The Anthropologist
Translations & Commentary
A running translation of classics, philosophy, and ethnography across Chinese, English, and Hindi languages.
一
People across the world at different times have speculated about the beginnings of the cosmos. Cosmogonies construct the world as we see it and through them, we can learn to see the world in a new light, and make the familiar strange and the strange intimately familiar.
二
Philosophies
To speak of philosophy in the singular is to create a false distinction between that which is deemed high and deserves to be called philosophy because one was born learning about it, and relegate everything unfamiliar to a lower plane. Only the self-proclaimed moderns could commit such an atrocity. Therefore, we must speak of philosophies in the plural and listen to them
三
Epistemologies
What constitutes knowledge and knowing? What is known? What remains unknown and presently unknowable? Different philosophies make different claims about knowledge and we explore them in epistemologies.
四
Methodologies
What are the methods of inquiry? What are their limits? When is a method inadequate to the task of inquiry? Means, measures, and instruments must be up to the task at hand. A sword cannot sew, statistics cannot provide meaning, and aesthetics do not help with the efficiency of vaccines.
