DOCSLIB.ORG

Reciprocity, Balance and Nepantla in Aztec Ethics

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Reciprocity, Balance and Nepantla in Aztec Ethics Science, Religion & Culture Article Special Issue: Cross-Cultural Studies in Well-Being Weaving the Good Life in a Living World: Reciprocity, Balance and Nepantla in Aztec Ethics James Maffie Department of American Studies, 1328 Tawes Hall, University of Maryland,College Park, MD 20740 Abstract | The Aztecs saw themselves living in a world that was not only inherently unstable but also inexorably destined to succumb to imbalance-induced total destruction. They perceived human beings’ hold on life in these circumstances as inescapably “slippery” and thus fraught with hardship, pain, suffering, sorrow, hunger, disease, and death. Stubbornly refusing to surrender to despair, Aztec philosophers (tlamatinimeh) responded with what they called toltecayotl or “the art of living wisely and well.” Toltecayotl enjoined humans to pursue balance in all matters, ranging from how they treated themselves and other humans to how they treated the countless other-than-human agents populating their living world. Humans attained balance in two principal ways, both of which Aztec philosophers understood in terms of the indigenous concept of a nepantla process, a paradigmatic ex- ample of which was the artisanal process of weaving. Humans accordingly attained balance: first, by weaving together individual behavioral extremes (such as fasting and feasting) into a well-middled, individual life fabric; and second, by weaving themselves together with other human and nonhuman agents into a single, well-middled, community life fabric by means of initiating and participating in relationships of mutuality and reciprocity. Humans lived well and lived wisely when they crafted their lives as well-skilled weavers. Editor | Gregg D. Caruso, Corning Community College, SUNY (USA)/Owen Flanagan, Duke University, USA. Correspondence | James Maffie, Department of American Studies, 1328 Tawes Hall, University of Maryland,College Park, MD 20740; Email: [email protected] Citation | Maffie, J. (2018). Weaving the good life in a living world: Reciprocity, balance and Nepantla in Aztec Ethics. Science, Religion and Culture, 5(2): 1-XXX. DOI | https://dx.doi.org/10.17582/journal.src/2018........ n one of the many Mexica huehuetlatolli (“words of Her instruction would have at some point undoubt- the elders” or “ancient talks”) recorded by Bernardi- edly included the proverb, Tlaalahui, tlapetzcahui in Ino de Sahagún in the decades following the 1521 fall tlalticpac, “It is slippery, it is slick on the earth”2 or 3 of the Mexica (Aztec) empire, a noble mother advises “Things slip, things slide, in this world,” explain- her coming-of-age daughter: ing that this was said of a person who had enjoyed a well-balanced, morally good life, only to slip into Behold the road thou art to follow. On earth it wrongdoing, as though in slippery mud. In this man- is a time for care, it is a place of caution… We ner Mexica parents introduced their children to the travel, we live along a mountain peak. Over here nature of human existence and advised them how they there is an abyss, over there is an abyss. If you ought accordingly to live their lives. Life is evanes- goest over her or if thou goes over there, thou cent, perilous, and fragile. Their best intentions, train- wilt fall. Only in the middle doth one go, doth ing, and their lifelong achievements notwithstanding, one live.1 humans invariably lose their balance on “the slippery 2018 | Volume 5 | Special Issue 1 | Page 1 Science, Religion & Culture earth,” inescapably suffering as a result pain, sorrow, quality of these relationships. An individual’s own bal- torment, hunger, thirst, insanity, disease, or death as ance is interwoven with the balance of those around well as domestic, social, agricultural, or cosmic discord her, since how she treats others affects the balance of and disintegration. her own body-mind confluence. For example, by im- balancing other agents (i.e. as we shall see, by acting Mexica parents’ advice regarding the human existen- immorally), one unbalances one’s self, since such be- tial condition was part of a larger Mexica conception havior leads inexorably to one’s own mental or phys- of the good life reflected upon and discussed by Mex- ical disease (understood in terms of imbalance and ica tlamatinimeh (pl; tlamatini, singl.; lit. “knowers of loss of well-being). On the other hand, one balances things,” philosophers, sages, wise ones). Mexica tlam- oneself by balancing others (i.e. by acting morally). In atinimeh possessed knowledge of and instructed peo- short, one improves oneself by improving