Wallace’s anthropological thought and its contemporary value
- School of Asian Studies, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Beijing 100089
Received date: 2023-08-29
Accepted date: 2023-09-27
Online published: 2023-09-28
Abstract
Aims: Alfred Russel Wallace, a prominent naturalist and anthropologist of the 19th century, left a lasting legacy in the fields of anthropology and natural history. This paper aims to conduct a comprehensive review, reevaluation, and exploration of his anthropological theories and assess their contemporary relevance.
Method: This research employs a qualitative research approach, with a specific focus on documentary analysis and the examination of life stories. The primary data sources include Wallace’s own papers, monographs, and autobiographical works published throughout his lifetime.
Review results: Anthropological inquiry held a significant place within Wallace’s extensive eight-year expedition across the Malay Archipelago. Our examination reveals three key aspects of his work: (1) Wallace’s groundbreaking theory of human evolution, informed by natural selection and intertwined with teleological considerations, played a pivotal role in resolving the debates between monogenism and polygenism concerning human origins at the time. (2) Wallace’s contributions to field research methodologies not only enhanced the precision and credibility of empirical data but also elevated the importance of field research in scientific investigations. Furthermore, they contributed to the elevated social standing of naturalists engaged in such research. (3) Wallace’s humble and meticulous methodological approach has far-reaching implications. It can inspire a natural philosophy rooted in non-anthropocentrism, a scientific philosophy centered on synergistic and symbiotic systems, and a political philosophy emphasizing morality over economy. These insights hold profound relevance for addressing contemporary ecological and environmental crises.
Key words： Malay Archipelago; anthropology; naturalist; field research; human biogeography
Cite this article
Min Kang . Wallace’s anthropological thought and its contemporary value[J]. Biodiversity Science, 2023 , 31(12) : 23304 . DOI: 10.17520/biods.2023304
References
| [1] | Ballard C (2008) ‘Oceanic Negroes’: British anthropology of Papuans, 1820-1869. In: Foreign Bodies: Oceania and the Science of Race 1750-1940 (eds Douglas B, Ballard C), pp.157-201. The Australian National University Press, Canberra. |
| [2] | Bateson G (1987) Conscious purpose versus nature. In: Steps to an Ecology of Mind: Collected Essays in Anthropology, Psychiatry, Evolution, and Epistemology (ed. Bateson G), pp. 434-446. Jason Aronson, Northvale. |
| [3] | Bateson G translated by Qian XY (2019) Mind and Nature:A Necessary Unity. Beijing Normal University Publishing Group, Beijing. (in Chinese) |
| [钱旭鸯 译 (2019) 心灵与自然: 应然的合一. 北京师范大学出版社, 北京.] | |
| [4] | Camerini JR (1996) Wallace in the field. Osiris, 11, 44-65. |
| [5] | Gilbert SF, McDonald E, Boyle N, Buttino N, Gyi L, Mai M, Prakash N, Robinson J (2010) Symbiosis as a source of selectable epigenetic variation: Taking the heat for the big guy. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B, Biological Sciences, 365, 671-678. |
| [6] | Hamilton L, Taylor N (2017) Ethnography after Humanism: Power, Politics and Method in Multi-Species Research. Palgrave, London. |
| [7] | Haraway DJ (2008) When Species Meet. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis. |
| [8] | Helmreich S (2009) Alien Occean:Anthropological Voyages in Microbial Seas. University of California Press, Berkeley. |
| [9] | Holt BG, Lessard JP, Borregaard MK, Fritz SA, Araújo MB, Dimitrov D, Fabre PH, Graham CH, Graves GR …, Rahbek C (2013) An update of Wallace’s Zoogeographic Regions of the World. Science, 339, 74-78. |
| [10] | Ingold T (translated by Zhou YS, Chen X (2020) Anthropology:Why It Matters. Peking University Press, Beijing. (in Chinese) |
| [周云水, 陈祥 译 (2020) 人类学为什么重要? 北京大学出版社, 北京.] | |
| [11] | Kohn E (2007) How dogs dream: Amazonian natures and the politics of transspecies engagement. American Ethnologist, 34, 3-24. |
| [12] | Kohn E (2013) How Forests Think:Toward an Anthropology Beyond the Human. University of California Press, Berkeley. |
| [13] | Kuklick H (translated by Luo JJ, Yuan TK, Guo LX (2005) After Ishmael:The fieldwork tradition and its future.n: Anthropological Locations: Boundaries and Grounds of a Field Science (eds Gupta A, Ferguson J), pp. 48-65. Huaxia Publishing House, Beijing (in Chinese) |
