Preliminary communication

Ethnos between Ethnology and Philosophy

Marko Terseglav ; Institute of Ethnomusicology, SAZU, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Abstract

The author examines some of Federik Barth's ideas as presented by Olga Supek, although he also gives some of his own thoughts – inspired by the Slovene poet and philosopher Edvard Kocbek. He presents Kocbek's view on small communities (ethne) and indicates the tasks of ethnology in studying ethnos as Kocbek understood it. The author refutes contemporary anthropological, sociological and ethnological theories which reduce the essence of ethnic questions merely to socio-economic causes, or even to the Marxist class struggle. On the basis of Kocbek's philosophical thoughts and his own field experience, he notes that communities have a set of tradition-derived rules which function as collective axioms on the psychological level and to which individuals as well “unconsciously” adhere. The author also discusses ethnic symbols, identity-markers, and “intangible” elements in human culture that are not interesting to science since it cannot reach them by using an empirical apparatus. At the end of the paper the author once more notes the applicability of ethnological findings, which Yugoslav politicians could make use of in analysing certain ethnic and national controversies, especially those in Kosovo. He claims that policies have so far been based only on ideology, and that the have therefore not been able to resolve ethnic and national conflicts in Yugoslavia.

Keywords

ethnos; ethnology; philosophy

Hrčak ID:

128049

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/128049

Publication date:

29.9.1989.

Article data in other languages: croatian slovenian

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