Philippe Descola
French anthropologist who compared ontologies in Amazonian societies beyond nature-culture dualism.
Most quoted
"Perspectivism is the idea that different beings perceive the world from their own unique point of view, but that these perspectives are mutually intelligible."
— from Par-delà nature et culture, 2005
"The human condition is not defined by a universal essence, but by the diversity of ways in which humans relate to their environment and to other beings."
— from L'écologie des autres, 2013
"The Amazonian forest is not just a collection of trees and animals; it is a complex web of relations between different kinds of beings."
— from La Nature domestique, 1986
All quotes by Philippe Descola (103)
The world is not a collection of isolated entities, but a network of interconnected relations.
The future requires us to rethink our relationship with the non-human world.
Anthropology is a continuous dialogue between different ways of knowing the world.
The naturalistic ontology is a powerful, but ultimately limited, way of understanding the world.
The world is not just a resource for human exploitation; it is a community of beings.
The challenge is to move beyond anthropocentrism and embrace a more inclusive understanding of the world.
The study of indigenous ontologies offers us a mirror to reflect on our own assumptions.
The world is richer and more complex than our modern categories allow us to see.
The idea of a universal 'humanity' often masks a specific, Western conception of what it means to be human.
To understand the world, we must learn to listen to the voices of the non-human.
The opposition between nature and culture is neither universal nor necessary; it is a historical construct of Western thought.
Anthropology must transcend the binaries that have long confined our understanding of human societies.
In the Amazon, the boundary between human and animal is blurred, revealing ontologies beyond our own.
Ontologies are not mere beliefs but the very fabric of how worlds are inhabited.
The animist perspective teaches us that persons are not confined to humanity alone.
Structuralism, while insightful, must evolve to embrace ecological realities.
Life's meaning lies in the diverse ways we relate to the non-human world.
To understand totemism is to see the cosmos as a web of affinities, not oppositions.
In Jivaro society, warfare is not chaos but a structured dialogue with the environment.
Culture is not a veil over nature but a co-creator of it.
Contemporaries of Philippe Descola
Other Anthropologys born within 50 years of Philippe Descola (1949).