Open AccessCONTEXTUALIZING CRITICAL ANTHROPOLOGY: A Metacritique
Author(s) -
Dejan Trickovic
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
journal of anthropology at mcmaster
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 0707-3771
DOI - 10.15173/nexus.v7i1.81
Subject(s) - enlightenment , situated , epistemology , premise , anthropocentrism , metaphysics , philosophy , phenomenon , critical theory , anthropology , consciousness , sociology , environmental ethics , artificial intelligence , computer science
Critical Anthropology as a theoretical project of man's self-enlightenment, i.e. his acquaintance with his true potential, is based on certain apodictic premises which are absolved from critical investigation. The most important one is the a priori presence of the human phenomenon in the form of a universal 'we' that is also the epistemological center of all knowledge and consciousness. In the texts of Foucault and Derrida this premise is situated within the cultural milieu of anthropocentrism, which represents a continuation of the centuries old metaphysical discourse of the Occident. The ramifications of this thesis for the theory of Critical Anthropology are examined in the concluding paragraphs.