Description

According to a common understanding of economics, economists attempt to understand and explain societal reality in the light of individual self-interest. For them, a gift is no exception to this, except for the slight and misleading veil of altruism which covers a purely egoistic motivation. On the other hand, theologians, philosophers and ethicists use a more normative concept of man. Man realises his best potential through deeds of selfless sacrifice that remain unknown to everyone. In reality, however, people are either entirely egoistic nor altruistic. Marcel Mauss' model of the gift is interesting because it seems to escape the classical (or rather, modern) egoism/altruism dichotomy. Gifts are not primarily motivated by the well-being of myself or the other but rather by the desire to bring about or maintain a certain kind of social relation between giver and receiver. Altruistic as well as egoistic motivations are an integral part of that relation. The role of gifts in the constitution of social relations and social cohesion explains why most kinds of gifts are reciprocal and even obligatory. In this book anthropologists, sociologists and economists as well as philosophers focus on the question of the relevance of Mauss' work on the gift for the understanding of actual social phenomena.

Gifts and Interests

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£39.73

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Paperback / softback by A. Vandevelde

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Short Description:

According to a common understanding of economics, economists attempt to understand and explain societal reality in the light of individual... Read more

    Publisher: Peeters Publishers
    Publication Date: 09/02/2000
    ISBN13: 9789042908147, 978-9042908147
    ISBN10: 9042908149

    Number of Pages: 225

    Non Fiction , Politics, Philosophy & Society

    Description

    According to a common understanding of economics, economists attempt to understand and explain societal reality in the light of individual self-interest. For them, a gift is no exception to this, except for the slight and misleading veil of altruism which covers a purely egoistic motivation. On the other hand, theologians, philosophers and ethicists use a more normative concept of man. Man realises his best potential through deeds of selfless sacrifice that remain unknown to everyone. In reality, however, people are either entirely egoistic nor altruistic. Marcel Mauss' model of the gift is interesting because it seems to escape the classical (or rather, modern) egoism/altruism dichotomy. Gifts are not primarily motivated by the well-being of myself or the other but rather by the desire to bring about or maintain a certain kind of social relation between giver and receiver. Altruistic as well as egoistic motivations are an integral part of that relation. The role of gifts in the constitution of social relations and social cohesion explains why most kinds of gifts are reciprocal and even obligatory. In this book anthropologists, sociologists and economists as well as philosophers focus on the question of the relevance of Mauss' work on the gift for the understanding of actual social phenomena.

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