Epistemology (Anthropology)

The Ontology of Signs As Linguistic and Non-Linguistic Entities: a Cognitive Perspective

by Alexander Kravchenko

Des concepts et des faits La double-contradiction des sciences sociales

by Bastien Bosa

Published in Labyrinthe, 2011, No 37

Cet article prétend explorer une double-tension fondamentale pour définir l’espace logique dans lequel se déploient... more Cet article prétend explorer une double-tension fondamentale pour définir l’espace logique dans lequel se déploient les sciences sociales, en tant que « sciences empiriques de l’interprétation ». D’un côté, les sciences sociales sont des sciences des « faits », (puisqu’elles impliquent la constitution de données empiriques et qu’elles « visent » la réalité des processus sociaux), mais qui ne croient pas à l’existence de ces derniers. Pour ne pas retomber dans des formes d’empirisme pré-critique, elles reconnaissent en effet qu’il leur est impossible d’accéder au « réel » et que les faits n’existent pas indépendamment de celui qui les constate. D’un autre côté, ce sont des sciences analytiques (au sens où l’interprétation des matériaux ne peut se faire sans un travail théorique), mais qui ne croient pas aux « concepts » au sens fort du terme. Elles reconnaissent en effet leur incapacité à formaliser, à « démontrer », ou à formuler des lois de validité générale.

Summary :
Concepts and facts: the double double-bind of social sciences
This article explores an essential double-tension that characterizes the logical space, in which evolve the social sciences, as “empirical sciences of interpretation”. On the one hand, social sciences are sciences of “facts” (since they imply the constitution of empirical data and they pretend to account for the reality of social processes), but sciences which, at the same time, do not believe in the existence of “facts”. In order to avoid forms of pre-critical empiricism, they claim that it is impossible for them to reach “reality” as such and that the “facts” do not exist independently of the person investigating them. On the other hand, they are analytical sciences (since the interpretation of the empirical materials cannot be done without a theoretical work), but which do not believe in “concepts” (as they are unable to “formalize” or to move to a general or purely abstract level).

The Qualitative, the Quantitative, and the Creative

by Allison Mickel

Mickel, Allison. 2012. "The Qualitative, the Quantitative, and the Creative." Anthropology News 53(5): 11.

Contribution to the Anthropology News issue on Methods. Contribution to the Anthropology News issue on Methods.

Más allá de Aristóteles: un análisis metafísico del entendimiento

by David Torrijos-Castrillejo

“Más allá de Aristóteles: un análisis metafísico del entendimiento,” in: Alfonso Pérez de Laborda (ed.), El Dios de Aristóteles. νόησις νόησεως, Madrid: Ediciones de la Facultad de Teología san Dámaso, 2009, pp. 345-366.

http://www.amazon.es/dios-aristoteles-Alfonso-Perez-Laborda/dp/8496318753/ref=sr_1_20?ie=UTF8&qid=1326355947&sr=8-20

In this paper, I try to show how the intellect and the reality go together by a metaphysical analysis of the... more In this paper, I try to show how the intellect and the reality go together by a metaphysical analysis of the intellectual potency. According to the classical think, there is a true ‘idealist’ way to considerate the intellect. In the divine intellect there is —ontologically— all being that is present —logically— in God’s mind.

Book review of T. Rego, La filosofía del sentido común según Aristóteles. Roma: Leonardo da Vinci, 2011. 137pp.

by David Torrijos-Castrillejo

"Anuario Filosófico" 45 (2012) 203-206

Rego compare Aristotle with a contemporary philosopher, Antonio Livi. He searchs his realism (that stands under the... more Rego compare Aristotle with a contemporary philosopher, Antonio Livi. He searchs his realism (that stands under the name of "philosophy of common sense or alethic logic") in Aristotelian philosophy. So he looks for the material logic in Aristotle.
The first part deals with the common sense in the methodology of Aristotle, while the second reviews the verification of the five judgments implicitly made ​​by common sense according to Livi.

Blommaert (2006)- Ethnopoetics as functional reconstruction

by Jan Blommaert

Historia y microhistoria en la osteología antropológica. Debate sobre metodologías de investigación de las¿ poblaciones?, a través de los restos óseos

by ALLAN ORTEGA-MUÑOZ

"Published in Estudios de Antropologia Biológica"
"Co-author Florencia Peña Saint-Martin"

Resenha: Métaphysiques cannibales: lignes d’anthropologie post-structurale

by Rafael Pansica

Métaphysiques cannibales: lignes d’anthropologie post-structurale é o livro mais recente do antropólogo Eduardo... more Métaphysiques cannibales: lignes d’anthropologie post-structurale é o livro mais recente do antropólogo Eduardo Viveiros de Castro,publicado pela Presses Universitaire de France em 2009, comtradução para o francês de Oiara Bonilla. A proposta central do livro, sugerida já no título, consiste em repensar o empreendimento antropológico a partir das etnoantropologias praticadas pelos povos ameríndios ou, dito de outro modo, a partir das filosofias da relação implicadas em suas metafísicas canibais. Para o autor, as teorias antropológicas devem se constituir como versões das teorias nativas.