others, and ple in toltecayotl or the art of living wisely -- which harms oneself by harming others. Moreover, one can- they equated with living a good life, a morally upright not balance oneself in isolation from others since bal- life, and a genuinely human life. ancing oneself requires participating in interperson- ally oriented nepantla processes involving reciprocity Humans attain such a life by creating, maintaining, with others. One can only become a well-balanced and participating in a well-balanced human lifeway as agent (and hence morally upright) in the company well as well-balanced world lifeway consisting of hu- of and with the assistance and cooperation of other man and other–than-human agents and their social in- agents. In sum, humans attain well-being, the good terrelationships, here in the Fifth Age lifeworld of the life, and genuine humanness only through individual cosmos.4 What’s more, given their essential interde- effort and through well-balanced relationships with pendence, humans live in balance and attain well-be- other agents, both human and other–than-human. ing if and only the Fifth Age lifeworld (including oth- er-than-human agents) does so as well. The good life thus requires continually balancing one’s self and one’s social relationships with others. Since Human well-being, the good life, and the genuine- the inhabitants of the Fifth Age are holistically in- ly human life are constituted by and consequent upon terrelated, balancing oneself involves balancing the well-balanced living. Well-balanced living, in turn, Fifth Age lifeworld, and vice versa. Self- and socially is principally constituted by and consequent upon two oriented nepantla-defined processes are the principal kinds of nepantla-defined activities: individually paths to balancing well, and balancing well is the only and socially oriented. Humans create and maintain path to well-being. well-balanced human and world lifeways by initiating new and renewing existing relationships of recipro- Balance cal gifting with other agents, both human and oth- er-than-human. I call these activities socially oriented Well-balanced living requires that one balance the nepantla processes. Humans also create and maintain bodily components and vital forces comprising one’s well-balanced human and world lifeways by middling own body-mind confluence, as well as balance one’s the various forces comprising the confluence of body- relationships with other humans (including deceased mind forces constituting their individual selfhood. I ancestors) and other-than-human agents (includ- call these activities self-oriented nepantla processes. ing creator beings, rivers, mountains, fields, animals, Both fall under the broader conceptual umbrella of plants, houses, tools, and artworks). nepantla processes (more anon). The distinction be- tween self- and socially oriented processes is one of Mexica tlamatinimeh understood balancing as a pro- emphasis only, however, seeing as Mexica philosophy cess -- a dynamic, diachronic, dialectical, agonistic, and draws no modern, Western-style distinction between middling process –rather than a single event or stat- self vs. other, self vs. society, or self vs. world or ‘nature’. ic condition. The ordinary activity of walking neatly illustrates their understanding. Walking is a process, Humans (and other-than-humans) live in a world not an event. It is diachronic, not static. Walking re- consisting of social relationships with other agents, quires being able to achieve an overarching, diachron- and they are defined in terms of these relationships. ic balance between a repeating series of momentary As a consequence, they are necessarily affected by the imbalances. Starting from a standing position, one 2018 | Volume 5 | Special Issue 1 | Page 2 Science, Religion & Culture extends one’s left leg forward, shifts one’s weight damentally transformative. left-forwardly, and in so doing puts oneself off bal- ance. But before falling leftwards too far and crashing Weaving embodies perhaps most paradigmatically the to the ground, one quickly extends one’s right leg and properties of a nepantla process: abundant mutuality, shifts one’s weight rightwards. This, of course, creates reciprocal middlingness, conceptual and metaphysical a right-leaning imbalance that counterbalances the ambiguity, and destructive-creative transformation. first, left-leaning imbalance. However, before falling Weaving interlaces warp and weft and in so doing rightwards too far and tumbling to the ground, one creates a woven fabric, a tertium quid, i.e. something quickly extends one’s left leg, thereby shifting one’s that is neither warp nor weft yet simultaneously both weight leftwards. The process of walking involves warp