The Subject of Virtue
Douban
An Anthropology of Ethics and Freedom
James Laidlaw
overview
The anthropology of ethics has become an important and fast-growing field
in recent years. This book argues that it represents not just a new subfield
within anthropology but a conceptual renewal of the discipline as a whole,
enabling it to take account of a major dimension of human conduct which
social theory has so far failed adequately to address.
An ideal introduction for students and researchers in anthropology and
related human sciences.
-Shows how ethical concepts such as virtue, character, freedom and responsibility
may be incorporated into anthropological analysis
-Surveys the history of anthropology’s engagement with morality
-Examines the relevance for anthropology of two major philosophical
approaches to moral life
contents
Acknowledgements page viii
1 Beyond the science of unfreedom 1
2 Virtue ethics: Philosophy with an ethnographic stance? 47
3 Foucault’s genealogy and the undefined work of freedom 92
4 The ‘question of freedom’ in anthropology 138
5 Taking responsibility seriously 179
6 The reluctant cannibal 213
References 225
Index 254
