Philosophical anthropology, Tsimshian -- Social life and customs, Tsimshian -- Psychology, Tsimshian, Tsimshian -- Religion 

"This book addresses two crises in contemporary anthropology concerning definitions of the discipline's subject matter and appropriate ways of knowing. A phenomenological approach is developed as a means of resolving these dilemmas as they pertain to textual analysis. Narratives from one Northwest Coast culture, the Tsimshian, are analyzed in order to uncover their view of the human condition which is a common focus for theological, philosophical, and scientific anthropologies.

It is argued that the Tsimshian had three analytically distinct views of humanness embedded in their narrative concepts of chieftainship, shamanism, and secret societies. Comparison of them and their relationships permits a more general Tsimshian model to be derived which points to perceived problems, limitations, and potentialities of the human condition. Finally, this model is compared to some of the conclusions of Becker and Ricoeur to illustrate the kind of dialogue that can take place between non-western narratives and the variety of western anthropologies."--Back cover.