Primitive Man as Philosopher

2023 Reprint of the 1927 U.S. Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition and not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. "Anthropology is a science whose most significant discoveries have come when it has taken its bearings from literature, and what makes Paul Radin's Primitive Man as Philosopher a seminal piece of anthropological inquiry is that it is also a book of enduring wonder. Writing in the 1920s, when anthropology was still young, Radin set out to show that "primitive" cultures are as intellectually sophisticated and venturesome as any of their "civilized" counterparts. The basic questions about the structure of the natural world, the nature of right and wrong, and the meaning of life and death, as well as basic methods of considering the truth or falsehood of the answers those questions give rise to, are, Radin argues, recognizably consistent across the whole range of human societies. He rejects both the romantic myth of the noble savage and the rationalist dismissal of the primitive mind as essentially undeveloped, averring that the anthropologist and the anthropologist's subject meet on the same philosophical ground, and only when that is acknowledged can anthropology begin in earnest. The argument is clearly and forcibly made in pages that also contain an extraordinary collection of poems, proverbs, myths, and tales from a host of different cultures, making Primitive Man as Philosopher not only a lasting contribution to the discipline of anthropology but a unique, rich, and fascinating anthology, one that both illuminates and enlarges our imagination of the human" From description taken from NYRB Classics (February 21, 2017).

Contents: Part 1: Man and Society -- II. The primitive view of life -- III. The coercion of the world -- IV. Conservatism and plasticity -- V. Freedom of thought -- VI. Right and wrong -- VII. The ideal man -- VIII The philosophy of life: fate death and resignation -- IX. Men and woman -- X. Aphorisms on life And man -- XI. The tragic sense of life -- XII Mysticism and symbolism -- Part II: The higher aspects of primitive thought -- XIII. Analysis of reality and the external world -- XIV. The nature of the ego and of human personality -- XV. Speculation for its own sake -- XVI. The systemization of ideas -- XVII. The nature of God -- XVIII. Monotheistic tendencies -- XIX. Skepticism and critique -- XX. Conclusion.

Reviews

"Paul Radin's neglected classic." -Clifford Geertz, The Antioch Review

"By skillful use of texts from native informants and his own colorful prose, I believe [Radin] succeeds well enough so that the book is a landmark. . . . [Radin] is a fertile and imaginative scholar who can be infuriating but never dull . . . full of rich ideas." -Evon Z. Vogt, American Anthropologist

"Radin's approach to anthropology [was widespread], ranging from culture, ritual, myth and religion, to history, social theory, law and language." -E.O. James, Folklore

"By linking modes of thought and conduct with social types, Radin developed some leads towards a social anthropology of knowledge." -Edward Rose, American Sociological Review

"A minor masterpiece of the Americanist tradition." -Regna Darnell

"[Primitive Man as Philosopher] did more than any other [book] to dispel the mischievous notion that human beings in small, technologically simple cultures exist at a dead level of uniformity and conformity." -New York Herald Tribune

"Excellent." -Nature (London)

"A significant addition to the body of work that deals with the nature of religion." -The New Republic