and weft. More abstractly, nepantla processing repeating these alternating unbalancing and coun- weaves together A and B to create a tertium quid, C, ter-balancing movements over and over again. One which is neither A nor B yet at the same time both does not try to strike a static middle or mean point; A and B. In this way nepantla processes are simulta- rather one passes through such a point in the con- neously destructive, creative, and transformative. That stant “to-and-fro” of walking. One middles oneself which is nepantla-middled is well-balanced, well-ar- dialectically by incorporating and weaving together ranged, and well-ordered. Nepantla processes are mid- alternating imbalances. One walks straightforwardly dling and balancing in several senses. First, they are by walking crookedly. One walks in balance by un- middling in the intransitive sense of occurring in the balanced walking.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • C 1992-219 a Nahuatl Interpretation of the Conquest
    In: Amaryll Chanady, Latin American Identity and Constructions of Difference, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, Vol. 10, 1994, pp. 104-129. Chapter 6 A Nahuatl Interpretation of the Conquest: From the "Parousia" of the Gods to the "Invasion" Enrique Dussel (translated by Amaryll Chanady) In teteu inan in tetu ita, in Huehueteutl [Mother of the gods, Father of the gods, the Old God], lying on the navel of the Earth, enclosed in a refuge of turquoises. He who lives in the waters the color of a blue bird, he who is surrounded by clouds, the Old God, he who lives in the shadows of the realm of the dead, the lord of fire and time. -Song to Ometeótl, the originary being of the Aztec Tlamatinime1 I would like to examine the "meaning of 1492," which is nothing else but "the first experience of modem Europeans," from the perspective of the "world" of the Aztecs, as the conquest in the literal sense of the term started in Mexico. In some cases I will refer to other cultures in order to suggest additional interpreta- tions, although I am aware that these are only a few of the many possible examples, and that they are a mere "indication" of the problematic. Also, in the desire to continue an intercultural dia- logue initiated in Freiburg with Karl-Otto Apel in 1989, I will re- fer primarily to the existence of reflexive abstract thought on our continent.2 The tlamatini In nomadic societies (of the first level) or societies of rural plant- ers (like the Guaranis), social differentiation was not developed sufficiently to identify a function akin to that of the "philoso- pher", although in urban society this social figure acquires a dis- tinct profile.3 As we can read in Garcilaso de la Vega's Comenta- rios reales de los Incas: 104 105 Demás de adorar al Sol por dios visible, a quien ofrecieron sacrificios e hicieron grandes fiestas,..
    [Show full text]
  • Mexico and Spain on the Eve of Encounter
    4 Mexico and Spain on the Eve of Encounter In comparative history, the challenge is to identify significant factors and the ways in which they are related to observed outcomes. A willingness to draw on historical data from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean will be essen- tial in meeting this challenge. — Walter Scheidel (2016)1 uring the decade before Spain’s 1492 dynastic merger and launching of Dtrans- Atlantic expeditions, both the Aztec Triple Alliance and the joint kingdoms of Castile and Aragón were expanding their domains through con- quest. During the 1480s, the Aztec Empire gained its farthest flung province in the Soconusco region, located over 500 miles (800 km) from the Basin of Mexico near the current border between Mexico and Guatemala. It was brought into the imperial domain of the Triple Alliance by the Great Speaker Ahuitzotl, who ruled from Tenochtitlan, and his younger ally and son- in- law Nezahualpilli, of Texcoco. At the same time in Spain, the allied Catholic Monarchs Isabela of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragón were busy with military campaigns against the southern emirate of Granada, situated nearly the same distance from the Castilian heartland as was the Soconusco from the Aztec heartland. The unification of the kingdoms ruled by Isabela and Ferdinand was in some sense akin to the reunifi- cation of Hispania Ulterior and Hispania Citerior of the early Roman period.2 The conquest states of Aztec period Mexico and early modern Spain were the product of myriad, layered cultural and historical processes and exchanges. Both were, of course, ignorant of one another, but the preceding millennia of societal developments in Mesoamerica and Iberia set the stage for their momentous en- counter of the sixteenth century.
