lecture 3 equality in early societies

8/10/2019 Lecture 3 Equality in Early Societies

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Equality in Early Societies

And the Historical Fall of Humankind

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Seating for class P1 (T-Th)

Front of Room

Lawler: P110 (W 12)

P101 (M 9) P107 (Tu 9)P102 (W 9) P104 (W 11) P108 (Th 9)

P103 (F 9) P105 (M 11) P109 (M 8)

P106 (F 11)McNamara Kelly McAndrew

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Seating for P2 (M-W)

Front of Room

Lawler: P201 (T 2)

P 202(M 10) P208 (M 12)P 203 (W 10) P205 (M 8) P209 (W 12)

P 204 (F 10) P206 (W 8) P210 (Th 12)

P207 (F 8)Lawrence Donohue Houston

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Mind/Spirit over Matter

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Ancient (Eastern) v.

Modern (Western)

Modern science and technology: matter based,external instruments (mechanical causes) Causes of illness: external, germs and viruses

Cures through external interventions, chemicals

Ancient science and technology: spirit/mind basedtechnologies of thought/feeling (Ayurveda,Acupuncture, Yoga etc. (human purposes, teleology) Illnesses are related to inner state: thoughts, personality

types How to control ones mind > basis for healing the body

Importance of the life force: Prana (India), Chi (China),expressing the animism of early hunter/gatherers

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Outline

A Basic concepts of Genesis

In the beginningparadise

The fall and its consequences

B Historical parallels

The earliest societies

The rise of hierarchical states

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In the Beginning

And God said, Let us make man in our image,

after our likeness . . . Genesis 1:26

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of

the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the

breath of life; and man became a living soul.

(Genesis 2:7)

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Harmony

Creation of humans: God-like spirit (breath)

breathed into matter of earth

In the beginning human beings were one with

God, nature, and each other.

Harmony of matter and spirit, nature and

humanity.

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Breath of Life

=no radical separation between God and

humans

--in terms of spirit (Gods breath)

Latin for air, breath, life; mind, soul, spirit:

anima, animus

=> animism: All reality contains spirit

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Human dominion of the earth

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after

our likeness: and let them have dominion over the

fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over

the cattle, an over all the earth, and over everycreeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

(Genesis 1:26)

=> nature spontaneously exists for the purpose of

(teleology) serving human beingswithout labor,struggle, conquest

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Equality of Male and Female

First account of creation of human beings:

Equality of male and female:

So God created man in his own image, in the

image of God created he him; male and

female created he them. (Genesis 1:27)

--Second account: Eve taken from Adams rib.

Later version? (Genesis 2:20-24)

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The command

Dont eat of the tree that brings knowledge ofgood and evil

= remain in a state of simple unity with all natureand God, a state of goodness w/o evil

Evil is what comes from disunity between God and humanity,

between humans and nature,

between humans and each other

All Gods creation is good

Wehumans are the cause of evil

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How It Used To Be

1) And they heard the voice of the Lord Godwalking in the garden in the cool of the day.

= oneness, friendship, with God

2) and Adam and his wife hid themselvesfrom the presence of the Lord God amongstthe trees of the garden.

=Humans separate themselves from God.

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The Fall

Humans freely choose to separate themselvesfrom this state of innocence and perfection.

Eve initiates this. Why Eve, not Adam?

=Choice of separateness, individuality 1) Separation from God

2) Separation from each other

3) Separation from harmony with nature.

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Results of choice of separation

Separation of man and woman

For the man: pain of physical labor

Loss of dominion over the earth

For the woman: pain of childbirth,

subordination to the man

>death >murder (fratricide) . . . war

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Why does Cain kill Abel?

Hint: What work do they do?

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Cain and Abel

And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was

a tiller of the ground. (Genesis 4:2)

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Historical implications

From whose point of view?

Who, what are the Hebrews?

How did the hearers of the story of Genesisunderstand their situation?

Who are their enemies?

Who is good and who is evil? How does historical context help us

understand the text?

