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Peasant Society and the Image of Limited Good *
Author(s) -
FOSTER GEORGE M.
Publication year - 1965
Publication title -
american anthropologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1548-1433
pISSN - 0002-7294
DOI - 10.1525/aa.1965.67.2.02a00010
Subject(s) - george (robot) , peasant , citation , sociology , foundation (evidence) , library science , history , art history , political science , law , computer science
"Human behavior is always motivated by certain purposes, and these purposes grow out of sets of assumptions which are not usually recognized by those who hold them. The basic premises of a particular culture are unconsciously accepted by the individual through his constant and exclusive participation in that culture. It is these assumptions-the essence of all the culturally conditioned purposes, motives, and principles-which determine the behavior of a people, underlie all the institutions of a community, and give them unity" (HsiaoTung Fei and Chi-I Chang 1945:81-82). "Human beings in whatever culture are provided with cognitive orientation in a cosmos: there is 'order' and 'reason' rather than chaos. There are basic premises and principles implied, even if these do not happen to be consciously formulated and articulated by the people themselves. We are confronted with the philosophical implications of their thought, the nature of the world of being as they conceive it. If we pursue the problem deeply enough we soon come face to face with a relatively unexplored territory-ethno-metaphysics. Can we penetrate this realm in other cultures? What kind of evidence is at our disposal? ... The problem is a complex and difficult one, but this should not preclude its exploration" (Hallowell 1960:21).