrombeing established
on the happiness of the individuals,would itselfbe the
source of that happiness" (Rousseau I993:I71).
Now, wheredo we findthese kindsof"generalsociet-
ies"? Rousseau claims that we find them only in the
minds of philosophers,and Sahlins adds to the groupa
few anthropologistsand other social theorists.Rous-
seau's generalsocietyforeshadowsVictorTurner'scom-
munitas, in which "society is seen as a seamless and
structurelesswhole, rejectingalike status and contract
. . . eschewingprivateproperty... and relyingon na-
ture's bounty to supply all needs" (Turner i969:I35).
The subsumptionof individualityinto the communitas
is in fact an escape fromand experienceof Providence,
be it the Invisible Hand of the capitalisticeconomy or
the "modern anthropologicalview . . . of 'society' or
'culture' as transcendent,functional and objective
order."
The experienceof communitas and thus the deriva-
tion of happiness from"public felicity"(or social soli-
darity-God socialized) can be found in the transcen-
dent objective order of the anthropologicalnotion of
"sharedness" of culturebut also in its predecessor,the
Herderian Kultur. For Herder (i964), Droysen (I937),
List (i9io), and von Ranke (n.d.) German culturewas
above all a Geist specificto a certainnation. Thus the
nation was a Seelische Gemeinschaftthe "sharing" of
which was the basis of the happiness of its members.
The primacyofthis spiritualcommunitywas, ofcourse,
the basis of the emancipatoryrole of German Kultur
duringthe last century,but the verysame culturecon-
cept, transferred into American anthropologyby Franz
Boas, led him to ask about the relationshipbetweenan
individualand his cultureand the abilityof "the strong
individual" to "freehimselffromthe fettersof conven-
tion" (Boas i982:638). So even behindHerderthereis a
Leviathanwhich imposesupon all ofus theroleofAhab,
the captain of the Pequod, and his mission of killing
the monstrouswhale (Melville I994). This mission of
emancipatingthe individualcontinuesin the social sci-
ences today (see Giddens I99I:2io).
Attemptsto freeoneselffromthe inhibitionsimposed
by convention-attempts to escape Providence-and
theirtheoreticalformulationsareverymuch seen in cul-
tural terms. Sahlins himself speaks in other contexts
of the importanceof "culturalism" as one of the most
significantphenomenaof modernworldhistory(I993a;
I995:I2). But when he rejectsthe widespreaddisease of
cultureaddiction which ascribes agencyto "culture of
addiction"and the most variedkindsof social groupsor
phenomena exactly throughtheirunique culture,"the
ofWesternCosmologyI 42I
TheNativeAnthropology
panic about the [culture]concept itself" (p. I 3) begins
to come to mind. The standardsocial science practice
of reducingcultureto similarities,Rousseau's universal
languages, and the consequent shared understanding
within a "culture" or the tendencyof communitas to
reduce "seeming" to "being" deprivesthe anthropologi-
cal culture concept of its dynamics.The implementa-
tion of culturalorderin a worldof completefitbetween
functionalparts of society would not be a creativeact,
and the same can be said of the stale individualityin a
cultureof "shared values and meanings,"that is, simi-
larities(cf.Falk I994:99).
Therefore,I would like to add salt to my coffeejust
to demonstratethe importanceof mutuallysignificant
differences insteadof sharedand similarmeanings.Sah-
lins's historicalethnography ofWesternnotionsofman
beginningwith pre-FallAdam deservesa sequel: a his-
toricalethnographyof the concept of culturebeginning
with the pre-Babelian"culture" lackingdifferences. But
thatprojectshould take seriouslythe Polynesiannotion
ofman, who fromthe verybeginningwas different even
fromhimself: "He was Ti'i (the firstman), clothed in
sand,Ti'i the propagatorinland; Ti'i the propagatorsea-
ward; Ti'i, secret destroyer;Ti'i the axe sharpener"
(Henry i928:402). In Western anthropogonyman was
first,and only then it "became the interestof men to
appear what they really were not. To be and to seem
became two totallydifferent things"(Rousseau I993:95).
