The browser you are using is not supported by this website. All versions of Internet Explorer are no longer supported, either by us or Microsoft (read more here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/windows/end-of-ie-support).

Please use a modern browser to fully experience our website, such as the newest versions of Edge, Chrome, Firefox or Safari etc.

Mellan åsikt och vittnesbörd : Amerika och Västerlandets arkaiska rötter

På svenska

Author

  • Fernando Flores

Summary, in English

The question of America’s cultural position in relation to the rest of the world is essential for all research connected to America and to the history of modern Europe. This situation has become obvious over the last years because of our societies’ latest “crisis”, with the consecration of the “post-modern” and “global” view of society, history and culture. The aim of the dissertation is to analyse the relation between an archaic and a modern world view during the fifteen-century. The term “archaic” not viewed as a synonym of “antique”. “Antique” often implies a period of time far from today. I use the term “archaic”, implying a world view, a cosmology, which can be found within any period. Archaic is a way of thinking history; a way of understanding the world and a way of developing identity relations. This interpretation of the relation between the archaic and the modern, lead my argumentation to the conclusion that these different world views must be based on different structures of reason, and that fluctuations between the two structures of reasoning ought to have created a “history of reason”. One of the central conclusions of this thesis is that modernity and archaism develop, disappear and develop again within each act of communication. I also discuss the problem of how the archaic communicates with the modern. How can cultural exchange happen when the cultural conditions are so different? I introduce the idea of cultural influence as a kind of “contagion”. Cultural influence is considered active already at a micro-level via every form of contact. I assume that people can assimilate foreign cultural products even when these products appear in a vague form or unclear presentation. My second assumption is that a culture can assimilate as much as it can give away. I call this assumption the principle of proportional cultural exchange.



I found an important starting point in Marcel Mauss’ The Gift and in Lévi-Strauss’ developments of Mauss’ ideas. The work of Lévi-Strauss, includes an illuminating presentation of ideas about delimitation of borders between archaic and modern worldviews. The work of Lévi-Strauss provides an obligatory reference for all studies of the relation between archaic and modern rationality. The one hundred and fifty year old ideas of archaic society of Marx and Engels are then discussed. I especially found the ideas of “communism” and “property” confusing. However, Marx’ study of the “Asiatic production’s system” can yet today illustrate the socio-economical situation of Mexico in the times of the conquest. At the same time, the views of Morgan, Marx and Engels show themselves to be strongly influenced by the traditional mythical ideas about “primitive” societies inherited from Thomas More, Bartolomé de Las Casas, Montaigne, Andreae and Campanella.

Publishing year

2004

Language

Swedish

Publication/Series

Ugglan. Mineravserien

Volume

3

Document type

Book

Publisher

Avd. för idé- och lärdomshistoria, Lunds universitet

Topic

  • History of Ideas

Keywords

  • History of philosophy
  • förnuftets historia
  • kommunikativa modeller
  • arkaisk
  • modern
  • 1500-talet
  • Västerlandet
  • Amerika
  • Europa
  • history of ideas
  • Filosofins historia
  • idéhistoria
  • History
  • Historia

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1650-7339
  • ISBN: 91-974153-2-4