Morality: An Anthropological Perspective

Introduction 1 Some Early Works in the Anthropology of Moralities Relativism Outline of Book Part I The Philosophical and Theoretical Foundations of the Anthropological Studies of Morality 1 The Philosophical and Theoretical Foundations of Social Scientific Studies of Morality - From Plato and Aristotle to Durkheim, Weber, and Foucault Philosophical Theories of Morality The Roots of a Social Scientific Theory of Morality Some Final Words Part II Religion and Law 2 Religion Witchcraft Moral Consciousness and the Ethics of Self Change, Religion, and Moralities Some Final Words 3 Law State and Law Moral Economies, Inequality, and Property Human Rights Some Final Words Case Study 1 Moral Torment in Papua New Guinea Part III Sexuality, Gender, and Health 4 Gender and Sexuality Gender and Moralities Sexuality Family, Children, and Morality Some Final Words 5 Illness, Health, and Medicine The Morality of Biomedicine HIV/AIDS and Morality Narrative and Medical Encounters Bioethics Some Final Words Case Study 2 Morality and Women's Health in Post-Soviet Russia Part IV Language, Narrative, and Discourse 6 Language, Discourse, and Narrative Discourse, Performativity, and Moral Communication Narrative Some Final Words Case Study 3 Narratives of moral experience in Moscow Part V Closing 7 Some Closing Words Morality and Ethics References

Jarrett Zigon is a Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle/Saale, Germany, and Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Amsterdam.

An enterprising, highly useful, and wide-ranging survey of an important emerging field. James Laidlaw, University of Cambridge With generous attention to a diverse range of ethnographies, the author reveals the promises and problems of morality in anthropological research. Patrik Lundh, University of California at Santa Cruz The book is wide-ranging, informative, and provides a useful overview for those wishing to learn more about a key emerging field. Alexandra Hall, Durham University Essential for any library serving a graduate department of anthropology. J. Stauder, Choice Magazine