In Polynesia being and seemingbegan at the same time
(Siikala i992).
Reply
MARSHALL SAHLINS
Chicago, Ill. 60637, U.S.A. 6 ii 96
I am gratefulforthese considered(and considerate)com-
mentsfrommy colleagues. Broadlyspeaking,theyraise
two criticalissues: the tendencyin my lectureto over-
generalize-or, in the currentlanguage, essentialize-
the long-playingideas of the native Westernanthropol-
ogyand the failureto specifyalternativeanthropologies,
as byway ofcomparativecosmologies.Some ofthe com-
ments,such as Siikala's piquant remarkson salt, seem
to addressbothissues at once. Bargatzkyand Bird-David,
especiallyBargatzky,take up the question of alternative
paradigmsin the Westerntradition.Clammer,Hamel,
and Maegawa, especially Clammer,pose the problemof
how one transcendsthis traditionin orderto achieve an
alternativeanthropology.I will tryto reflecton these
well-takencomments.
Withregardto alternativeconceptsofhumanity,soci-
ety, and nature over 3,000 years (plus) of Western
thought,I would not simply repeat the disclaimers
about the simple-mindednessand single-mindedness of
the attemptto determinethe mainstreamideology,to
the neglect of all kinds of conflictingideas. What does
4221 CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY Volume 37, Number 3, JuneI996
seem worthdefendingis the minimal structuralsense
thatthereare dominantand subdominantideas in play,
even over the long run.Bargatzky'sremarkson the Au-
gustiniantraditionprovide an opportunityto consider
this question.
Bargatzkyarguesthatthe Judeo-Christian view ofhu-
man imperfectiondoes not necessarilylead to a disen-
chantmentand desecrationofnatureor to a devaluation
ofthe body,"which is, afterall, God's temple."He gives
counterexamplesrangingfrom Psalm I04 to positive
Benedictineand Franciscanperspectiveson nature.With
regardto such matters,then,Augustine'steachingsrep-
resent"but one of the many variantideas" createddur-
ing this long multiculturalhistory.So forBargatzkythe
question is, "Why has thisparticularstrandof theologi-
cal thought[i.e., the Augustinian]gained such promi-
nence in thepast 500 years?"His suggestedanswer,nec-
essarilycompressedforlack ofspace, is that"capitalism
has createdthe intellectualenvironmentsuitableforthe
efflorescenceof a doctrinewhich celebratedneed and
greedas the ultimate source of social virtue.Christian-
ity,then,did not create capitalism,but capitalismhas
promoteda versionofChristianityadaptedto its needs."
I will discuss the threeor fourissues raisedby this argu-
ment in what may be consideredan orderof increasing
significance.
First,Bargatzkyseems to have misread my text in
supposing it asserts that the Western tradition is
uniquely givento ecological desecration-a matterthat
is, in fact,nowhere discussed as such. I do argue that
the Judeo-Christian cosmologyis distinctivein render-
ing naturepure materiality,thus opposed ontologically
to human subjectivityand pragmaticallyto human pro-
ductivity."Thorns and thistles shall it bringforthto
thee." This contemptusmundi, moreover,was a domi-
nant ideologyuntil the Renaissance, a movementthat
was in critical respectsits antithesis.But the desecra-
tion of nature is not a necessarysequitur to its disen-
chantment. On the one hand, Christianityitself in-
cluded the mitigatingthesisthattheworldwas designed
by a ProvidentialDivinity,so that,as in the medieval
symbology,some greatervalue, or even love, could be
accorded to otherwiseuseless thingsas the signs of a
benevolent Author. (Augustine's Confessions are
markedby the apparentcontradictionbetween the ap-
preciationof nature's beauty and the condemnationof
knowledgeby the senses along with other"lusts of the
eye" [e.g.,Conf. IO.61.) On the otherhand, as Bargatzky
points out, the existence in many societies of a subjec-
tive relationto and ritualrespectforcertainnaturalspe-
cies is no guaranteeagainsttheirextinction.To the con-
trary,the ritual assurance of northernAlgonkiansthat
the more game they took the more they would have
probablycontributed,at a certainhistoricalmoment,to
themassive destructionofthe caribou(Brightman I993).
