Spirituality vs individualism david hay louis dumont, a modified view of our origins. Louis dumont, world renunciation in indian religions, ol. Along with authoritative introductions and sectional prefaces, each book brings together key essays that apprise readers of the. Feb 22, 2011 louis dumont has shown how western individualism is rooted in religion. The result of twenty years of scholarship and inquiry, the interrelated essays gathered here not only trace the genesis and growth of. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. Ethical individualism and moral collectivism in america humanitas 59 rise of the values of equality and individualism in modern ideology,10 hierarchy becomes unstable and difficult to justify except in terms of individual competition.
Beyond marcel mauss dumonts universalist orientation the hierarchy of individualism. Max weber and louis dumont provide the theoretical framework. In this chapter, drawing upon the notion of dividual or partible personhood of the new melanesian ethnography and implicit in the classic van gennepian model of rites of passage, i revisit louis dumonts, kenelm burridges, and. He was an associate professor at oxford university during the 1950s, and director at the ecole des hautes etudes en sciences sociales ehess in paris. The christian beginnings of modern individualism robert bellah louis dumonts extraordinary paper must be received not only with deep appreciation but with the expectation of further contributions, hinted at in the notes, that will further flesh out the account. The evolution of western individualism sciencedirect. He explained the rise of modern inworldly individualism as the result of a transformation of outworldly individualism in early christianity, brought about by a changing churchstate relationship.
The work of louis dumont, who died in 1998, on india and modern individualism represented certain theoretical advances on the earlier structuralism of claude levistrauss. Vincent descombes emphasizes the substantial originality of that thought, which defined the political on the basis of comparative studies and in that way dispelled some of the equivocations of modern and contemporary philosophy. Caste, hierarchy, and individualism indian critiques of louis dumont s contributions the oxford in india readings in sociology and social anthropology comprises a set of volumes, each on an important theme or subarea within these disciplines. Louis dumont and a holist anthropology experiments in. According to the received wisdom in melanesian ethnography and elsewhere, christianity is unrelentingly individualistic e. Louis dumont 19111998 3 nature of western individualism, and on the specificity of the german variant of modem ideology. Modern ideology in anthropological perspective, translated from french by joseph erhardy, paul hockings, and louis dumont. Originating in louis dumonts comparative work into the differences between western and indian subjects in the 1950s, it perhaps reached its zenith in the 1980s when marilyn strathern used it to differentiate between melanesian and western concepts of the person. Louis dumont has shown how western individualism is rooted in religion. Louis dumont louis dumont 19111998 an eminent sociologist and indologist was a towering figure in the fields of sociology and anthropology in the world. For the sake of the whole louis dumont is a distinguished indianist but his later work has undertaken to ground an allegedly general need for holism and hierarchy in comparative historical sociology. The result of twenty years of scholarship and inquiry, the interrelated essays gathered here not only trace the genesis and growth of individualism as the dominant force in western philosophy, but also analyze the differences. Louis dumonts account of the emergence of modern individualism in the west is also heavily invested in the weight of judeochristian tradition.
Louis dumont 1911 19 november 1998 was a french anthropologist dumont was born in thessaloniki, in the salonica vilayet of the ottoman empire. One such advance is dumont s idea of hierarchical opposition, which he proposed as a truer representation of indigenous ideologies than levistrausss binary opposition. Louis dumont s modern classic, here presented in an enlarged, revised, and corrected second edition, simultaneously supplies that reader with the most cogent statement on the indian caste system and its organizing principles and a provocative advance in the comparison of societies on the basis of their underlying ideologies. Cambridge anthropology, louis dumont and the origins of. Beyond marcel mauss dumont s universalist orientation the hierarchy of individualism ideology, value, and comparison holism and poten. Louis dumont, louis dumont sociology, indian thinkers. I then suggest that we can use this account to reframe the recent debate surrounding the extent to which christianity sometimes introduces the value of individualism into the social formations created by recent converts from religions in which it was not important. The christian beginnings of modern individualism robert bellah louis dumont s extraordinary paper must be received not only with deep appreciation but with the expectation of further contributions, hinted at in the notes, that will further flesh out the account. Louis dumont 1911 19 november 1998 was a french anthropologist. French anthropologist louis dumont has provided a wider definition of individualism as the modern anthropological phenomenon, in contrast to the traditional. Dumont, louis, 1911publication date 1986 topics individualism publisher chicago. Access to society journal content varies across our titles.
