Native American Spirituality and Eurasian Metaphysics: An Essay in Ceremonial Research
The American Indian Quarterly June 1, 2024 DOI: 10.1353/aiq.2024.a967101 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Qualitative Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Allen argues that ideas of spirit and spirituality are obstacles to better appreciation of Indigenous experience among scholars trained in contemporary Euro-American philosophy, partly because they fail to appreciate philosophy's own concept of spirit as anything that endures, develops, or evolves. She distinguishes two aspects of Indigenous spirituality: spirit as existing, active, conscious, and tending, which resonates with Asian and European thought, and the recognition of these qualitative powers as persons governed by social norms, where Eurasian comparison collapses and reveals what Euro-American traditions can learn from an Indigenous sacred ecology. |
Abstract
Abstract: Ideas of spirit and spirituality are obstacles to better appreciation of Indigenous experience and culture among scholars trained in contemporary Euro-American philosophy. Part of the reason is not appreciating philosophy's own concept of spirit, which is a word for anything that endures, develops, or evolves; for instance, songs, stories, dances, aromas, speech, consciousness, feeling, memory, and the vital processes of life. The author's argument connects this metaphysical theme in European and Asian philosophy with an Indigenous understanding of spirit. Allen addresses the relation between spirituality and religion and distinguish two aspects of Indigenous spirituality. One is the fundamental idea of spirit as something existing and active, conscious and tending. This idea finds resonance in Asian and European thought. A second aspect of the Indigenous understanding recognizes these qualitative powers as persons and governs interaction by social norms. Here the Eurasian comparison collapses, but in a way that reveals something Euro-American traditions can learn from an Indigenous sacred ecology.