Secondly,it is possibly the lack of space that leads
Bargatzkyto assertthat capitalism,by providinga suit-
able environmentfora doctrine"which celebratedindi-
vidual need and greedas the ultimate sources of social
virtue," thus led to a marked development of Au-
gustine'sinfluenceoverthe past 500 years.Augustinian
doctrineis, 'ofcourse,preciselythe opposite: the moral
castigationof self-pleasingas the condition of human
bondage and the cause of anarchyand strife.Augustine
is a classical locus of the doctrinethat need and greed
are the sources of individual ruin and social disaster.'
Instead of sayingthat capitalismfoundin Augustine"a
versionof Christianityadaptedto its needs," Bargatzky
might have made a betterargumentforAugustine as
capitalism's bad conscience. (It could have been one of
the more interestingdemonstrationsof the marxian
principleofsuperstructure as a dialecticinversionofthe
infrastructure.) There is, however, a larger historical
problemwith the notion that the Augustiniandoctrine
of human imperfection was just one strandof Christian
theologyamongmany,one which thenhappenedto gain
prominencein earlymoderntimes. This hardlyseems a
fairassessmentofAugustine'sinfluencein particularor
the role ofhuman evil in the Christiancosmologymore
generally.
It is difficultto understandwhy Bargatzkydenies the
common average received wisdom that St. Augustine
was the predominant theologian of Western Chris-
tendomfromlate antiquityto the High Middle Ages-a
historythat was critical forhis great popularityfrom
the i5th throughthe I7th centuries. The Bishop of
Hippo was not just one Church Fatheramong many,as
Bargatzkyclaims. "St. Augustine,it would be generally
agreed,has had a greaterinfluenceupon the historyof
dogma and upon religious thought and sentimentin
WesternChristendomthan any otherwriteroutside the
canon of Scripture"(Knowles I988:20). He was, as
Knowles put it, "a second Bible to the darkand middle
ages" (p. 30). Isidore of Seville elevated him above any
other Church Father; the Venerable Bede ranked him
"justaftertheapostles"(Delumeaui990:262). Norwas
this influencesimply doctrinalor textual. The favored
authorof Charlemagne,Augustinecontinuedto have a
political influencethroughoutthe Carolingiandynasty.
Indeed, both sides of the controversybetween the em-
pire and the papacy in the late I ith centuryreliedupon
Augustinianarguments(WarfieldI 9 I o).2 Speakingof On
Christian Doctrine, D. W. Robertsonextends the Au-
gustiniancontributionfromthe theological to the an-
thropological:the book provides"abundantevidence of
theintellectualacumen whichhad a largesharein creat-
ingthepatternofculturewhich enduredthroughoutthe
thousand years we unjustly call 'The Middle Ages"'
i. Thereis another,moreinvolutedargument thatcouldbe made
forAugustine'spositiveeffecton the development of capitalism,
butit wouldhave to pass byway ofWeber'sProtestant Ethicand
the influenceof the Augustiniansalvationby grace,as well as
Augustinianism in general,on theReformation.
2. Warfield writesofAugustine:"The entirepoliticaldevelopment
of the MiddleAges was dominatedby him; and he was in a true
sense the creatorof the Holy RomanEmpire.It was no accident
thatDe CivitateDei was the favourite readingof Charlemagne"
(i 9 io:222). Warfield also addedhisvoicetothechorusofthosewho
considered that"to no otherdoctoroftheChurchhas anything like
the same authority been accorded"(p. 2o).