    [Show full text]
  • Hispanic/Latino Issues in Philosophy
    APA NEWSLETTER ON Hispanic/Latino Issues in Philosophy Eduardo Mendieta, Editor Spring 2004 Volume 03, Number 2 REPORT FROM THE CHAIR ARTICLES January 23, 2004 The Epistemology of Aztec Time-Keeping I am pleased to announce that the efforts of the Committee James Maffie on Hispanics toward establishing an annual prize for scholarly Colorado State University work in Latin American philosophy have been successful: the prize will soon be a reality, thanks to the APA’s recent decision Pre-Columbian Aztec (Mexica) astronomy achieved to support it for an initial period of three years. We plan to remarkable empirical accuracy, predictive success, and offer the prize once a year, at the Eastern Division meeting of mathematical precision.1 Aztec astronomers believed the the association, beginning this year in Boston. Those interested movement of time through space to be the self-presenting of in applying should be sure to check the conditions, which are the sacred. They followed celestial and terrestrial patterns, listed in this issue of the Newsletter. with an eye towards predicting the future, proper human ritual I would also like to report that we have continued moving participation and living in harmony with the cosmos, and ahead full-steam to promote Latin American philosophy, to understanding sacred reality. raise the profile of Hispanics in the profession, and to defend I want to examine two puzzles regarding Aztec astronomy. their rights. The Committee had a crucial role in the success of First, Aztec epistemology maintained that humans attain the first annual symposium on Latin American philosophy, held knowledge of reality a priori using their yollo (“heart”), not at Texas State University in San Marcos in October 2003.
    [Show full text]
  • Enrique Dussel, and Jus- Tus George Lawler of Continuum for His Continued Interest in This Project
    4 Contents Translator's Acknowledgements 7 Preface 9 PART ONE From the European Ego: The Covering Over ● 15 Chapter 1: Eurocentrism 19 Chapter 2: From the Invention to the Discovery of the New World 27 Chapter 3: From the Conquest to the Colonization of the Life- World 37 Chapter 4 : The Spiritual Conquest: Toward the Encounter between Two Worlds? 49 PART TWO Transition: The Copernican Revolution of the Hermeneutic Key ● 59 Chapter 5: Critique of the Myth of Modernity 63 Chapter 6: Amerindia in a Non-Eurocentric Vision of World History 73 5 PART THREE From the Invasion to the Dis-covery of the Other ● 91 Chapter 7: From the Parousia of the Gods to the Invasion 95 Chapter 8: From the Resistance to the End of the World and the Sixth Sun 106 Epilogue: The Multiple Visages of the One People and the Sixth Sun 119 Appendix 1: Diverse Meanings of the Terms Europe, The Occident, Modernity, Late Capitalism 133 Appendix 2: Two Paradigms of Modernity 136 Appendix 3: From the Discovery of the Atlantic to 1502 141 Appendix 4: Map of the Fourth Asiatic Peninsula of Henry Martellus (Florence 1489) 142 Notes 145 Chronology 211 Index 214 6 Translator's Acknowledgments The translator would like to thank Enrique Dussel, and Jus- tus George Lawler of Continuum for his continued interest in this project. Thanks are due also to Mrs. Virginia Duck- worth for editing assistance and Mr. Ollie L. Roundtree for techni- cal assistance. I have translated the German texts (e.g., from Kant, Hegel, Marx) on the basis of Dussel's Spanish translations of those texts, since he frequently utilizes ellipses to omit several pages and since other En- glish translations of these texts would not adequately convey Dus- sel's own reasons for combining such texts in a single quotation.
    [Show full text]
  • Tlattic in Xochitl in Cuicatl))
    A brightness – a signal – a sign (the light explored and questioned everything) ((Tlattic in xochitl in cuicatl)) by Emiliano Rafael Sepulveda B.F.A. Emily Carr University, 2009 Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Fine Arts in the School for the Contemporary Arts Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology © Emiliano Rafael Sepulveda 2016 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Fall 2016 Approval Name: Emiliano Sepulveda Degree: Master of Fine Arts Title: A brightness - a signal - a sign (the light explored and questioned everything) ((tlattic in xochitl in cuicatl)) Examining Committee: Chair: Judy Radul Professor Allyson Clay Senior Supervisor Professor Stephen Collis Supervisor Professor Department of English Elspeth Pratt Supervisor Associate Professor Dana Claxton External Examiner Associate Professor The Department of Art History, Visual Art, and Theory University of British Columbia Date Defended/Approved: September 28, 2016 ii Abstract A brightness – a signal – a sign (the light explored and questioned everything) ((tlattic in xochitl in cuicatl)) is a project that begins with a process of walking throughout Vancouver, finding objects, walking with the objects, then constructing sculptures collaboratively with them. This is done while considering the possibility for quantum entanglement between the human and non-human, and forming a bond between the human body, the sites where the objects are found, and the found objects themselves. This labour is driven by the experience of being an immigrant living within a diaspora and is a performative means for creating a dynamic and reciprocal relationship with the Land of Vancouver. Keywords: Aztlán; sculpture; in xochitl in cuicatl; installation; poetry; diaspora iii Dedication For Gosia and for the person growing within who I've yet to meet Empezamos este viaje juntos - todos juntos seguimos iv Acknowledgements First I want to acknowledge that this work came into being on the traditional unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and the Tsleil-Waututh Nations.
