The German philosopher Immanuel Kant famously defi ned anthropology as the study A N of what it means to be a human being. Following in his footsteps “Anthropology T H and the Human Subject” provides a critical, comprehensive and wide-ranging R investigation of conceptions of the human subject within the Western intellectual tradition, O P focusing specifi cally on the secular trends of the twentieth century. Encyclopaedic in scope, O L lucidly and engagingly written, the book covers the man and varied currents of thought within O G this tradition. Each chapter deals with a specifi c intellectual paradigm, ranging from Marx’s Y historical materialism and Darwin’s evolutionary naturalism, and their various off shoots, A through to those currents of though that were prominent in the late twentieth century, N D such as, for example, existentialism, hermeneutics, phenomenology and poststructuralism. T With respect to each current of thought a focus is placed on their main exemplars, outlining H E their biographical context, their mode of social analysis, and the “ontology of the subject” H that emerges from their key texts. Th e book will appeal not only to anthropologists but to U students and scholars within the human sciences and philosophy, as well as to any person M A interested in the question: What does it mean to be human? N S _________________________________________ U B J E C T Emeritus Professor in Anthropology at Goldsmiths College, University of London, Brian Morris is the author of numerous articles and books on ethnobiology, religion and symbolism, hunter-gatherer societies, anarchism and concepts of the individual. His books include: “Insects and Human Life” (Berg, 2004), “Kropotkin: Th e Politics of Community” (Humanity Books, 2004), “Richard Jeff ries and the Ecological Vision” (Traff ord, 2006), “Religion and Anthropology” (Cambridge University Press, 2006) and “Pioneers of Ecological Humanism” (Book Guild, 2012). “Ambitions in scope and encyclopaedic in execution...his style is always lucid. He makes diffi cult work accessible. His prose conveys the unmistakable impression of a superb and meticulous lecturer at work.” Anthony P Cohen Journal Royal Anthropological Institute “Th ere is a very little I can add to the outstanding criticism Brian Morris levels at deep ecology... Insightful as well as incisive...I have found his writings an educational experience.” B R I A Murray Bookchin N Institute of Social Ecology M O R R I S Anthropology and the Human Subject Brian Morris Order this book online at www.trafford.com or email [email protected] Most Trafford titles are also available at major online book retailers. © Copyright 2014 Brian Morris. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author. Printed in the United States of America. isbn: 978-1-4907-3104-9 (sc) isbn: 978-1-4907-3103-2 (hc) isbn: 978-1-4907-3105-6 (e) Library of Congress Control Number: 2014905158 Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them. Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only. Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock. Trafford rev. 04/03/2014 www.trafford.com North America & international toll-free: 1 888 232 4444 (USA & Canada) fax: 812 355 4082 To: Tony Atcherley The German philosopher Immanuel Kant famously defined anthropology as the study of what it means to be a human being. Following in his footsteps, Anthropology and the Human Subject provides a critical, comprehensive, and wide-ranging investigation of conceptions of the human subject within the Western intellectual tradition, focusing specifically on the secular trends of the twentieth century. Encyclopaedic in scope, and lucidly and engagingly written, the book covers the many and varied currents of thought within this tradition. Each chapter deals with a specific intellectual paradigm, ranging from Marx’s historical materialism and Darwin’s evolutionary naturalism and their various offshoots, through to those currents of thought that were prominent in the late twentieth century, such as, for example, existentialism, hermeneutics, phenomenology, and post-structuralism. With respect to each current of thought, a focus is placed on their main exemplars, outlining their biographical context, their mode of social analysis, and the ‘ontology of the subject’ that emerges from their key texts. The book will appeal not only to anthropologists, but also to students and scholars within the human sciences and philosophy, as well as to any lay person interested in the question: What does it mean to be human? Brian Morris, Emeritus Professor in Anthropology at Goldsmiths College, University of London, is the author of numerous articles and books on ethnobiology, religion, and symbolism, hunter-gatherer societies, anarchism, and concepts of the individual. His books include: Insects and Human Life (Berg, 2004), Kropotkin: The Politics of Community (Humanity Books, 2004), Richard Jefferies and the Ecological Vision (Trafford, 2006), Religion and Anthropology (Cambridge University Press, 2006), and Pioneers of Ecological Humanism (Book Guild, 2012). ‘Ambitious in scope and encyclopaedic in execution . . . his style is always lucid. He makes difficult work accessible. His prose conveys the unmistakable impression of a superb and meticulous lecturer at work’. Anthony P. Cohen Journal Royal Anthropological Institute ‘There is very little I can add to the outstanding criticism Brian Morris levels at deep ecology . . . insightful as well as incisive . . . I have found his writings an educational experience’. Murray Bookchin Institute of Social Ecology Contents Preface......... ............................................................................................xiii Introduction ...........................................................................................xvii Chapter 1 Karl Marx and Historical Materialism ..................................1 1. Prologue ................................................................................................1 2. Hegel and Dialectics ..............................................................................4 3. Feuerbach and the Human Subject ......................................................10 4. The German Ideology ..........................................................................13 5. The Materialist Conception of History ................................................18 6. The Critique of Marx ...........................................................................23 7. Reflections on Marx’s Humanism ........................................................28 8. Dialectical Science ...............................................................................31 9. Postscript .............................................................................................34 Chapter 2 Charles Darwin and Evolutionary Naturalism ....................41 1. Prologue ..............................................................................................41 2. Darwin and Evolution .........................................................................42 3. The Evolutionary Paradigm .................................................................45 4. The Descent of Man ............................................................................49 5. Darwin and the Human Subject .........................................................52 6. Beyond Physicalism and Vitalism ........................................................56 7. A New Conception of Science ..............................................................58 Chapter 3 Neo-Darwinian Perspectives ................................................66 1. Prologue ..............................................................................................66 2. The Modern Synthesis .........................................................................67 3. Sociobiology ........................................................................................72 4. The Critique of Sociobiology ...............................................................79 5. Varieties of Sociobiology ......................................................................85 6. The Debated Mind ..............................................................................90 7. The Theory of Memetics ......................................................................94 8. Gene-Culture Co-Evolution ..............................................................100 9. Postscript ...........................................................................................103 Chapter 4 Dialectical Biology and Autopoiesis ..................................112 1. The Human Paradox ..........................................................................112 2. Stephen Jay Gould and the Critique of Neo-Darwinism ...................114 3. Dialectical Biology ............................................................................122 4. The Politics of Human Nature ...........................................................127 5. Autopoiesis ........................................................................................129