 SAHLINS ofWesternCosmology| 423
TheNativeAnthropology

(I958 :x, emphasis added). Until Aquinas, Delumeau ob- Delumeau remarkson threemain aspectsoftheWestern
served,"it is possible to speak of 'an almost obsessive self-contempt:"hatred of the body and the world,the
presenceofAugustinianism"'( I 990:262, citingMarrou). pervasiveness of sin, and an acute consciousness of
AfterAquinas, Augustinianismhad to contendwith fleetingtime." But finally,as Ricoeur has it, "everydi-
Thomism and Aristotelianrationalism,in contrastto mension of man-language, work,institutions,sexual-
which its adherentswere inclined to spiritualismand ity-is stampedwiththe twofoldmarkofbeingdestined
even mysticism(cf.MacIntyreI990). But then,by this forthegood and inclinedtowardevil.... Thus thewhole
character,and preciselybecause ofits traditional(medi- conditionofman appearssubjectto theruleofhardship"
eval) dominance, all the later reformistmovementsin (I967:246-49).
the church would take inspirationfrom Augustine's Here was a whole "patternof culture" based on the
teaching-up to and including the Reformation,the tragicnotion of man as a suffering creatureof insatiable
work of a certainAugustinianmonk.3So if Augustine bodilyneeds. Augustine's theoryof originalsin, Elaine
was a second Bible to the Middle Ages, "he was all but Pagels wrote,"offeredan analysis ofhuman naturethat
the gospel of the threegreatheresies,Lutheranism,Cal- became forbetterand worse, the heritageof all subse-
vinism and Jansenism"(Knowles I988:30). Thus the quent generationsofWesternChristiansand a majorin-
heightenedpopularityof Augustiniantexts in this pe- fluence on their psychologicaland political thinking"
riod(DelumeauI990:254, 259-65). Founderof the or- (I988: xxxvi). In a later paper,Pagels (I994:IO2) told a
thodoxy,Augustinethen became the common denomi- large internationalconferenceentitled"Augustine:His
natorof a Christianitydividedbetweenits Catholic and Influenceon the Church and the World,"
Protestantforms.
Fromthe fifthcenturyon, Augustine'spessimistic
Hence also the long run of the Augustiniandoctrines
views of sexuality,politics,and human nature
of human misery.It was Augustinewho was the main
would become the dominantinfluenceon Western
authorof "the doctrinalroutofthe body"which,LeGoff
Christianity,both Catholic and Protestant,and color
writes,markedthe transitionfromthe ancientworldto
all Westernculture,Christianor not, ever since.
theMiddleAges(LeGoff i985:I23; cf.BrownI988:44I).
Thus Adam, Eve, and the serpent-our ancestral
In this connection,the Pauline originalof the doctrine
story-would continue,oftenin some versionof its
cited by Bargatzky-"the body is the temple of the
soul"-was actually a call to corporealdiscipline: an Augustinian form,to affectour lives to the present
day.
admonitionto protectthe holyspiritwithinagainsthar-
lotryand fornication(I Corinthians6:I9). Classical lo- The commentatorscorrectlyremind us that Western
cus of the antagonismoffleshand spirit,the writingsof historyhas known other,conflictingviews of the hu-
St. Paul are punctuated by diatribesagainst the body: man situation.Yet somethingneeds to be said, first,for
"For I know that in me [thatis, in my flesh]dwelleth the social orderin and of these ideological differences
no good thing.... But I see anotherlaw in mymembers, and, secondly,about theirrelativestayingpower in the
warringagainst the law of my mind, and bringingme Westernscheme of things.Of course,if the differences
into captivityto the law ofsin which is in mymembers. are socially and historicallyrandom,not much can be
O wretchedman that I am! Who shall deliverme from said. One would be reduced to the plightof the Hera-
the body of this death?" (Romans 7:i8, 23-24). clitean philosopherwho in the end could do nothing
AmplifiedbyAugustiniansentimentsofhumanbond- but point.However,even the apostles ofpostmodernist,
age, this dark conception of the body echoed through poststructuralist, and other"afterologicalstudies"5have
the medieval period. The body was "an ergastulum,a perceivedsuch conflictingvoices as an orderof differ-
slave's prisonforthe soul," or else (in Pope Gregorythe ences: at the minimum, as a hierarchicalrelationship
Great's phrase) it was "the abominable clothingof the between authoritativeand subalterndiscourses.This is
soul" (LeGoffI 988:83). Developed and refinedin monas- the explicitintentionof Bakhtin'sheteroglossia,which
teries,convents,and mendicantorders,this "woefulvi- describes"a complex system"ofdifferences, as it is also
sion of life" was thence transmitted"to the whole of entailed in Gramscian hegemonyor the dominantepi-
society as a self-evidenttruth" (Delumeau I990:I7).4 stemesofFoucauldianarchaeology.Howeveroftenthese
concentshave been used in writingagainst culturalco-
3. "Augustine,"said Luther,"is entirelywith me" (Delumeau
i990:263). That thefragilebodyin whichyou lived,
4. Bargatzky citesFranciscanalternatives
to the darkerChristian Whereyou weretormented eightmonthsand more,
viewofthehumanfate.But,ofcourse,therewerealso differences Was made ofrottingand corruptexcrement...