| [骆建建, 袁同凯, 郭立新 (译) (2005) 伊丝梅尔之后:田野调查传统及其未来. 见: 人类学定位: 田野科学的界限与基础 (古塔·弗格森编著). 华夏出版社, 北京.] | |
| [14] | Lien ME translated by Zhang W (2021) Becoming Salmon:Aquaculture and the Domestication of a Fish. East China Normal University Press, Shanghai. (in Chinese) |
| [张雯 译 (2021) 成为三文鱼: 水产养殖与鱼的驯养. 华东师范大学出版社, 上海.] | |
| [15] | Lovelock J (translated by Xiao XJ, Fan XD) (2007) Gaia:A New Look at Life on Earth. Shanghai Century Publishing (Group) Co., Shanghai. (in Chinese) |
| [肖显静, 范祥东 (译) (2007) 盖娅: 地球生命的新视野.上海世纪出版集团, 上海.] | |
| [16] | Margulis L, Sagan D (1997) Microcosmos:Four Billion Years of Microbial Evolution. University of California Press, Berkeley. |
| [17] | Milton K (translated by Yuan TK, Zhou JX (2007) Environmentalism and Cultural Theory:Exploring the Role of Anthropology in Environmental Discourse. Publishing House of Minority Nationalities, Beijing. (in Chinese) |
| [袁同凯, 周建新 译 (2007) 环境决定论与文化理论. 民族出版社, 北京.] | |
| [18] | Paxon H (2012) The Life of Cheese. University of California Press, Berkeley. |
| [19] | Raby P translated by Lai LM (2021) Alfred Russel Wallace:A Life. The Commercial Press, Beijing. (in Chinese) |
| [赖路明 译 (2021) 大自然的收集者: 华莱士的发现之旅. 商务印书馆, 北京.] | |
| [20] | Raffles H (2010) Insectopedia. Pantheon, New York. |
| [21] | Rappaport RA translated by Zhao YY (2016) Pigs for the Ancestors:Ritual in the Ecology of a New Guinea People. The Commercial Press, Beijing. (in Chinese) |
| [赵玉燕 译 (2016) 献给祖先的猪. 商务印书馆, 北京.] | |
| [22] | Sahtouris E (1989) Gaia:The Human Journey from Chaos to Cosmos. Pocket Books, New York. |
| [23] | Smith R (1972) Alfred Russel Wallace: Philosophy of nature and man. The British Journal for the History of Science, 6, 177-199. |
| [24] | Stocking GW (1987) Victorian Anthropology. The Free Press, New York. |
| [25] | Tsing AL translated by Zhang XJ (2020) The Mushroom at the End of the World:On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins. East China Normal University Press, Shanghai. (in Chinese) |
| [张晓佳 译 (2020) 末日松茸. 华东师范大学出版社, 上海.] | |
| [26] | Vetter J (2006) Wallace’s other line: Human biogeography and field practice in the eastern colonial tropics. Journal of the History of Biology, 39, 89-123. |
| [27] | Wallace AR (1864) The Origin of Human Races and the Antiquity of Man Deduced from the Theory of “Natural Selection”. http://people.wku.edu/charles.smith/wallace/S093.htm. (accessed on 2022-08-01) |
| [28] | Wallace AR (1868) Discussion of Rev. F. O. Morris’s ‘On the Difficulties of Darwinism’. https://people.wku.edu/charles.smith/wallace/S142A.htm. (accessed on 2022-08-01) |
| [29] | Wallace AR (1869) Sir Charles Lyell on geological climates and the origin of species. Quarterly Review, 126, 359-394. |
| [30] | Wallace AR (1870) The limits of natural selection as applied to man. In: Contributionsto the Theory of Natural Selection. ASeries of Essays (ed. Wallace AR), pp. 332-371. Macmillan and Co, London. |
| [31] | Wallace AR (1904) Man’s Place in the Universe: A Study of the Results of Scientific Research in Relation to the Unity or Plurality of Worlds. Chapman & Hall, London. |
| [32] | Wallace AR (1908) My Life: A Record of Events and Opinions. Chapman & Hall, London. |
| [33] | Wallace AR (1913a) Social Environment and Moral Progress. Cassell and Company, London. |
| [34] | Wallace AR (1913b) The Revolt of Democracy. Cassell and Company, London. |
| [35] | Wallace AR (translated by Peng Z, Yuan WL) (2004) The Malay Archipelago and the Land of the Orang-Utan and the Bird of Paradise. A Narrative of Travel with Studies of Man and Nature. China Renmin University Press, Beijing. (in Chinese) |
| [彭珍, 袁伟亮 译 (2004) 马来群岛自然科学考察记. 中国人民大学出版社, 北京.] | |
| [36] | Wallace AR (translated by King HB, Wang YZ) (2013a) The Malay Archipelago and the Land of the Orang-Utan and the Bird of Paradise. A Narrative of Travel with Studies of Man and Nature. Shanghai Literature & Art Publishing House, Shanghai. (in Chinese) |
| 金恒镳, 王益真 译 (2013a) 马来群岛自然考察记(上). 上海文艺出版社, 上海.] | |
| [37] | Wallace AR (translated by King HB, Wang YZ)(2013b) The Malay Archipelago and the Land of the Orang-Utan and the Bird of Paradise. A Narrative of Travel with Studies of Man and Nature. Shanghai Literature & Art Publishing House: Shanghai. (in Chinese) |
| [金恒镳, 王益真 译 (2013b) 马来群岛自然考察记(下). 上海文艺出版社, 上海.] | |
| [38] | Zhu JF (2019) Symbiosis and becoming-with: An anthropological response to the global ecological crisis. Journal of Sun Yat-Sen University (Social Science Edition), 59(4), 133-141. (in Chinese with English abstract) |
| [朱剑峰 (2019) 跨界与共生: 全球生态危机时代下的人类学回应. 中山大学学报(社会科学版), 59(4), 133-141.] |