The Nature of Man and Culture : Alternative Paradigms in Anthropology

Contents: Introduction. I. Sacred science: 1. Alternative paradigms in anthropology: the cosmic anthropological principle/Baidyanath Saraswati. 2. Views on man and his nature in Indian philosophy/Makhan Jha. 3. Concept of self in Indian culture/N.K. Behura. 4. Philosophical anthropology in the discourse of Sufism/A.R. Momin. 5. Anthropology of sound/Onkar Prasad. II. Space and time: 6. Cultural concepts of space and time/Molly Kaushal. 7. Universalities and specificities in the African conception of space and time/Osaga Odak. 8. The paradigm of self-organization from village to pilgrimage/J. McKim Malville. III. Experience and expression: 9. Dynamics of cultural communication : anthropology of experience/S.C. Malik. 10. Understanding a culture experientially/Anjali Capila. 11. Dance as communication with the cosmos/Yolotl Gonzalez Torres. IV. Question of universality: 12. Paradigms of next century/Rafael Lopez-Sanz. 13. Toward the development of anthropology relevant to the study of Korean people, society and culture/Han Sang-Bok. 14. Alternative paradigms in anthropology at the confluence of categories from indigenous and global knowledge systems/Jan Brouwer. Index.

"The Nature of Man and Culture is a response to the relentless search for alternative paradigms in anthropology. Presented here are contributions from a distinguished group of experts from India, Kenya, Korea, Venezuela, Mexico and USA. Anthropology based on the premises of a materialistic science does not answer but raises questions about man. As for secular western science what is one to think? Are other modes of thinking possible outside the modern scientific horizon? Are there no visions of man, no other pillars of truth? Must everything be aided only by reason? Must an African, an Indian and a Chinese be uprooted from the nature-integrated culture? Can one observe the hidden variables of another culture? Do we have to follow the Darwinian – Tylorian – Durkheimian – Morganian – Malinoiskian anthropology, with no real choice at all? Or do we look for a new understanding? To answer such central questions, the authors of this volume reflect on sacred science, space and time, experience and expression, and question of universality. An effort has been made to ‘re-language’ traditional thought in terms of sacred science, cosmic anthropology, sonic anthropology, philosophical anthropology, quantum anthropology, experiential anthropology, people’s anthropology and so on. This book is an important contribution to the field of anthropological studies and an invaluable tool for anyone interested in a deeper understanding of human nature and culture." (jacket)

[Baidyanath Saraswati has also authored The Sacred Science of Man and The Sacred Science of Nature.]