Anthropology Bright and Dark: Relativism, Value Pluralism, and the Comparative Study of the Good.
In "Dark Anthropology," Sherry Ortner questions the critical potential of anthropological studies of ethics, and particularly of research focused on studying cultural articulations of the good. She promotes instead the study of people's critiques of the neoliberal darkness that besets their lives. S...
| Published in: | Social Analysis Vol. 67; no. 4; pp. 43 - 101 |
|---|---|
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
Berghahn Books
2023
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=180489602&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 180489602 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 0155977X H9B jtl: Social Analysis issn: 0155977X maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: 2023 vid: 67 iid: 4 pid: 1130 pub: Berghahn Books artinfo: ui: 180489602 10.3167/sa.2023.670403 ppf: 43 ppct: 58 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P size: 1.4MB tig: atl: Anthropology Bright and Dark: Relativism, Value Pluralism, and the Comparative Study of the Good. aug: au: Robbins, Joel Langlitz, Nicolas Mahieddin, Emir Weiss, Erica Howland, Corinna Knauft, Bruce Mattingly, Cheryl affil: University of Cambridge, UK The New School, USA CéSor – CNRS-EHESS, France Tel Aviv University, Israel Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand Emory University, USA University of Southern California, USA su: Bible. Gospels Anthropology Pluralism Christianity Relativity sug: subj: Anthropology Pluralism Christianity Relativity Bible. Gospels keyword: Anthropology of the Good Critique Dark Anthropology Hierarchy Prosperity Gospel Relativism Value Pluralism Anthropology of the Good Critique Dark Anthropology Hierarchy Prosperity Gospel Relativism Value Pluralism ab: In "Dark Anthropology," Sherry Ortner questions the critical potential of anthropological studies of ethics, and particularly of research focused on studying cultural articulations of the good. She promotes instead the study of people's critiques of the neoliberal darkness that besets their lives. Suggesting that critical, dark anthropology is handicapped by opposing itself to the study of the good, I reconsider the critical potential of the anthropological study of difference. This critical potential has been attenuated, I argue, by relativism's focus on the negative sides of various cultural formations. I argue instead for an approach to difference based on value pluralism and its claims about the diversity of the good. I illustrate the potential of the comparative study of the good in these terms in part by considering contemporary research on prosperity gospel Christianity and also recent work from many parts of the world on hierarchy as a valued social form. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
|---|