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Historical Parallels

Historical parallel

Agriculturalists v. herders

Fall as reflection of division of humanity

1) From nature

2) From each other

3) From God

1) Hunter/Gatherers (animals/plants)

2) Herders (from hunters) againstAgriculturalists (from gatherers)

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Historical Timeline

1) Early hunter-gathererspaleolithic age

120,000 years of homo sapiens (sapiens)

2 million years of homo habilis (stone tools)

2) Revolution 10,000-8000 BCEbegins neolithic age Herders and simple agriculturalists

Transitional stage

3) Revolution 3,500 BCE

rise of hierarchical state societies (complex agriculture)

Time of the Fall

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1) Separation from Nature

1) Mode of life of hunter/gatherers

Appropriation of nature

Dependence on independent nature

Unity with nature

2) Mode of life of herders, simpleagriculturalists

Human transformation of nature 3) Hierarchical states control nature: irrigation

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Evolution of material creativity

1) Change nature intotools (for hunting,gathering)

2) Transform nature withtools (for herding,

simple agriculture) 3) Intensified domination of nature (the

animal drawn plow)Civilization

NB: Non-biological changes, outside thehuman organism

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2) Separation from Each Other

1) Equality of hunter-gatherer societies

Kinship-based society: natural relations

Leaders democratically chosen, elders

Exogamous marriage: unites the small bands into largertribes

Gender differences but equality of status: no power ofmen over women

2) Herders, simple agriculturalists

Male dominance among herders, but no state: HebrewGod is male

Goddess religions among early agriculturalists (male andfemale gods)

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Rise of Inequality

3) Hierarchical Middle-Eastern state society

Sharp class divisions; slavery (separation from

tools!)

Hereditary rulers over the people

Subordination of women to men

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Oppressiveness of early civilization

In modern times, many scholars have calledattention to the shortcomings of Sumer. (Seebox, p. 60.) They caution us to learn from the

past so as not to repeat what they see as themistakes of Sumer in our own cities: Not tomake warfare into a religious obligation; not toisolate the city from the countryside; not to

establish oppressive class distinctions; not toinstitutionalize the patriarchal oppression ofwomen.

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Contrast with the previous world

Underlying these warnings, however, isanother myth, the myth of the pre-urbanagricultural village as an egalitarian, peacefulsettlement well integrated into its naturalsurroundings.

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How do we know this?

We do not know if this was so. Pre-urban

villagers produced no written records, and

their artfactual remains are thin, inconclusive,

and subject to widely divergent interpretation.Scholars draw many of their conclusions

concerning pre-urban life from observing

isolated groups in todays world, such as the!Kung people of the African Kalahari desert of

a generation ago. (62)

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Genesisas Critique of History

What did the early people themselvesthink?

Genesisas a basis of knowing what some early

peoples thought of development of civilization

And its different separations

Inequality of men and women is unnatural

Labor over/against nature is unnatural

War is unnatural

Explanation: the results of sin (i.e., separation

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The subordination of women

Finally, the transformation of society from a

rural, egalitarian, kin base to an urban,

hierarchical, territorial, and class base may

have provided the entering wedge for thesubordination of women. Some women in

Sumer had great power . Spodek, 60.

What did the people themselvesthink of this?

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The People v. Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh does not leave a girl to her

mother(?)

The daughter of the warrior, the bride of the

young man,

the gods kept hearing their complaints, so

the gods of the heavens implored the Lord of

Uruk [Anu]

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"You have indeed brought into being a mighty

wild bull, head raised!

"There is no rival who can raise a weapon

against him.

"His fellows stand (at the alert), attentive

to his (orders!)

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and (the gods) called out to Aruru:

"it was you, Aruru, who createdmankind(?),

now create a zikru [opponent] to it/him.

Let him be equal to his (Gilgamesh's)stormy heart,

let them be a match for each other so thatUruk may find peace!"

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Historical Context of Gilgamesh

What stage of history does this reflect?

Whose point of view?

What kind of people are telling/hearing this

story?

What do they think of their situation?

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lecture 3 equality in early societies

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