"CE QUI CHANGE ET LE DÉJÀ FAIT" Diachronie et synchronie dans les sciences sociales et historiques

by Bastien Bosa

Published in: Revue européenne des sciences sociales no 49-2 – p.169-196

Résumé. Cet article propose une réflexion sur la place de la diachronie et de la synchronie dans la recherche... more Résumé. Cet article propose une réflexion sur la place de la diachronie et de la synchronie dans la recherche sociale, en partant de l’une des contradictions indépassables pour toute appréhension du temps. Celui-ci peut être pensé sous l’angle de la concomitance (dont chacun a fait l’expérience et qui revient à penser le temps comme une « succession de présents différents ») ou sous l’angle des processus (c’est-à-dire de la modification permanente des conditions de l’expérience en fonction d’une différentiation entre passé, présent et futur). Nous nous interrogerons sur ce que signifie travailler dans la diachronie ou dans la synchronie, en soulignant notamment la difficulté à distinguer clairement les deux approches : de nombreuses recherches habituellement pensées comme diachroniques ne le sont peut-être pas et, réciproquement, des approches pensées comme synchroniques s’articulent presque nécessairement avec une pensée des processus.

Abstract. This article proposes a reflection on the place of the synchrony-diachrony distinction in social research. The understanding of time is structured by a recurring contradiction: time can be thought of in terms of “concomitant experiences” (time appears in that perspective as a “succession of different presents”) or in terms of “processes” (insisting on the permanent modifications of social life on the basis of a differentiation between past, present and future). I will try to present as clearly as possible diachronic and synchronic approaches, before stressing the difficulty to separate them: some researches usually thought of as diachronic might include other dimensions, while conversely, investigations presented as synchronic almost necessarily articulate processual perspectives.

Engaged epistemology: the limits of understanding in philosophy and psychiatry

by Andrzej Kapusta

Conference Proceedings,  [in:] Bartošová, E. (et al.), Psychologický ústav Filozofické fakulty Masarykovy univerzity, Brno 2011, s. 120-123

The concept of engaged epistemology reveals some limitations of contemporary cognitive theories of delusion. By... more The concept of engaged epistemology reveals some limitations of contemporary cognitive theories of delusion. By exposing the role of implicit dispositions and abilities in formation of mental disorders I explicate the thesis that emergence of delusions is accompanied by a very radical change in the structure of our experience. Such radical alteration of the Background -  nonrepresentational, non–rule-governed, dispositional structure of everyday understanding that strengthens our perception and reasoning - is crucial for the development of mental disorder. The concept of engaged epistemology was introduced to the philosophy of psychiatry by Richard GT Gipps and Bill Fulford (2004). The project appears to be consistent with the analysis of such notable philosophers as Martin Heidegger and Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and contemporary researches: Hubert Dreyfus and Charles Taylor. Moreover, the elements of this theoretical approach are similar to the concept of embodied mind, developed in current cognitive sciences.
Keywords:
epistemology, philosophy of psychiatry, understanding, delusions, hermeneu

Las paradojas de la interdisciplinaridad: Annales, entre la Historia y las Ciencias Sociales

by Bastien Bosa

published in Historia Critica, No 45, Septiembre - Diciembre 2011,

RESUMEN

El análisis que se presenta en este artículo surge del encuentro entre una reflexión general sobre... more RESUMEN

El análisis que se presenta en este artículo surge del encuentro entre una reflexión general sobre la epistemología compartida de las Ciencias Sociales y el examen de un corpus específico, elaborado a partir de una lectura de la revista Annales. Se propone una crítica de las fronteras disciplinares y se explora una contradicción que caracteriza el proyecto de Annales. Por un lado, la lectura puede servir como base para afirmar que nada permite distinguir, en principio o en la práctica, lo que sería un territorio o un método consustancial a la historia, la sociología, la antropología o la geografía como disciplinas autónomas. Por otro, los redactores de Annales se han caracterizado por un compromiso disciplinar muy fuerte con la Historia, y se puede concluir que hicieron poco para poner en entredicho las divisiones disciplinares.


ABSTRACT

The analysis in this article emerges from the encounter between a general reflection on the shared epistemology of the Social Sciences and the examination of a specific body of work, in this case a reading of the journal Annales. The article offers a criticism of disciplinary boundaries and explores a contradiction that characterizes the Annales project. On the one hand, the reading affirms that nothing, in principal or practice, allows one to determine the essential area or method of History, Sociology, Anthropology, or Geography as autonomous disciplines. On the other, the authors of the Annales were known for their strong commitment to the discipline of History, and one can conclude that they did little to breakdown disciplinary divisions.

