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Edvard Westermarck

 
Philosophy Dictionary: Edward Westermarck

Westermarck, Edward (1862-1939) Finnish anthropologist who wrote on the diversity of moral systems. Westermark espoused a kind of relativism, although without an account of what the truth of a moral statement actually consisted in. He saw the importance of emotion and culture in defining moral systems, without the Englightenment or Kantian confidence either in a universal human nature or a universal reason. Works included The Origin and Development of Moral Ideas (1906) and Ethical Relativity (1932).

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Columbia Encyclopedia: Edward Alexander Westermarck
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Westermarck, Edward Alexander (vĕs'tərmärk, wĕs'-), 1862-1939, Finnish social philosopher and anthropologist. He was professor of sociology at the Univ. of London (1907-30) and professor of philosophy at the Åbo Akademi (until 1935). Westermarck was an authority on the history of morals and of marriage customs, his best-known work being The History of Human Marriage, written in English (1891; 5th ed., 3 vol., 1921). On it he based A Short History of Marriage (1926). He wrote several books on Moroccan customs. Other books (all in English) include The Origin and Development of the Moral Ideas (2 vol., 1906-8; 2d ed. 1912-17), Ethical Relativity (1932), The Future of Marriage in Western Civilization (1936), and Christianity and Morals (1939).

Bibliography

See his autobiography (tr. 1929).

Wikipedia: Edvard Westermarck
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Edvard Westermarck
Born 20 November 1862 (1862-11-20)
Died 3 September 1939 (1939-09-04)
Nationality Finnish
Fields sociology
Known for Westermarck effect

Edvard Alexander Westermarck (20 November 18623 September 1939) was a Swedish speaking Finnish philosopher and sociologist. Among other subjects, he studied exogamy and the incest taboo.

He is known for first noting the Westermarck effect in which infants raised together are unable to form sexual feelings for one another as adults, regardless of their genetic relationship.

Whilst professoring at the London School of Economics he helped found academic sociology in the United Kingdom.

Books

  • 1907: Siveys ja kristinusko: Esitelmä. Ylioppilasyhdistys Prometheus, Helsinki.
  • 1925: The History of Human Marriage. Macmillan, London. [1891.]
  • 1930: Wit and Wisdom in Morocco. Routledge, London.
  • 1932: Avioliiton historia. WSOY, Helsinki.
  • 1933: Moraalin synty ja kehitys. WSOY, Helsinki.
  • 1934: Three Essays on Sex and Marriage. Macmillan, London.
  • 1934: Freuds teori on Oedipuskomplexen i sociologisk belysning. Vetenskap och bildning, 45. Bonnier, Stockholm.
  • 1984: Kristinusko ja moraali. Otava, Helsinki.
  • 1991: Tapojen historiaa: Kuusi akadeemista esitelmää: Pitänyt Turussa syksyllä 1911 Edward Westermarck. 2nd edition. Suomalaisen kirjallisuuden seura, Helsinki.

Literature

  • Kirsti Suolinna, Catherine af Hällström & Tommy Lahtinen: Portraying Morocco: Edward Westermarck's fieldwork and photographs 1898-1913. Åbo: Akademis Förl, 2000; ISBN 951-765-046-9
  • Juhani Ihanus: Multiple origins: Edward Westermarck in search of mankind. Frankfurt am Main [u.a.]: Lang, 1999 (Europäische Studien zur Ideen- und Wissenschaftsgeschichte; 6); ISBN 3-631-34455-4

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Philosophy Dictionary. The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy. Copyright © 1994, 1996, 2005 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/ Read more
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