An Introduction to Mesoamerican Philosophy

Description

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.

Alexus McLeod is Professor of Religious Studies at Indiana University. He has written a number of previous books on Mesoamerican and Chinese Philosophy, the most recent in each area being Philosophy of the Ancient Maya (2017) and The Dao of Madness (2021).

'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