Incarnate Being and Embodied Knowing: a critique of representationalism

by Clarence W. Joldersma

Previously published as “Incarnate Being and Carnal Knowledge: The Caress Beyond the Grasp,” in John Kok (Editor), Ways of Knowing in Concert. Sioux Center, IA: Dordt Press, 2005.

This paper is a critique of cognitive science's model of representationalism as a way to think about knowledge. It... more This paper is a critique of cognitive science's model of representationalism as a way to think about knowledge. It uses Gabriel Marcel, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and Emmanuel Levinas to rethink the model, moving towards the idea of embodiment as crucial for understanding the knowing process.

TRADUCTION: Delanda, Manuel, "Agencements versus totalités", Multitudes 4/2009 vol. 39

by Jean-Christophe Plantin

Publié dans Multitudes 4/2009 vol. 39

Comment modéliser la complexité inhérente à tout groupe humain sans retomber dans une dichotomie entre les niveaux... more Comment modéliser la complexité inhérente à tout groupe humain sans retomber dans une dichotomie entre les niveaux micro- et macro- ? La réponse se trouve selon Manuel Delanda dans le concept deleuzien d’agencement. Cet article vise à en définir les modalités d’application. Rejetant la métaphore de l’organisme, l’agencement définit la relation des parties au tout suivant un principe d’extériorité des relations ; celles-ci doivent être considérées comme contingentes et obligatoires. Afin de penser cette complexité, la condition préalable est de rejeter la causalité linéaire pour la définir comme un processus productif.


How is it possible to aknowledge social complexity without separating society into micro and macro levels ? According to Manuel Delanda, the solution resides in the Deleuzian concept of assemblage, theorized in this article. To bypass organicist theories, assemblage define relations from parts to whole as relations of exteriority, while being at the same time contingent and obligatory. The condition to suceed in this purpose is to redefine causality as a productive process, instead of being a mere linearity.

Construccionismo social. Un aporte más a su constitución

by Enrique Baleriola

Trabajo realizado entre los meses de julio a septiembre de 2011 bajo la corrección de Baltasar Fernández.

¿Qué es la Psicología social? ¿Realmente se puede definir como una disciplina? En este trabajo trato de dar respuestas... more ¿Qué es la Psicología social? ¿Realmente se puede definir como una disciplina? En este trabajo trato de dar respuestas abiertas a este tipo de preguntas, para después empezar a debatir la posición construccionista en Psicología social y algunas de sus posibles implicaciones.

Humanism, Antihumanism, Racism: The History of Anthropology and Ethnology In Germany

by Alexander Gramsch

published in Current Anthropology 45.2, 2004

Book Review: Book Marks-Archaeological Potentials

by Alexander Gramsch

Co-authored with Peter F. Biehl, published in EJA 7.2, 2004

Book Marks: Progress in Archaeology

by Alexander Gramsch

Co-authored with Peter F. Biehl, published in EJA 6.1, 2003

Devereux's Paradox: Disciplined Subjectivity as the Royal Road to Objectivity

by Kevin Groark

Paper presented at the 2011 Biennial Meeting of the Society for Psychological Anthropoology

In Devereux’s classic anthropological text “From Anxiety to Method,” the existence and role of unconscious dynamics is... more In Devereux’s classic anthropological text “From Anxiety to Method,” the existence and role of unconscious dynamics is postulated as a fundamental variable that must be accounted for in order to understand the observational and interactional field of the human sciences. In other words, the "subjective response" is part and parcel of the observational field, and is thus a piece of “data” to be understood. Despite his commitment to what we might refer to as a proto-intersubjective field theory, Devereux’s tendency to emphasize the “distorting” impact of subjectivity retains elements of a positivist approach in which the subjective element—no matter how valuable—is a “factor” to be corrected for in the pursuit of a more objective and “scientific” accounting. In this paper, I bring Devereux’s epistemological and methodological approach into dialogue with parallel developments in psychoanalytic hermeneutics, namely Heinrich Racker's seminal 1957 work on transference-countertransference dynamics. While Devereux tends to take what we might call the “negative path” in his work, drawing our attention to the myriad countertransference interferences that arise in the course of the ethnographer’s data collection and interpretive work, Racker highlights the positive uses of countertransference, setting out to clarify the processes underpinning the interpretive attitude—the work involved in the “intention to understand.” Through this discussion, I balance Devereux’s tendency to emphasize the “distortions” brought about by countertransference reactions—namely anxiety and its derivatives—with a focus on the ways in which positively inflected “subjective factors” might allow for increased insight and empathically-mediated understanding of the interpersonal field in which self and other emerge and become knowable. I close with an exploration of the implications of a transference-based interpretive model for anthropological hermeneutics.

Intersubjectivity as epistemology. Social Analysis 53(2):130-146. 2009.

by Christina Toren

Laughter and truth in Fiji: what we may learn from a joke. Oceania 75:268-283, 2005.

by Christina Toren