Concepts of personhood Cross-cultural variations

Western Individualism: The self is separated from others by bodily boundaries. The self is an autonomous agent.’ Legally, the individual is the unit to which criminal causation can be attributed. The mind is separate from the body: Cartesian dualism: ‘I think therefore I am.’ The self is separate from the environment.

Many of these attributes of personhood are not present in other cultures. Self and environment: Mixtex: believe that humans, animals and plants that are born at the same time share the same identity and destiny. !Kung: believe that each person has an animal namesake, with which it shares ‘num’ or a spiritual force. They pair inidividuals, animals, medicines, and dances in order that the healing powers of trance dancers will be increased. Here, the self and the outer environment are not seen as separate and opposed, e.g. culture to nature, but as linked. Duo Donggo: believe that rice is a sentient being, like human beings and treat it accordingly. Many shamanic rituals are based on a non-dualistic relation between the shaman and the ‘external’ environment.

The self, mind and body Western medicine reflects predominant ideas about the self: E.g. that the causes of disease is largely biological. Foundations of western medicine lie in Cartesian philosophy, ‘I think therefore I am’, with the foundation of scientific discovery between rational thought and empirical observation. This means that there is a split between the mind and the body. The ‘self’ is the conscious autonomous agent; diseases are caused by biological causes.

Non-western medical traditions: Chinese: the universe is divided into two complementary qualities, ying and yang. Good health involves the balance between these qualities. The individual is made up of bodily humours that regulate health. Ayurveda: Individual bodies are composed of 3 bodily humours: vata (space & air), pitta (fire element), kappha (water & earth elements). Balance is the desired ideal to achieve good health. Humoural systems do not see mind and body as separate: diseases are classified according to whether they: Are physical manifestations of physical imbalances. Are physical manifestations of mental imabalances. Are mental manifestations of physical imbalances. Are mental manifestations of mental imbalances. Are physical manifestations of social imbalances.

Concepts of Illness and Wellness, Self and Society Culture bound syndromes can teach us much about the values of what a society considers to be a ‘healthy’ person and what it considers to be ‘unhealthy’. E.g. eating disorders in western society reveal how much ‘stress’ we place on individual achievement orientation. Paradoxically, in a society that values rational control and individual achievement, eating disorders and other compulsive disorders indicate a ‘mind’ out of control. Susto or ‘nervios’: found in Salvadorean refugee women in the US: symptoms include intense heat, bodily sensations include shivers, a sensation of a swarm of ants on the skin, sleepiness or numbness on one side of the face or body, electric shocks, and feelings of being agitated, often with the urge to run. Difficult to translate into western medical contexts, often glossed as menopause, or PTSD. The ‘cure’ in Salvador involved an indigenous shamanic healer, bed rest and requirement that the family provide a quiet setting for several day, and have husbands cook meals for their wives. Interpreted as an excess of heat in the body that must be ‘cooled.’ Most women (and a few men) experiencing calor have experienced or witnessed violence, e.g. civil war in Salvador, or domestic violence. Shamanic ritual invokes the wider social environment, especially the family, who are required to change their relations to the women. Similar to ‘zar’ or possession in the Sudan (Boddy): women who were infertile were thought to be invaded by spirits that required them to act almost opposite to their traditional, feminine roles. In all these examples, there is no division between the ‘individual’ person, the spirit world, mind and body, and the wider environment. Cures often involve the entire social milieu.

Relational Concepts of Personhood Trobriands: Individual inherits baloma, or ancestral essence from his mother. However, a person’s distinct personality is formed throughout his/her life through the relationships that they form, i.e. through marriage, through gift-giving and receiving, through kula exchanges. An individual’s personality and personhood is the sum total of these exchanges. Mortuary ceremonies involve giving away gifts to relatives and trading partners, so that the person’s essence is returned to him/her and s/he can join the ancestral spirits. Many societies have relational concepts of the person. Rather than an individual, anthropologists have coined the term ‘dividual’ for these systems of meaning. Found especially in New Guinea.