This essay is an exercise in merging two frames of reference: the sociology of exchange and the phenomenology of love. It first presents the modern Western theory of giving as found in the seminal essay by Marcel Mauss,The Gift: Forms and Functions of Exchange in Archaic Societies (1924/1969), where giving is perceived alonga scale from functional altruism to ego-centered calculation. Levi-Strauss's generalizations on exchange theory, as well as E, 0. Wilson's explanation of altruism in terms of inclusive fitness, are also examined as parts of this general perspective which approaches the universal social behavior of giving from an objective, and mostly materialistic, egocentric point of view. This interpretation of giving is compared to and contrasted with the phenomenological approach where giving is experienced and intuited as an existential self-realization. Giving and love in Eastern cultures is examined in exemplifying this attitude, whose congruence with Victor Turner's concepts of "flow," "ritual drama," "holism," and "communitas" is emphasized. In conclusion, an integrative theory of giving is suggested, which would merge both the sociological and phenomeno logical approaches.
The obligation to give is no less important. If weunderstood this, we should also know how men came to exchange things with each other. We merely point out a few facts. To refuse to give, or to fail to invite, is - like refusing to accept - the equivalent of a declaration of war; it is a refusal of friendship and intercourse. Again, one gives because one is forced to do so, because the recipient has a sort of proprietary right over everything which belongs to the donor. This right is expressed and conceived as a sort of spiritual bond. (Marcel Mauss, The Gift: Forms and Functions of Exchange in Archaic Societies 1969:11)
目次
INTRODUCTION 138 LOVE 139 EXCHANGE 140 Gifts to the Gods 142 Counterbalancing the Human Ego 142 Exchange as Ritual 143 The "Gimme" Society 144 THE SPIRIT OF THE GIFT 145 GIVING AND LOVE IN EASTERN CULTURE 146 Gift and Giving in Hindu Tradition 147 To Dana (Charity or Liberality) 147 Dana Yoga: The Yoga of Giving 148 DISCUSSION 151 Fear and Realization 151 Biology and Altruism 152 Flow, Totality, and the Spirit of the Gift 152 Transpersonalism and Data on Exchange 154 Fear, Ego, and Totalitarianism 156 NOTES 156 REFERENCES CITED 157