    [Show full text]
  • PHILOSOPHY – FALL 2019 VARIABLE TITLES and OTHER SPECIAL OFFERINGS See the Catalog/Course Schedule for a Full List
    PHILOSOPHY – FALL 2019 VARIABLE TITLES AND OTHER SPECIAL OFFERINGS See the catalog/course schedule for a full list. This flier highlights new courses and courses that are unlikely to be offered again for roughly two years. BRAND NEW THIS TERM (both serve as PHIL electives in any of our programs) • PHIL 126-001: Introduction to Global Philosophies (Ramsey, M/W/F 11:15-12:05) CRN 15207 Philosophy, or the “love of wisdom,” is a human activity found in most, if not all, cultures. This course explores the formative philosophical thought of some of the world’s great cultures so to come to a better understanding of what philosophy is and how philosophy has been done in other cultures and periods. This section examines early Confucianism, early Buddhism, Islamic philosophy and Aztec philosophy, respectively. We will discuss each of the four philosophical traditions on their own terms as well as in terms of the other three. Because we will be juxtaposing these four traditions, students will have an opportunity compare their ways of understanding of concepts like wisdom, good and bad, the human condition, personhood, reality, truth, and knowledge; and hence to deeper their own understanding of these concepts as well. • PHIL 280-001: Philosophy of Science (Brown T/R 11-12:15) CRN 15215 This is an introduction to the philosophy of science focused on questions about its nature, methods and goals. Some of the questions we explore include: What distinguishes science from pseudo-science? What constitutes the ‘scientific method?' and What is scientific objectivity? Students in this course will learn to deploy a variety of philosophical methods to explore both conceptual and practical issues embedded in scientific work.
    [Show full text]
  • The Politics of Decolonial Investigations
    THE POLITICS OF DECOLONIAL INVESTIGATIONS WALTER D. MIGNOLO the politics of decolonial investigations ON DECOLONIALITY a series edited by Walter D. Mignolo and Catherine E. Walsh On Decoloniality interconnects a diverse array of perspectives from the lived experiences of coloniality and decolonial thought/praxis in different local histories from across the globe. The series is concerned with colonial- ity’s global logic and scope and with the myriad of decolonial responses and engagements that contest coloniality/modernity’s totalizing violences, claims, and frame, opening toward an otherwise of being, thinking, sensing, knowing, and living; that is, of re-existences and worlds-making. Aimed at a broad audience, from scholars, students, and artists to journalists, activ- ists, and socially engaged intellectuals, On Decoloniality invites a wide range of participants to join one of the fastest-growing debates in the humanities and social sciences that attends to the lived concerns of dignity, life, and the survival of the planet. THE Walter d. mignolo POLITICS OF DECOLONIAL INVESTIGATIONS duke university press durham and london 2021 © 2021 Duke University Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of Amer i ca on acid- free paper ∞ Designed by Aimee C. Harrison Typeset in Portrait Text Regular and itc Avant Garde Gothic by Westchester Publishing Ser vices Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Names: Mignolo, Walter, author. Title: The politics of decolonial investigations / Walter D. Mignolo. Description: Durham : Duke University Press, 2021. | Series: On decoloniality | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Identifiers: lccn 2020042286 (print) lccn 2020042287 (ebook) isbn 9781478001140 (hardcover) isbn 9781478002574 (ebook) isbn 9781478001492 (paperback) Subjects: lcsh: Decolonization.
