Marshall Sahlins
Encyclopedia
Marshall David Sahlins (born December 27, 1930, Chicago
, Illinois) is a prominent American
anthropologist. He received both a Bachelors and Masters degree at the University of Michigan
where he studied with Leslie White
, and earned his Ph.D. at Columbia University
in 1954 where his main intellectual influences included Karl Polanyi
and Julian Steward
. He returned to teach at the University of Michigan
and in the 1960s became politically active, protesting against the Vietnam War
. In 1968, he signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War. In the late 1960s he also spent two years in Paris, where he was exposed to French intellectual life (and particularly the work of Claude Lévi-Strauss
) and the student protests of May 1968. In 1973 he moved to the University of Chicago
, where he is today the Charles F. Grey Distinguished Service Professor of Anthropology
Emeritus. His brother is the writer and comedian Bernard Sahlins
.
' and to demonstrate that economic system
s adapted to particular circumstances in culturally specific ways. After the publication of Culture and Practical Reason in 1976 his focus shifted to the relation between history and anthropology, and the way different cultures understand and make history. Although his focus has been the entire Pacific, Sahlins has done most of his research in Fiji
and Hawaii
.
In his Evolution and Culture (1960) he touched the areas of cultural evolution and neoevolutionism
. He divided the evolution of societies into 'general' and 'specific'. General evolution is the tendency of cultural and social systems to increase in complexity, organization and adaptiveness to environment. However, as the various cultures are not isolated, there is interaction and a diffusion of their qualities (like technological invention
s). This leads cultures to develop in different ways (specific evolution), as various elements are introduced to them in different combinations and on different stages of evolution.
In the late 1990s Sahlins became embroiled in a heated debate with Gananath Obeyesekere
over the details of Captain James Cook's death in the Hawaiian Islands
in 1779. At the heart of the debate was how to understand the rationality of indigenous people. Obeyesekere insisted that indigenous people thought in essentially the same way as Westerners and was concerned that any argument otherwise would paint them as 'irrational' and 'uncivilized'. Sahlins, on the other hand, was critical of Western thought and argued that indigenous cultures were distinct from those of the West.
In 2001, Marshall Sahlins became the executive publisher of a small press called Prickly Paradigm.
About the controversy with Obeyesekere (See also Death of Cook
article, about the 2004 re-discovery of the original painting of the incident by John Cleveley the Younger
, showing a less idealised Cook):
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois) is a prominent American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
anthropologist. He received both a Bachelors and Masters degree at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
where he studied with Leslie White
Leslie White
Leslie Alvin White was an American anthropologist known for his advocacy of theories of cultural evolution, sociocultural evolution, and especially neoevolutionism, and for his role in creating the department of anthropology at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor...
, and earned his Ph.D. at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in 1954 where his main intellectual influences included Karl Polanyi
Karl Polanyi
Karl Paul Polanyi was a Hungarian philosopher, political economist and economic anthropologist known for his opposition to traditional economic thought and his book The Great Transformation...
and Julian Steward
Julian Steward
Julian Haynes Steward was an American anthropologist best known for his role in developing "the concept and method" of cultural ecology, as well as a scientific theory of culture change.-Early life and education:...
. He returned to teach at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
and in the 1960s became politically active, protesting against the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. In 1968, he signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War. In the late 1960s he also spent two years in Paris, where he was exposed to French intellectual life (and particularly the work of Claude Lévi-Strauss
Claude Lévi-Strauss
Claude Lévi-Strauss was a French anthropologist and ethnologist, and has been called, along with James George Frazer, the "father of modern anthropology"....
) and the student protests of May 1968. In 1973 he moved to the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, where he is today the Charles F. Grey Distinguished Service Professor of Anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
Emeritus. His brother is the writer and comedian Bernard Sahlins
Bernard Sahlins
Bernard "Bernie" Sahlins is an American writer, director and comedian best known as a founder of The Second City improvisational comedy troupe with Paul Sills and Howard Alk in 1959. Sahlins also opened the Second City Theatre in Toronto in 1973....
.
Work
Sahlins' work has focused on demonstrating the power that culture has to shape people's perceptions and actions. He has been particularly concerned to demonstrate that culture has a unique power to motivate people that is not derived from biology. His early work focused on criticising the idea of 'economically rational manHomo economicus
Homo economicus, or Economic human, is the concept in some economic theories of humans as rational and narrowly self-interested actors who have the ability to make judgments toward their subjectively defined ends...
' and to demonstrate that economic system
Economic system
An economic system is the combination of the various agencies, entities that provide the economic structure that defines the social community. These agencies are joined by lines of trade and exchange along which goods, money etc. are continuously flowing. An example of such a system for a closed...
s adapted to particular circumstances in culturally specific ways. After the publication of Culture and Practical Reason in 1976 his focus shifted to the relation between history and anthropology, and the way different cultures understand and make history. Although his focus has been the entire Pacific, Sahlins has done most of his research in Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
and Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
.
