Book review ii "Human Landscapes: Contributions to a pragmatist anthropology"
When I have a book to review I need a hard copy - too much screen already - and while I hope the review is worth the author's and publisher's kind engagement my purpose includes gathering insights and evidence to support the project here.
Back in July I lost this book (OK I fessed up). I've searched ... and must have left it somewhere! This is a great loss.*
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| Human Landscapes |
Thankfully, Roberta forwarded an early pdf, and I'm enjoying an informed and challenging read:
The author's task:
"... only a few scholars have sought to outline a philosophical anthropology through a pragmatist lens." p.8.
Distracted, as ever, I'm making progress and can see an author who is:
- embodied, embedded, enacted, and extended (p.7) - in this subject matter.
I'm going backwards from post i, but I commented on this:
"Even if Michael Quante’s proposal is not grounded in Pragmatism, I agree with his claim that, in order to be pragmatistic, a philosophical anthropology should assume that each concept or theory requires questions like: “How is this related to human action? What place does it have in the context of our
actions? (2018, 22)." p.15.
In the context here, this is precisely the role of Hodges' model, at the conceptual level - placement in the care domains, and in theory, care approach (context), philosophy. I like Dreon's focus on evaluation too, and the fact that an example is the impact of COVID on education and the resort and reliance of online learning.
Dreon concentrates on the organism and the environment (a key debate) from across the literature, and discusses concepts that are notoriously problematic, terms like, sensibility, and human nature.
"The situation is particularly complex because, evidently, this is not a merely
theoretical issue; rather, it has serious existential implications, both moral
and political." p.17.
Reading, I instantly thought of the social determinants of health [SDoH], moving away from reductive explanations. But the SDoH are precarious in the extent to which they will affect policy, and give rise to specific metrics - similarly to the sustainable development goals [SDGs]. These have a pragmatic and clearly anthropocentric quality about them. As Dreon notes the oppositions and dichotomies (very quickly as per post i) these policies 'light up' the humanistic domains. As health professionals and educators we can shout, warm, warmer, colder ... to the policy makers (and currently the 'purse' holders).
A 'good' book reassures you about what you've read - Whorf, time, Hopi; but also points to what you might like to read:
"In his entry for the Encyclopaedia, Dewey claims that isolating
the allegedly native and original constitution of human nature is possible
only through the assumption of a static point of view on it, for example,
by privileging features at birth over traits characterizing the intrauterine
past or the organism’s future development and adulthood." p.19.
Bubbles: Spheres I by Peter Sloterdijk, Wieland Hoban (Translator) - my emphasis above.
My .pdf copy is littered with comments where I (inevitably) read evidence in support of h2cm. I don't want to dilute Dreon's purpose, which is comprehensive (for me) in referencing and critical analysis of the latest thought. But if Roberta and Suny Press will (please) forgive me for losing the hard-copy hopefully they can see why I draw attention to the following:
"Grene was very careful to avoid reducing the relationship between biological factors and culture to causal dependence: she preferred to speak of a widespread dependence of sociocultural life on biophysical reality and to consider the relation as an “anthropological circle” (Peterson 2010)." p.24.
sustainable mindset (volunteered - incentivised) | "biophysical reality" |
"sociocultural life" |
circular economy |
There are many circles, not just at work, but circles that need to work.
More to follow - as I pick up speed ...
Dreon R. (2022) Human landscapes. Contributions to a pragmatist anthropology. Suny Press, Albany.
https://sunypress.edu/Books/H/Human-Landscapes
*Looking at the photo, the table looks like a Booths cafe? I have phoned them and elsewhere - no joy. :-(
orcid.org/0000-0002-0192-8965