The Category of the person: anthropology, philosophy, history

New York: Cambridge University Press (1985)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

The concept that peope have of themselves as a 'person' is one of the most intimate notions that they hold. Yet the way in which the category of the person is conceived varies over time and space. In this volume, anthropologists, philosophers, and historians examine the notion of the person in different cultures, past and present. Taking as their starting point a lecture on the person as a category of the human mind, given by Marcel Mauss in 1938, the contributors critically assess Mauss's speculation that ntions of the person, rather than being primarily philosophical or psychological, have a complex social and ideological origin. Discussing societies ranging from ancient Greece, India, and China to modern Africa and Papua New Guinea, they provide fascinating descriptions of how these different cultures define the person. But they also raise deeper theoretical issues: What is universally constant and what is culturally variable in people's thinking about the person? How can these variations be explained? Has there been a general progressive development toward the modern Western view of the person? What is distinctive about this? How do one's notions of the person inform one's ability to comprehend alternative formulations? These questions are of compelling interest for a wide range of anthropologists, philosophers, historians, psychologists, sociologists, orientalists, and classicists. The book will appeal to any reader concerned with understanding one of the most fundamental aspects of human existence.

Other Versions

No versions found

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 98,316

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Conclusion, Carrithers, M., Collins, S. and Lukes, S.Steven Lukes - 1985 - In Michael Carrithers, Steven Collins & Steven Lukes (eds.), The Category of the person: anthropology, philosophy, history. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Marcel mauss and the Quest for the person in greek biography and autobiography.A. Momigliano - 1985 - In Michael Carrithers, Steven Collins & Steven Lukes (eds.), The Category of the person: anthropology, philosophy, history. New York: Cambridge University Press.
An alternative social history of the self.Michael Carrithers - 1985 - In Michael Carrithers, Steven Collins & Steven Lukes (eds.), The Category of the person: anthropology, philosophy, history. New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 234--256.
The Concept of the Person.N. Alan - 1985 - In Michael Carrithers, Steven Collins & Steven Lukes (eds.), The Category of the person: anthropology, philosophy, history. New York: Cambridge University Press.
The category of the person.N. J. Allen - 1985 - In Michael Carrithers, Steven Collins & Steven Lukes (eds.), The Category of the person: anthropology, philosophy, history. New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 26--35.
A category of the human mind.Marcel Mauss - 1985 - In Michael Carrithers, Steven Collins & Steven Lukes (eds.), The Category of the person: anthropology, philosophy, history. New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 1--25.
The person.Charles Taylor - 1985 - In Michael Carrithers, Steven Collins & Steven Lukes (eds.), The Category of the person: anthropology, philosophy, history. New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 257--81.
Person and individual.J. S. La Fontaine - 1985 - In Michael Carrithers, Steven Collins & Steven Lukes (eds.), The Category of the person: anthropology, philosophy, history. New York: Cambridge University Press.
A Category of the Mind.Marcel Mauss - 1985 - In Michael Carrithers, Steven Collins & Steven Lukes (eds.), The Category of the person: anthropology, philosophy, history. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Self: Public, private, some african representations.Godfrey Lienhardt - 1985 - In Michael Carrithers, Steven Collins & Steven Lukes (eds.), The Category of the person: anthropology, philosophy, history. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Analytics

Added to PP
2009-01-28

Downloads
226 (#102,244)

6 months
14 (#189,119)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?