here,as witnessthispoem fromthe pen of a Franciscan,written You came out througha foulpassage
in the I 3thcenturyand worthyofthemisogynoussentiments of Andyou fellintotheworld,poorand naked...
Pope InnocentIII's ContempusMundi,which it seems to echo ... Othercreatureshave some use ...
(Delumeau (I990:I7): Butyou,stinkingman,you are worsethandung...
You are a sly and evil traitor.
In a verydirtyand vile workroom
You weremade out ofslime, 5. Jacqueline Mrazcoinedtheterm"afterological studies"to cover
So fouland so wretched thevariouscurrent positions,including,
besidesthosementioned,
That mylips cannotbringthemselvesto tellyou aboutit. "post-Marxism," "post-colonialism,""post-postmodemism," etc.
Butifyou have a bit ofsense,you will know, I firstsaw it in an unpublishedpaperofhers.
4241 CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY Volume 37, Number 3, JuneI996

herenceor adapted to currentpurposesof anthropologi- with binarism,although once again in the context of
cal deconstruction,one and all theyimplya systematic authoritativeand dissentingdiscourses.In an appropri-
understandingof givenhistoricalordersby determining ately idiosyncratic-if apparentlyself-contradictory-
the social and political subject positions of the con- fashion,he reopensfamouslyvexed questions about the
tendingdiscourses. In contrast,when confrontedby a powersofhistoricalagencyrelativeto structuralorders.
structureof the longue duree such as the tragicview Siikala objectsto the oppressivesentimentofan encom-
of human imperfection,we are dealing with a kind of passing and determiningorderthat seems to haunt the
ideological dominance that no contingentfunctional cultureconceptin practicallyall its varieties,especially
value or political motivationwill account for.6 those that suppose some notion of sharedbehavior.No
Rather,it seems thatthe continuityofthe ideologyof space is leftforcreativehuman acts of culturaltransfor-
human evil comes fromits positionalvalue in a cultural mation, most particularlyforthe heroic acts that defy
schemeofuniversaldimensions.It historicaldominance prevailingnorms and schemes. Yet the metaphoricex-
is the temporalexpressionof a pivotal structuralrole. ample he proposessuggeststhatdefiancewill be no easy
The fall of man has been the conditionof possibilityof escape fromsystematicity.Referringto Mintz's work,
a greatcomplex of interrelatedtheologicaldogmas.The Siikala says thathe would ratherseason his cup ofcoffee
whole redemptiveChristologydependson the inherent with salt than sugar:somethingof "a minoract ofresis-
wickedness of humanity."The incarnationof God was tance" that could "demonstratethe importanceof mu-
his humiliation" (LeGoffi985:I24). The sacrificeof Je- tuallysignificantdifferences insteadof sharedand simi-
sus and the possibilityof salvation,the associated no- lar meanings." The problem is that it would be the
tionsofDivine Providenceand the Trinity,theontologi- differencesthat were thus shared, and in the highly
cal distinctionsof Heaven and Earth, body and soul, structuralformof dialectical negation.Siikala does not
humanity,nature,and divinity,all are motivatedin the dissentby addingcow dungto his coffee,or kava, pesto,
Adamic narrative.In the long course of Christianity rose pollen, or any number of other substances that
there have been many variationson those dogmas, it mighthave had the demonstrativevirtue of not being
is true. But the impulses of totalizationare such that negations (in this society) of sugar. A long time ago
relativelyminor differenceshave been able to set off Floyd Lounsbury taught me something about logical
radicalsectarianschisms.And veryfewofthe sectshave contraststhatI have neverforgotten: opposites,he said,
been able to forgothe dogma of human wickedness. are thingsalike in all significantrespectsbut one. Per-
