engleski

Some reflections on concepts of "Progress" and "Primitive" in anthropological discourse

In this paper the attempt is made to shed light upon ideological background of the concepts of "progress" and "primitive" applied in our theories and rhetoric. Namely, evolutionary sequence and its accompanying political practices of colonialism and imperialism, because interrelated, because they were based on the recognition of natural history and on a time distance. Time distance was supposed to show that natural laws work in the development of human society/culture. This naturalization of time in its core was evaluative and hierarchical. As such it influenced the formation of one part of anthropological categorizing apparatus and especially the use of terms such as "progress" and "primitive." With time the notion of "progress" was more and more identified with economical progress which is analogous to the spread of quantitative forms of society and culture while ignoring their other aspects. At the same time, it was precisely the notion of progress that enabled the experience of "other" as "primitive." This created the conditions for misconcepted ideas of culture and ideas of progress i.e. simplified viewing of sociocultural activity, but also of two opposite concepts of progress according to which technological and moral progress will be unified.

societies; naturalization; progress; primitive; anthropology

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