Over the ruins of subjects: A critique of subjectivism in anthropological discourse

The present article develops a theoretical and philosophical critique of the subjectivistparadigm that grounds a good part of present-day anthropological discourse. Themain thesis is that by placing the individual and its subjective experiences at the beginningand end of the anthropological discourse, one never thoroughly acknowledges andaccepts our non-subjective andfinite modes of being, thereby replicating a distortedand shallow picture of what we are as humans. The article explores,first, how that sub-jectivist paradigm came about, as well as some of its problems; secondly, it considersethics and morality as the domain where one can better grasp the limits of subjectivistorientations; and concludes by turning to Heidegger’s perspective on the ontologicalfinitude of Dasein in order to emphasize the need for contemporary anthropology tobuild its reflections from within humanfinitude, that is, the frailties and the practical,analytic and moral limits of human existence.