The Western Illusion of Human Nature

When the Athenians, in Thucydides’ famous dialogue, the Milesians, cite the same law of the strongest, one might think that the concept we call “human nature” has reached its modern Western function as a justification for morally problematic cultural practices: the subjugation of women, frequent monogamy, or the obsession with money.

As Marshall Sahlins points out, this book reveals a “fatal error” that has affected the entire history of the West: the separation of nature and culture, which has shaped our understanding of the world, of humanity, and of our social models.

The pretext of the “animal nature” of humans has been used to establish forms of government or social hierarchies that have justified fear and violence as the basis of governance, or the separation of men and women, or the civilized/savage society.

But while philosophy and the social sciences have for centuries championed the idea of ​​an inherent evil in humankind (or its antithesis: Rousseau’s noble primitive man), this concept has changed. The innate selfishness that once had to be curbed is now considered a good thing because it is “natural”: thus, human nature justifies neoliberal individualism.

In response, Marshall Sahlins dismantles and exposes this entire historical construct, posing a question that has been right before our eyes for centuries: Isn’t the only true nature of humanity culture in all its diverse social, historical, and anthropological forms?