Comparative Study on the Dynamics of Law in Primitive Societies (Revised Translation)

Author: E. Adamson Hoebel
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-05-01
Features: E. Adamson Hoebel (1906–1993) received his Ph.D. in philosophy from Columbia University in 1934. He later served as a professor and chair of the anthropology department at the University of Utah, a professor of anthropology at the University of Michigan, and a distinguished professor of the anthropology department at the University of Minnesota—Minneapolis Campus. He held positions such as president of the American Anthropological Association and president of the American Anthropological Society. He authored works such as The Cheyenne Way (The Cheyenne May), Man in the Primitive World, Adat Law in Indonesia, and The Comanches. The Law of Primitive Man is his representative work in this field. Published in 1954, the book quickly attracted attention due to its thorough materials and profound insights. It has been reprinted multiple times and highly praised by many scholars. As one said: "This book is of high quality in every aspect, effectively solving many difficult problems in law and other sciences. Its sociological significance is broad, and its technical adaptability is not limited to primitive legal systems but also applies to general social relationships." Some even believed: "This book will undoubtedly become a textbook for future generations of social anthropologists and law students studying primitive law." Hoebel's The Law of Primitive Man is undoubtedly a valuable book. Of course, as a bourgeois scholar, many of Hoebel's arguments inevitably carry class biases and limitations. For example, he did not explore the origin and development of law from the perspective of social fundamental contradictions; in his understanding of law, he overemphasized the role of coercion and blurred the boundaries between the state and other forms of power, thereby calling all social norms backed by coercion "law" and concluding that primitive societies had law. These points should be noted when reading.