The Ethnography of Moralities (European Association of Social Anthropologists) - Softcover

Howell, Signe

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0415133599 ISBN 13: 9780415133593

Publisher: Routledge, 1996

Synopsis

With the recent shift towards an interest in indigenous notions of self and personhood, questions pertaining to the moral and ethical origins of beliefs relating to human rights become increasingly relevant.

About this title

Synopsis:

Focusing on the social construction of morality, this study discusses a topic which is complex but central to the study and nature of anthropology. With the recent shift towards an interest in indigenous notions of self and personhood, questions pertaining to the moral and ethical origins of beliefs relating to human rights become increasingly relevant. Some of the questions that the contributors will be addressing are: how is the ethical knowledge grounded? Which social domains most profoundly articulate moral values and which are most affected? Who defines and who enforces what is right and wrong? What constitutes an ethical breach? Suggested answers are made with reference to empirical material so that the complexities and varieties of theoretical and methodological issues are highlighted. They are also discussed with reference to a wide array of ethnographic studies from: Argentina, Mongolia, Melanesia, Yemen, Zimbabwe, Mexico, Britain and The Old Testament.

From the Back Cover:

The social construction of morality is a complex and challenging topic which is central to the anthropological discipline. Until recently, however, it has received little direct attention from anthropologists. With the growing interest in indigenous notions of self and personhood, and related questions regarding human rights, issues pertaining to moral and ethical groundings of social life have become increasingly relevant. So far, however, few anthropologists have concerned themselves with disentangling 'moralities' and how one might set about studying them in empirical settings. The focus for The Enthnography of Moralities was chosen precisely in order to raise a debate around the empirical study of different moral discourses and how these are related to social institutions, to indigenous concepts of human nature (male and female), to cosmology and to the nature of good and evil.

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0415133599
• ISBN 13: 9780415133593
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 248