"The Anthropology of Perspectivism"
Masterclass with Eduardo Viveiros de Castro
The masterclass takes place as a closed event, the application phase is closed.
Theme: “The Anthropology of Perspectivism”
“[B]eing people in their own sphere, non-humans see things as ‘people’ do. But the things that they see are different: what to us is blood, is maize beer to the jaguar; what to the souls of the dead is a rotting corpse, to us is soaking manioc; what we see as a muddy waterhole, the tapirs see as a great ceremonial house.”
This is how Brazilian anthropologist Eduardo Viveiros de Castro describes the essence of what he calls ‘perspectivism’ – a conception “according to which the world is inhabited by different sorts of subjects or persons, human and non-human, which apprehend reality from distinct points of view”. His account of perspectivism, first outlined in a paper from 1996 and further developed since, is among the works that substantially inspired some of the most influential research trends within anthropology currently grouped under the label of the so-called ‘ontological turn’.
Being influenced by theorists as diverse as Claude Lévi-Strauss, Oswald de Andrade, Friedrich Nietzsche, Gilles Deleuze, Roy Wagner, Marilyn Strathern, and Bruno Latour, amongst others, and based on his own ethnography, Viveiros de Castro derives his notion of perspectivism from Amazonian Amerindian indigenous conceptions of human and non-human relations articulated in mythology and put into effect in shamanism, hunting, warfare, as well as in concepts of predation und kinship.
Contrary to Western conceptualisations of naturalism, which take nature as the objectively given, in Amazonian mythology humanity or personhood is the original precondition from which all kinds of animals, plants and even things in the variety of their forms emerge. This internally persisting human condition shared by all entities is hidden by different bodily appearances of animals and plants, while at the same time their bodily dispositions determine their specific perspectives. While animality is the condition of the body regarded from an external viewpoint, humanity is the reflexive condition of a subject to itself. Animals are not only perceived as living human-like social lives, but as viewing themselves as humans. At the same time, animals may view humans as animals, and especially as predators, mostly as jaguars. Practices like shamanism may enter the animal’s perspective temporarily and thereby foster communication among species. The conception that differences between species are due to their bodily dispositions, while the human condition is shared by all living beings, is described by Viveiros de Castro with the term ‘multinaturalism’.
As a concept irreducible to the distinction of nature and culture, but also transverse to the opposition of relativism and universalism – and thus not to be reduced to relativism, for which it has been mistaken – Viveiros de Castro’s notion of perspectivism proved to be highly stimulating for anthropological theory, in a way that Roy Wagner has described not only as a paradigm shift, but as a “figure-ground reversal” of anthropology. At the same time, the reception of his work goes far beyond the boundaries of his discipline: philosophy, psychoanalysis, political theory, archaeology, multispecies studies, science and technology studies, literary and culture studies draw inspiration from concepts such as ‘perspectivism’, ‘multinaturalism’, ‘controlled equivocation’, and others. His ethnographically grounded accounts have critically questioned and reversed common understandings of the relationship between subject and object, which in turn give rise to new questions of agency and, more generally, a philosophical critique of universalism.
The Masterclass seeks to explore these and other implications of Viveiros de Castro’s relational conceptions along the following – and other – questions: What theoretical impulses can be derived from perspectivism for our thinking about understanding, communicating and knowing and various other practices, considering that it refers to different dimensions of incorporating the other’s point of view? Can the notion of perspectivism serve as a reconfiguration of concepts like the self and the other, identity, alterity, kinship, and alliance, and of the oppositions of nature and culture, human and non-human? How do such reconfigurations contribute to an epistemological and political decolonising of knowledge and theory, e.g., does perspectivism allow anthropology “to fully assume its new mission of being the theory/practice of the permanent decolonization of thought”? Is it possible to fully understand the idea of perspectivism from a Western point of view at all? The challenge of such a task becomes particularly evident when we consider that the other’s perspective not only brings about other conceptualizations, but also shapes other ontologies, thus, no overarching viewpoint has interpretive sovereignty over different perspectives, realities, and worlds.
Organisation
This workshop will enable discussions with Eduardo Viveiros de Castro about his contributions to anthropological theory. It will be of interest to participants from a wide range of disciplines. There will be an opening session on day one. Day two to four will consist of an initial overview paper by Eduardo Viveiros de Castro, which is followed by participant contributions and discussions. The masterclass ends with a closing session and a wrap-up of topics on day five. Participants are also invited to attend a public lecture by Eduardo Viveiros de Castro during the week.
Participants must present a 15-minute paper that critically discusses one of the themes and/or questions of the workshop. Engagement with current research questions and issues are particularly welcome, and connections with the applicants’ current PhD projects should explicitly be drawn.
Application
The application phase is closed. Doctoral students from all disciplines (applications of master students have been considered in exceptional cases) have been accepted. There is no program fee, however, participants must cover their own costs for accommodation and meals. The CoF will assist participants in finding inexpensive accommodation.