The Dance of Person and Place: One Interpretation of American Indian Philosophy

Contents

Contents List of Illustrations ix Foreword xi Acknowledgments xv 1. Common Themes in American Indian Philosophy 1 First Introductions 1 Four Common Themes: A First Look 9 Constructing an Actual American Indian World 14 2. Nelson Goodman’s Constructivism 17 Setting the Stage 17 Fact, Fiction, and Feeders 19 Ontological Pluralism 26 True Versions and Well-Made Worlds 32 Nonlinguistic Versions and the Advancement of Understanding 36 3. True Versions and Cultural Bias 39 Constructive Realism: Variations on a Theme by Goodman 39 True Versions and Cultural Bias 43 An American Indian Well-Made Actual World 51 4. Relatedness, Native Knowledge, and Ultimate Acceptability 55 Native Knowledge and Relatedness as a World-Ordering Principle 55 Native Knowledge and Truth 63 Native Knowledge and Verification 68 Native Knowledge and Ultimate Acceptability 74 5. An Expansive Conception of Persons 77 A Western Conception of Persons 77 Native Conceptions of Animate Beings and Persons 82 An American Indian Expansive Conception of Persons 93 viii Contents 6. The Semantic Potency of Performance 95 Opening Reflections and Reminders About Performances 95 Symbols and Their Performance 97 The Shawnee Naming Ceremony 102 Gifting as a World-Constructing Performance 105 Closing Remarks About the Semantic Potency of Performances 115 7. Circularity as a World-Ordering Principle 119 Goodman Briefly Revisited 119 Time, Events, and History or Space, Place, and Nature? 120 Circularity as a World-Ordering Principle 122 Circularity and Sacred Places 128 Closing Remarks About Circularity as a World-Ordering Principle 133 8. The Dance of Person and Place 135 American Indian Philosophy as a Dance of Person and Place 135 Consequences, Speculations, and Closing Reflections 138 Notes 141 Bibliography 153 Index 159 ...