In his Evolution and Culture (1960) he touched the areas of cultural evolution and neoevolutionism
Neoevolutionism
Neoevolutionism is a social theory that tries to explain the evolution of societies by drawing on Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and discarding some dogmas of the previous social evolutionism...
. He divided the evolution of societies into 'general' and 'specific'. General evolution is the tendency of cultural and social systems to increase in complexity, organization and adaptiveness to environment. However, as the various cultures are not isolated, there is interaction and a diffusion of their qualities (like technological invention
Invention
An invention is a novel composition, device, or process. An invention may be derived from a pre-existing model or idea, or it could be independently conceived, in which case it may be a radical breakthrough. In addition, there is cultural invention, which is an innovative set of useful social...
s). This leads cultures to develop in different ways (specific evolution), as various elements are introduced to them in different combinations and on different stages of evolution.
In the late 1990s Sahlins became embroiled in a heated debate with Gananath Obeyesekere
Gananath Obeyesekere
Gananath Obeyesekere is Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at Princeton University and has done much work in his home country of Sri Lanka. He completed a B.A. in English at the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya, followed by an M.A. and Ph.D at the University of Washington...
over the details of Captain James Cook's death in the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
in 1779. At the heart of the debate was how to understand the rationality of indigenous people. Obeyesekere insisted that indigenous people thought in essentially the same way as Westerners and was concerned that any argument otherwise would paint them as 'irrational' and 'uncivilized'. Sahlins, on the other hand, was critical of Western thought and argued that indigenous cultures were distinct from those of the West.
In 2001, Marshall Sahlins became the executive publisher of a small press called Prickly Paradigm.
Publications
- Social Stratification in Polynesia (1958)
- Evolution and Culture (ed., 1960)
- Moala: Culture and Nature on a Fijian Island (1962)
- Tribesmen (1968)
- Stone Age Economics (1974: ISBN 0422745308)
- The Use and Abuse of Biology (1976: ISBN 0472087770)
- Culture and Practical Reason University of Chicago PressUniversity of Chicago PressThe University of Chicago Press is the largest university press in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including The Chicago Manual of Style, dozens of academic journals, including Critical Inquiry, and a wide array of...
(1976: ISBN 0226733599) - Historical Metaphors and Mythical Realities (1981: ISBN 0472027212)
- Islands of History (1985: ISBN 0226733572)
- Anahulu: The Anthropology of History in the Kingdom of Hawaii (1992: ISBN 0226733637)
- How "Natives" Think: About Captain Cook, for Example University of Chicago PressUniversity of Chicago PressThe University of Chicago Press is the largest university press in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including The Chicago Manual of Style, dozens of academic journals, including Critical Inquiry, and a wide array of...
(1995: ISBN 0-226-73368-8) - Waiting For Foucault (1999: ISBN 1891754114)
- Culture in Practice (2000: ISBN 094229937X)
- Apologies to Thucydides: Understanding History as Culture and Vice Versa University of Chicago PressUniversity of Chicago PressThe University of Chicago Press is the largest university press in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including The Chicago Manual of Style, dozens of academic journals, including Critical Inquiry, and a wide array of...
(2004: ISBN 0226734005) - The Western Illusion of Human Nature (2008: ISBN 13-9780979405723)
External links
- The Original Affluent Society - the seminal article by Marshall Sahlins
- Faculty Page - from the University of Chicago Department of Anthropology web site
- http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/information/biography/pqrst/sahlins_marshall.html
- Waiting for Foucault, Still A small, pocket-sized book by Sahlins. Published in 2002 by Prickly Paradigm, now available for free online(in pdf).
- Marshall Sahlins, Poor Man, Rich Man, Big Man, Chief; Political Types in Melanesia and Polynesia, In: Comparative Studies in Society and History, vol. 5, No.3, pp.285-303, April 1963.
- On the anthropology of Levi-Strauss
About the controversy with Obeyesekere (See also Death of Cook
Death of Cook
Death of Cook is the name of several paintings depicting the 1779 death of British explorer and European discoverer of the Hawaiian Islands, Captain James Cook at Kealakekua Bay. Most of these paintings seem to go back to an original by John Cleveley the Younger, painted in 1784, although other...
article, about the 2004 re-discovery of the original painting of the incident by John Cleveley the Younger
John Cleveley the Younger
John Cleveley the Younger was the son of John Cleveley the Elder. He and his twin brother Robert were both, like their father, marine painters...
, showing a less idealised Cook):
- http://www.ahs.cqu.edu.au/humanities/history/52148/modules/pacific_peoplesC.html#obey
- http://www.snarkout.org/archives/2004/07/20/