To awake fromsuch dogmaticslumberswould seem to haps few substantial oppositions fit this definitionso
require a cultural revolution on a Copernican- well as sugar and salt, which are (to us) alike in nearly
ontologicalscale. PerhapsAugustinewas rightin more all intents, purposes, and properties. (Probably few
ways than one when he said thatman cannotnot sin. among us have not at some time mistakenthe one for
Bird-Davidand Siikala are in different ways concerned the other.)But if even denials of a given culturalorder
with dialectical negationsof dominantWesternideolo- take theirlogic and meaningfromthis order,does this
gies-thus with changesthatremainin the same struc- mean that thereis no place forthe historicalagencyof
turalscheme, still culturallyrelevantas well as histori- the subject?Is all our "resistance" destinedto be swal-
cally relative. Bird-David properly claims that I lowed up in this systematicand dialectical Leviathan?
oversimplifyotherviews of natureby treatingthem as On the contrary,it does not follow that because the
inversionsof the Christianoppositionbetween Creator change initiated by someone is in the line of a given
and creature.(I had hoped that the ethnographicexam- cultural order,the order must be responsiblefor the
ples would give a richerview.) Argumentcould be given, change-any more than if one says somethinglogical
however, against her analysis of the naming scene of it was the logic that determinedwhat was said (not to
Genesis as signifying the Westernantithesisof human- mentionwhere,when, and if it was said). A couple of
ity and material nature,for Adam's knowledgeof the generalcircumstancesof such innovativeeventsshould
essences and differencesof the creaturesby more than be noted. First,insofaras acts and transformations of
sensorymeans implies a relationship-a mergingofhu- meaningare concerned,we are not dealingwith a total
man thoughtand its object-quite different fromthe ontologicaloppositionbetweenthe "individual"and the
separationsof the postlapsarianstate. Everythinghap- "culture" but ratherwith the symbolictrafficbetween
pens as if the Fall were the definingmoment: an event them.To a greateror lesser extent,the semiologicalre-
thatcut like a swordthroughtheuniverse,cleavingman sources of the societyhave been put at the intellectual
fromGod, fromparadise,fromnature,and fromhis bet- dispositionsand capacities ofits subjects.But then,sec-
terself. ondly,the cultural creations bf these subjects have to
Siikala's challenging comments are also concerned be intelligibleand communicablein the societyif they
are to take historic effect.The innovations must be
analysisoftheinitialAugustinian
6. In a well-regarded movement, meaningfully receivable-that is, in termsofa pertinent
Pagels(i988) pointsout thecomplementary politicalvaluesofhu- culturalorder.Yet again,ifthe changeis thus culturally
mandepravity fortheChristianized Romanimperiumanda North relative,if it follows on a given cultural logic, it does
Africanchurchbesetby contending doctrines.But,as she reflects not mean thatit was the
in anothercontext,"the requirements of an authoritarian state only changepossible or thatit
alone cannotaccountforthe durability ofsuch teachingthrough- could not consistofsomethingneverseen before.To say
out thecenturies"(I994:97). that an event is culturallydescribedis not to say it was
 SAHLINS TheNativeAnthropology
ofWesternCosmology| 425

culturallyprescribed.Precisely because the historical predicament,leading igth-centurymissionariesto end-

change is mediated throughan individualbiography,it lessly complainthatthe "natives" could not mustersuf-
cannotbe structurally prescribed-any morethanis the ficientguiltto become good Christians.7Since Clammer
individualityof the biography(cf.SartreI996). refersto the after-dinner speech I gave at the ASA Meet-
