From Philosophy to Method: A Historical Epistemology of the Notion of Individuality in Boasian Anthropology
From Philosophy to Method: A Historical Epistemology of the Notion of Individuality in Boasian Anthropology

Summary/Abstract: Through the interdisciplinary lens of historical epistemology, the present work aims to show that individuality is not only a cultural value but also a veritable epistemic operator. The Boasian concept of culture represents much more than a reaction against evolutionism. In his fieldworks, Boas effectively operationalised Herder’s arguments about historicism and cultural particularity. Under these circumstances, their theoretical models require a detailed analysis. Historical epistemology shows how specific conceptual commitments determine the criteria for valid anthropological evidence. By tracing the epistemic use of individuality back to nineteenth-century German historicism, the present work illustrates significant continuities and discontinuities. From Herder, Boas inherited not only a solid concept of culture but also his epistemic values. The Boasians successfully employed the epistemic notion of individuality to limit imprudent explanatory ambitions while enabling a sustainable historical intelligibility. Individuality shifts from a theoretical construct in Herder's philosophical anthropology to a methodological frame in Boasian anthropology.

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