Scientific and mythological Ways of Knowing in Anthropology

The theoretical situation of cultural anthropology today can be characterized as a "multiparadigmatic". Two of the competing ways of knowing in cultural analyses are the paradigms of interpretation as presented in the work of C. Geertz and the scientific model as represented by R. Rappaport. In both paradigms their theoretical and methodological differences have been emphasized. This book studies the similarities between the two cognitive paradigms in anthropology by comparing mythical and scientific ways of interpreting the cosmos with the interpretative and scientific ways of knowing in anthropology. To this purpose I have selected one version of creation myth, the Kaypulaquena myth of the Yucuna Indians from the Amazon, and one scientific model of interpreting the universe, the Big Bang Theory. The problem I address is how myth and science approach the world. The study focuses on similarities between the Yucuna mythical way of interpreting the world and the Big Bang Theory way of approaching the cosmos. My hypothesis is that in both paradigms there are similarities in the use of assumptions and metaphors.

Autorentext

Tadeusz Mich after studying philosophy and theology in Poland, moved to Colombia, South America. He did extensive anthropological field work on Yucuna mythology and cosmology. Based on his field work data, he completed Ph D program in Washington DC. Tadeusz Mich has published on Yucuna mythology and rituals in Anthropos.