    [Show full text]
  • The Nature of Mexica Ethics James Maffie
    3 The Nature of Mexica Ethics James Maffie Scholars of Mexica (Aztec) philosophy widely embrace the general claim that (1) reciprocity functions at the heart of Mexica metaphysics' under­ standing of the nature and continual becoming of the world as well as the role of human beings in contributing to the continual becoming of the world. They also widely embrace several more specific claims: (2) power­ ful creator beings engender the Fifth Age of the cosmos; (3) these same creator beings engender Fifth Age human beings; (4) they engender human beings by 'deserving' or 'meriting' humans' existence; (5) Fifth Age human beings are tQerefo_ret~ose 'des~rved' 9r 'm_erit~d'int~ ~~\s_tenceby creator beings; (6) Fifth Age human beings are consequently b6rn 'obligated' or 'indebted' to creator beings; and (7) Fifth Age human beings do so by providing f~_r~reator _~eings'co1.1t~,nui,np su~t,en_~p.c~ -~11,d ,e~(/itence. In what follows Ulesl:i out some :of the .more important metaphyskal and meta­ ethical underpinnings and consequences of these claims, 1 1. Human and Other-Than-Human Reciprocity and Co-Participation in the Fifth Age According to Mexica creation narratives (tlamachiliztlatolzazani/li, liter­ ally, 'wisdom tellings' [Bierhorst 1992, vii]), the history of the cosmos consists of a series of five Ages or Suns. The succession of the first four Ages consists of the creator beings, Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca, tak­ ing turns creating their own and destroying the other's Age. Each of the four Ages is populated by its own particular kind of human being who is also destroyed.
    [Show full text]
  • In Huehue Tlamanitiliztli and La Verdad: Nahua and European Philosophies in Fray Bernardino De Sahagúnʼs Colloquios Y Doctrina Cristiana by James Maffie
    In Huehue Tlamanitiliztli and la Verdad: Nahua and European Philosophies in Fray Bernardino de Sahagúnʼs Colloquios y doctrina cristiana by James Maffie In Huehue Tlamanitiliztli and la Verdad: Nahua and European Philosophies in Fray Bernardino de Sahagún’s Colloquios y doctrina cristiana by James Maffie English Abstract Bernardino de Sahagún’s Colloquios y doctrina cristiana reproduces an exchange that occurred in 1524 between the first twelve Franciscans sent to the New World and a group of Nahua elite. I argue the Colloquois contains no syllogistic debate and little genuine dialogue. Nahuas and Franciscans talk past one another in a case of what James Lockhart calls “double mistaken identity.” Nahuas and Franciscans address one another from two, alternative philosophical orientations: what I call “path-oriented” and “truth-oriented” (respectively). These consist of two constellations of alternatively defined notions of wisdom, knowledge, reasoning, belief, language, morality, religion, and in the end, how to live. Truth-oriented philosophies define these notions in terms of truth. Path-oriented philosophies define these notions in terms of finding, making, and extending a lifeway. Resumen en español El texto Colloquios y doctrina cristiana de Bernardino de Sahagún reproduce un intercambio que ocurre en el año 1524 entre los primeros doce franciscanos enviados al Nuevo Mundo y un grupo de élites Nahua. Propongo que Colloquios no contiene debate silogístico e incluye poco diálogo genuino. Los Nahua y los franciscanos hablan sin realmente comunicarse en un caso de lo que James Lockhart llama una “doble identidad equivocada” (double mistaken identity). Los Nahua y los franciscanos se dirigen los unos a los otros desde dos orientaciones filosóficas alternativas: las cuales yo llamo, respectivamente, las filosofías “orientadas por senderos” (path-oriented) y las que son “orientadas por la verdad” (truth-oriented).