Individualism, he asserts, is unable to replace holism wholesale and rule everywhere in society in actual fact it was never able to function. French scholarship is somewhat below these standards. There is a trinity of ailment which afflicts todays society. Louis dumont louis dumonts essays on individualism is an ambitious attempt to place the modern ideology of individualism in a broad anthropological perspective.
One such advance is dumonts idea of hierarchical opposition, which he proposed as a truer representation of indigenous ideologies than levistrausss binary opposition. Paradoxes of increased individuation and public awareness. Louis dumont 19111998, an eminent sociologist and indologist, was a towering figure in the fields of sociology and anthropology in the world. How exceptional are western notions of individualism and t. The book attempts to identify the uniqueness of the russianorthodox religious tradition and to contrast it with two of the characteristics of modern western society. In the first chapter of his last book, german ideology, louis dumont 1994 makes a strong claim that individualism as a value can never be fully realized, that it can never achieve its goal of coming to govern all domains of social life. Cambridge anthropology, louis dumont and the origins. Dumont began his book, homo hierarchicus, with a critique of individ. Modern ideology in anthropological perspective by louis dumont and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. The genesis and triumph of economic ideology dumont, louis on.
Oct 18, 2010 summary this chapter contains sections titled. Louis dumont s essays on individualism is an ambitious attempt to place the modern ideology of individualism in a broad anthropological perspective. Responses to louis dumonts a modified view of our origins. Yet in the essay genesis, i, he starts by observing in india the outworldly individual of the renouncer, the individualoutsidetheworld, and postulating how a similar step outside holism. Caste, hierarchy, and individualism indian critiques of louis dumonts contributions the oxford in india readings in sociology and social anthropology comprises a set of volumes, each on an important theme or subarea within these disciplines. If you have access to a journal via a society or association membership, please browse to your society journal, select an article to view, and follow the instructions in this box.
In this article i offer a dynamic account of the relations between values in dumonts theory. Dumont moves gracefully from the ethnographic data to the level of. Originating in louis dumont s comparative work into the differences between western and indian subjects in the 1950s. This article examines the contribution of louis dumont to the study of german national ideology. Louis dumont is very well known for his anthropological work on india, but rather less for his political thought. As a study of the caste system in india, dumont s homo hierarchicus offers several new perspectives of social structure. Caste, hierarchy, and individualism indian critiques of. Louis dumont ensaios sobre o individualismo cap 1 jesus. From france to germany and back, chicago, university of chicago press, 1994. In england, macfarlane, alan s louis dumont and the origins of individualism, cambridge anthropology, 16 1 1992 3, 128, is particularly sharp. Dumonts antiindividualist thrust, depicting as it does modern western culture as an aberration, a kind. The result of twenty years of scholarship and inquiry, the interrelated essays gathered here not only trace the genesis and growth of individualism as the dominant force in western philosophy, but also analyze the differences between this modern. Pdf 65583781louisdumontensaiossobreoindividualismo.
Since the 1990s, politicising the environment has often involved the development of green concepts of citizenship. Louis dumont and hierarchical opposition dumont, louis. Essay festival eid ul fitr, aesthetics and recreation domains of culture essay cause effect essay yazmak my first day. Louis dumonts modern classic, here presented in an enlarged, revised, and corrected second edition, simultaneously supplies that reader with the most cogent statement on the indian caste system and its organizing principles and a provocative advance in the comparison of societies on the basis of their underlying ideologies. Dumont was born in thessaloniki, in the salonica vilayet of the ottoman empire. Essay festival eid ul fitr, aesthetics and recreation domains of culture essay cause effect essay yazmak my first day at school essay in marathi ill treatment of girl child essay a farewell to arms argument essay obra pedro paramo analysis essay dissertationen verzeichnis schweiz tourismus don t.
Une perspective anthropologique sur lideologie moderne points essais french edition dumont, louis on. Louis dumonts essays on individualism is an ambitious attempt to place the modern ideology of individualism in a broad anthropological perspective. The result of twenty years of scholarship and inquiry, the interrelated essays gathered here not only trace the genesis and growth of individualism as the dominant force in western philosophy, but. As a study of the caste system in india, dumonts homo hierarchicus offers. Ethical individualism and moral collectivism in america. From dividual and individual selves to porous subjects. The opposition of purity and impurity, basic to the indian work.
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