n ruagns oF 0% society were at heart inimical, and wrote that it was le tothe ‘choice of men to establish diferent types of society. Although ‘he idea thatthe form of society depends on free choice sounds overly rationalist Pufendor!'s approach had the advantage ‘of secing human society not as incontroveribly determined by ‘tural laws, but changing as man’s “choices” were changing Locke also sreseed that the human mind was not innately ‘equipped with natural laws, but rather formed by experience, Sun Spinces similarly analyzed sociery asa human invention ‘All chee and ether attempts to understand man's social lite took their impetus fom the Baconian and Cartesian tmpharison 2 new departaze inthe quest for knowledge. The fellznee upon former authorities was eschewed, Grecks and Romans were derogaed, but Greek myths were ail sudied with grest dilgence and llegorized to show how noble— bet unscentfic—oas the Greek mind. But even this was placed in doubt bythe writings of Bayle and Fontenelle, who, Each in his own way, scorned allegorical interpretations. Bayle set the sage fora scence of religion, Fontenelle developed 2 concept of peimitive mentality not unlike that of Lévy-Bru “All inal, the study of soliterate peoples became increas ingly important. Sill they were not observed for their own, Inernsc interest, but were considered 2s the best example of trginal human nature. This was, nevertheless an advantage lover previous consideration, which had looked at primitive fmen only as exotic specimens. “The increasing secular of socal interpretations did not yet lead to attacks on religion, except perhaps inthe case of Bayle, Although some scholare were more devout than other, one: made overt breaks with religious tradition, Instead, Cuality became a step further removed. In medieval times {twas belived that God ruled ctery step of socal life, while in the seventeenth century the Divine was the creator of the laws of nature, but lef ie more or less up to.man to develop bis own socal insttions These trends continued in the fol Towing century, eventually leading to 2 complete separation between theology and the study of society. THE PROPER STUDY OF MANKIND IS MAN “The great advances in mathematics, medicine, astronomy, nd technology fom the tne of Bacon and Descartes onward i- spire a good del of enfdence in the Cartesian mathematical iden, The de nd dienes of eee Neen 1642-1727) completed this image. Ifthe gravitation of the tach kp the soon in cit and that of the sun ruled the courte ofthe planes, the whole waiverie must be mie by saathematiclly calculable laws Tes gencalyaceped that man and society were equal sabe oar ows ad the emerging scien of ati lent farther support to this bei. John Graunt (162074) was an early exponent of statsial regularities in society Soon sfeerward, Vee Ludwig von Seckendorf (1636-92) in Ger ‘any and William Pry (262587) in England developed fll scale systems of oil sats. The predictability of bth and eat rates an of life expectancies remed acer proc af the texinence of social laws, and it appeared to some that ll con- Germs of haman fe could be understood in terms of numbers ‘Although Hobbes had aleady weten that aman rexon was nothing but “reckoning” (Hobbes 19874), the dea that ten were machines found its ultimate expresion in the a ie a lli raeaces oF 22%) vwtngs of «French dct, Julien 0. de La Metre (77 3) Dering his medial practice be became track by the ea Eichigh ever cased an ntenacaton of thnking, evinced bythe vontnacn “ravings of ferred patents. He concluded athe mind (oe the sul) ass phys athe est ofthe body. The bran produced thoohes in the sme manner a¢ the Fer exceed ble. His fst bos, with he staring te Naural Hisar ofthe Sot, vandal. ewes polly Dannd and La etre ed to Leiden inthe Neherands Here ero his famous took Mon Bachne, published toward the end of 78, Excoding any spt pencpes fom the {nie he sought to recon im hs steals views by de ‘cing eaperiments with deopated frogs whore muses Feaained ube, and by giving ese histories of patients tree thought paces were alered by phil cuss. More mportan for farther developments war since hatin an animal were compos ol he ae nets fo ha they not only were abject fo the sme natal la Sve tiey were abo ology rtd, He wrote hat all ums contin thin temecves the power that poted Sir aciy, and lathe presto teaform int same ether ergainm. Mankind this belonged to nature and tothe snimal {kgm nd th anion frm animal oman had no been ine I slat bak, homme place (oa the ook was Tor tralate ito Engi bw ts ide would