    [Show full text]
  • Aztec Philosophy: Understanding a World in Motion
    Aztec (Mexica) Philosophy Instructor: Jim Maffie Office: Key 2139 Office Hrs: MW 12:00-1:00 or by appointment E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 301-405-8961 Course Description: The course consists of two parts. The first pursues an in-depth examination of the philosophico-religious worldview and concepts of the conquest-era Mexica (Aztecs) with special attention to their metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, aesthetics, and understanding of human sacrifice. The second examines European debates concerning the moral justification and legitimacy of Europeans’ conquest and domination of the native peoples of the “New World.” Course Requirements and Grading*: Students are required to attend lectures, participate in discussions, and complete three take-home exams each of which counts 25% of the final grade. Class participation counts for 25%. Late papers will be penalized one-half letter grade per academic day (not per class period). Electronic submissions will not be accepted. 75%: Three 3-5 page essay take-home exams (25% each) 25%: Class participation (assessed along with each of the three exams) Students are expected to demonstrate in their essays: (a) the ability to convey a theme or argument clearly and coherently; (b) the ability to analyze critically and to synthesize the work of others; (c) the ability to acquire and apply information from appropriate sources, and reference sources appropriately; and (d) their competence in standard written English. Learning assessment Outcome The course asks that students participate in class discussions and complete three essay take-home exams. Both exercises provide students with the opportunity to understand a philosophic-religious viewpoint alien to their own as well as compare and contrast the philosophico-religious concepts and categories (e.g.
    [Show full text]
  • Aztec Philosophy: Understanding a World in Motion / James Maffie
    Aztec Philosophy Aztec Philosophy Understanding a World in Motion James Maffie UNIVERSITY PRESS OF COLORADO Boulder © 2014 by University Press of Colorado Published by University Press of Colorado 5589 Arapahoe Avenue, Suite 206C Boulder, Colorado 80303 All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America The University Press of Colorado is a proud member of the Association of American University Presses. The University Press of Colorado is a cooperative publishing enterprise supported, in part, by Adams State University, Colorado State University, Fort Lewis College, Metropolitan State University of Denver, Regis University, University of Colorado, University of Northern Colorado, Utah State University, and Western State Colorado University. ∞ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences – Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials. ANSI Z39.48-1992 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Maffie, James. Aztec philosophy: understanding a world in motion / James Maffie. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-60732-222-1 (cloth: alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-60732-223-8 (ebook) 1. Aztec philosophy. 2. Aztecs—Folklore. I. Title. F1219.76.P55M35 2013 199’.7208997452—dc23 2013018407 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Cover photo credit: Almena en forma de caracol cortado, El Museo del Templo Mayor, Mexico City, Mexico. Photograph by Jorge Pérez de Lara Elías. To my mother, Elaine Wack Maffie, and the memory of my father, Cornelius Michael Maffie. Contents Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 Chapter 1. Teotl 21 1.1.
    [Show full text]
  • James Maffie: Aztec Philosophy: Understanding a World in Motion, Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2014
    James Maffie: Aztec Philosophy: Understanding a World in Motion review by Alejandro Santana James Maffie: Aztec Philosophy: Understanding a World in Motion, Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2014. Pp. 608, paperback $35. ISBN: 978-1607324614 by Alejandro Santana, University of Portland James Maffie’s book is a comprehensive study of Aztec metaphysics. It attempts to outline the Aztec world-view in a way that integrates the best archeological, anthropological, ethnological, historical, literary, and artistic scholarship in Nahua and Mesoamerican studies. It intends to serve as a foundational text aimed at starting a philosophical dialogue about Aztec (or more broadly speaking, Nahua) philosophy. It fits squarely in the area of history of philosophy but is equally valuable to comparative philosophy and offers interesting insights relevant to contemporary metaphysics and epistemology. Overall, Maffie is eminently successful in these aims. His careful and in-depth study is obviously a significant contribution to Nahua studies, but it is a game-changer for future scholars in philosophy insofar as it can serve as a foundational text to examine, debate, and develop. Maffie’s book also makes a significant contribution to Latin American philosophy, for it provides a badly-needed philosophical study of an indigenous world-view that could be more broadly applied in this area. Most importantly, it marks a beginning in which an indigenous Mesoamerican way of thinking is brought to the table of academic philosophy to share insights, offer critiques, and thereby take its rightful place among the major philosophies of the world. This book would be useful to scholars in the various sub-disciplines of Mesoamerican studies, as it offers a coherent monistic interpretation of Nahua thought, one that systematizes and more fully elaborates the philosophical underpinnings of existing scholarship, and one that breaks with long-standing and widely-held dualistic interpretations.
    [Show full text]