Course Details
Country:
France
Institution:
Sciences Po - Reims campus
Course Title:
Anthropology of Western Rationality
Course Number:
DCIV27A03
Course Description:
What is reason? Philosophers have interpreted this concept in various ways, but few bothered to give an account grounded in actual experience. Instead of taking refuge in transcendental nonsense, this course examines reason as a cultural phenomenon; a totem that moulds men's lives, deters them from certain conducts, sanctions accepted behaviors and induces social solidarity. The anthropological approach reveals invariant features across cultures, such as language, exchange and the organization of reciprocity. The course studies these empirical facts laying the basis for a functional definition: reason is the cultural coat insulating the human animal from nature. In most societies, cultural functions are fulfilled through myths and there is no word for reason. Greek society was the first to substitute logos for mythos, and subsequent elaborations included rational jurisprudence in Rome and rational theology in the Christian world. The course analyzes the meanings of reason enshrined in these three pillars that
Language:
English
Approved Equivalent:
ANTH 399
Attachment Files:
