COPERNICUS IN THE AMAZON: ONTOLOGICAL TURNINGS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF AMERINDIAN ETHNOLOGIES
Sociologia & Antropologia April 1, 2018 Els Lagrou 20 citations
The ontological turn in anthropological theory is examined through three interconnected approaches. First, the academic success of Amerindian ontologies is situated within debates on the political consequences of the anthropocene. Second, an archaeology of the concept of perspectivism shows that Amerindian ethnology has long pursued Copernican turnings, from Montaigne onward. Finally, the article argues for a return to aesthetics and poetics as key domains for exploring how different ontologies teach us to see the world differently. Understanding multiple versions of Amerindian relational ontologies requires perceiving the relational character of the aesthetics they reveal, as illustrated by Huni Kuin (Cashinahua) aesthetics in ayahuasca song.