Description
Book SynopsisWhy do humans have such diverse cultures and ways of life? Michael Carrithers presents an original and powerful answer to this central problem of anthropology, arguing that it is the ways in which people interact, rather than technological advances, that have been of crucial importance in human history. Lucid and thought-provoking, he draws both on ancient and contemporary examples to show how this perspective forms a firm foundation for the study of culture, society, and history.
Table of ContentsThe question - one strand, a second strand, a third strand, and all strands together; the great arc - the great arc, sea shells, between, Europe and the people without history, metamorphic life, the question again; beginning to make history - Darwinian demands, the basic sketch, social and technical intelligence, the selective advantage of sociality, an evolutionary ratchet, the invention of history, three tales; the anatomy of sociality - intersubjectivity, mind-reading, politeness, pedagogy and aesthetic standards, creativity and repetition with constant variation, speech and stories, putting it back together; reading minds and reading life - research programmes, narrative thought, Oedipus Rex, making events, recapitulation; the bull and the saint - the philosopher and the story-teller, a short, sharp story, ambiguities, Siddhasagar again, a disagreement, paradigmatic thought again, imagery.
