An Introduction to Mesoamerican Philosophy

A comprehensive and accessible introduction to the philosophical traditions of the precolonial Mesoamerican peoples, including the Maya, Aztecs, and Mixtecs.

Alexus McLeod (Author)

9781009218771, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 3 August 2023

280 pages
24.4 x 17 x 1.6 cm, 0.548 kg

'This book arrives at a timely moment, as non-canonical philosophical traditions are getting increased attention. This is an engaging and wide-ranging introduction to one of the least well known of these traditions, Mesoamerican philosophy. McLeod shows that this culture produced challenging and unique perspectives on many central questions in philosophy, including the nature of language, knowledge, and reality itself.' Peter Adamson, University of Munich

The philosophy of Mesoamerica – the indigenous groups of precolonial North-Central America – is rich and varied but relatively little-known. In this ground-breaking book, Alexus McLeod introduces the philosophical traditions of the Maya, Nahua (Aztecs), Mixtecs, Zapotecs, and others, focussing in particular on their treatment of language, truth, time, creation, personhood, knowledge, and morality. His wide-ranging discussion includes important texts of world literature such as the K'iche Maya Popol Vuh and the Aztec Florentine Codex, as well as precolonial glyphic texts and imagery. This comprehensive and accessible book will give students, specialists and other interested readers an understanding of Mesoamerican philosophy and a sense of the current scholarship in the field.

Introduction
The Cultural and Historical Background
1. The Nature of Philosophy in Mesoamerica
2. The Nature of Language, Truth and Meaning
3. Time
4. Identity, Self and Personhood
5. Creation and the Gods
6. Being and Worlds
7. Knowledge, Seeing
8. Ethics
Conclusion – Mesoamerican Philosophy and the Contemporary World.

Subject Areas: Non-Western philosophy [HPD], Archaeological theory [HDA], History of the Americas [HBJK]