The East in the West

The East in the West reassesses Western views of Asia. Traditionally many European historians and theorists have seen the societies of the East as 'static' or 'backward'. Jack Goody challenges these assumptions, beginning with the notion of a special Western rationality which enabled 'us' and not 'them' to modernise. He then turns to book-keeping, which several social and econo...

The East in the West reassesses Western views of Asia. Traditionally many European historians and theorists have seen the societies of the East as 'static' or 'backward'. Jack Goody challenges these assumptions, beginning with the notion of a special Western rationality which enabled 'us' and not 'them' to modernise. He then turns to book-keeping, which several social and economic historians have seen as intrinsic to capitalism, arguing that there was in fact little difference between East and West in terms of mercantile activity. Other factors said to inhibit the East's development, such as the family and forms of labour, have also been greatly exaggerated. This Eurocentrism both fails to explain the current achievements of the East, and misunderstands Western history. The East in the West starts to redress the balance, and so marks a fundamental shift in our view of Western and Eastern history and society.

杰克•古迪（Jack Goody），英国社会人类学家、历史学家。剑桥大学圣约翰学院资深研究员，1973—1984年间任剑桥大学社会人类学教授，1976年当选为英国社会科学院院士，1980年成为美国国家艺术与科学院荣誉院士。因其对人类学的贡献，被英国女王授予的爵士爵位。主要著作有：《偷窃历史》、《烹饪、菜肴与阶级》、《书写的逻辑与社会的组织》、《东方世界、古代世界与原始世界——欧亚前工业社会的婚姻与家庭体系》和《花卉文化》等。