read Men Pm), La Mette took one more ep toward building the Sighcatcenery theory of tandormim, Nature wes nme and lf aemiig coud of an wren aan of bring fom te spl t the complex and tans Cee oe eee the pap formed the ink beeen plants and anal and tpes been ails and man. He proposed that tempts ‘Boa be made to teach apes to speak inorder to prove that fink sggetionflloned up only inthe enenethcetay. “hc pane dea hat natre man, and ey were raed by unfam laws mae it dificltto iplain change: Newton ld zeaped he wien goon. eretion ds, and the The Proper Study of Mankind Is Men 75 limited ime dept allowed lile oppotniy for change. Moreter, it wa bled thatthe we Crestor who had et all lw in mon would not change what He had one so etc esablnhed ‘Whe che physical laws of the univene appear stable sough, i wt vous even tothe mont cast sverver hit Sesees wee ina sate of contant fn. The Kalan scholar Gambia Vio (166-174) proposed 4 max ingeious Solon oth clemama, arty chet change itl ar eglar sd this nett laa Vico wet otto tscer these ve, aging hime inthe gigetc task of reconsrting all hutan istry, in the contin that ony this vat panera could evel the reales of change Whatmore alo flt Stoccary to tartrom he point where voc ft tok shape, wich meane that he began to search for aoa eg, “he ile of his maga opus was The New Science (ant published in 72, with wo subsequent rev editions). He Eeteved aot only hae hs theory war ne, But ale tht it congiuted «tnd scence, more seni than phys of ratheaticn. This wat ia oposon to Descartes, who had father dep Kory, phillgy, and sol us holding thac these undertaking could never lead to abc tthe Vico countered that pice and mathemati cold not lad to abolte ths prin beens, ay Decats himself avowed the lw of the lve were ereted by God and how could more men ever understand the principle of ere- aon? At best, phys cold prcene and see, batman Gan uly andertand onl whats of hit own making, namely Niory and acer. The at that scety was marae wat ‘ioe ere and no one be him iad made ite eple Bat th nigh of dare. bine the ermal and nese tig hed al us er of et seit acral ben made By mem, od tt pes feet Ot ihn emda frome ‘Whocrer sles on tht canot but marl tat the pile6 buacEs oF MAN cphers should have bent all sir energies tothe study of the World of nature, whicly sace God made iy He ale koows; nd that they aboold have nelened the study of the world ff nadens or cil world, which since men had made it, men ‘ld ame to know. (Vico 9652-3) In onder, then, to discover the “perennial springs of change” Vico stated with a tudy of “remote and obscure” pevios of history. Turning to ethnographic literature, he was mong the firs to take nonlteate peoples into account as full ‘members of the social tradition. ls Christan sruples demanded thatthe creation story of Genesis be taken into account, but he soon departed from orthodoxy. Some of Noa's sons dispersed after the food, ‘wandered in the vast foress of the earth. They forgot all Cultural learning, even language, and descended to the level ff wild beasts. From this zero point, Vico developed his history of cultural evolution. Starded by thundetelaps, the savage creatures tok shelter in caves, and here family life began In Vio's own words they forcibly seed their women, who were satrally shy ‘ead unr, dragged them into the eaves, and, in order to bare imercoure wih thes, keeping them there as perpen iflong Companions ‘Thos «chy gave 3 beginning to matimany. Wid) Wi the ectting of habiaion came language, arcu cacy oerhip propery, mary snd burl of he dead Fark were th flrs of xtended fais an al important ndeangs were aompared by uals in order tappese the ef undergo Vico lle ths aly age “te age of the gods” It mas flowed by "he age of heroes in which ‘iia Gequle ened quaring, siding, and wars The Str capes becae dv thas elaegiag the family uni Tong thm tw add the dines af oosngunty and Est the of vt and generation. Faas ued 0 frm ‘ti satin which ol father and hi fais wee The Proper Study of Menkind Is Man 7 cient ae Thin rein i Soe ee fd rs gal marie, sod agit fr = ce. pray they: we ae and the heroic states Sete erecta ee Sas ee 2 ae ee ee Re en are ere eee Bree nd he got ye Ea ee af the dre age then began in Europe, Chesanty replica pect gl fun et Pipsnge con sarees pect ere eet Ee See ee ee See eee ere i grgeeae entity ae ee See eae eo ed eee er ee eee eee ee eS See cae ies See eee Se eee ee 2S ae See ee fee eee Cee a eese ee aa Lo pe ne Oe en ae ee Raia ele are ome etrcne oe Sree er ceo sea at reece ee Sohw aad tie Batok ee eae