We are alreadyinto the second major themeposed by ings in I993, perhapsI can borrowa littlefromthe im-
the commentators:the question of the transcendence mortalitythatKeithHart conferred on thatpiece bypub-
of Judeo-Christian traditionsor, what is the same, the lishingit in PricklyPear Press to help make clear these
possibilityof an alternativeanthropology.Here Clam- remarkson anthropologicalmethod.The section of the
mer on the one side and Hamel and Maegawa on the speech is entitled"Etics and Emics" (Sahlins I993b:9):
otherput me into somethingof a dilemma,since Clam-
All etics or languagesof objectivescientificdescrip-
merfindsmylecturewantingfornotpresentingan alter-
tion (so-called)are based on a gridof meaningfulor
native to the native tradition,while Hamel and Mae-
emic distinctions.Take the internationalphonetical-
gawa too generouslysuggestthat I have managedto do
phabet,by means of which the significantsounds of
so. Perhaps the best way to respondis to reflecton, if
any languagecan be "objectively"recordedand repro-
not reconcile, these contradictoryreadings.They may
duced. The phoneticalphabetis made up of all
bringout somethingin the lectureworthmakingmore
knownphonemic distinctions:of all differences in
explicit.
sound-segmentsknown to signifydifferences in
I do tend to believe, with Hamel and Maegawa, that
meaningin the naturallanguagesof the world. So in
the metadiscoursewhich is the Mintz lecture itselfis
principlethe objectivedescriptionof any language
alreadysomethingofan alternativeanthropology. There
consists of its comparisonwith the meaningfulorder
is some criticaldistance taken fromthe native folklore
of all otherlanguages.
it describes. Analytic and at least crypto-sensitive to
The same forethnography. No good ethnography
other possibilities,the perspectiveis not the same as
is self-contained.Implicitlyor explicitlyethnogra-
the conceptionsof humanity,divinity,society,and the
phy is an act of comparison.By virtueof comparison
universethatit intendsto understand.There is no need
ethnographicdescriptionbecomes objective.Not in
to suppose we are the prisonersof receivedcategories,
the naive positivistsense of an unmediatedpercep-
whetherin some pseudo-Whorfiansense of linguistic
the opposite: it becomes a universalun-
relativityor because of the alleged source of anthropo- tion-just
derstanding to the extentit bringsto bear on the per-
logical ideas in colonial projectsof dominatingand "in-
ceptionof any societythe conceptionsof all the
carcerating"the Others.Will anthropology neverescape
others.Some Cultural Studies typesseem to think
fromoriginalsins? Or is it that anthropologists, so un-
that anthropologyis nothingbut ethnography. Better
like the peoples they study,are the mindless victims
the otherway around: ethnography is anthropology,
and last witnesses of "culture" as an essentializedand
or it is nothing.
deterministicsystem?It is as if they could do nothing
but repeata monologicalculturaldiscourse.Still,Clam-
merwritesfromJapanand findsit conceivablethatBud-
dhismor Shintoismcould serveas cosmologicalgrounds
of a new anthropology.
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As Clammer makes clear, it would be of no purpose
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mankindwas informedby common disciplinaryknowl- repliesto Robert Moffat'squestionof whether,when he was a
edge of othernative cosmologies: the synonymyof the pagan,he had no fearsthathe would pay forhis crimes."'No,'
human and the beautifulin theAmazon; evil as external said he. 'How could we feel,how could we fear?We had no idea
to the self(and community)ratherthaninternalin east- thatan unseeneyesaw us, orthatan unseenearheardus"' (Moffat
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