Is it possible to think about the world without distinguishing culture from nature? Until now, anthropology, in defining its object, proceeds from ideas about cultural diversity immersed in natural universality, although this opposition itself is absent in many cultures that are subject to anthropological description. Philippe Descola formulates a new approach to classifying the similarities and differences between humans and their environment. This study offers a radical revision of both the foundations of humanitarian knowledge and the areas of its application. CONTENTS: Preface 7Part I. Nature as an illusion1. Figures of the continuum 152. Wild and domestic 513. The Great Discord 82Part II. Structures of experience4. Schemes of practical activity 1255. Attitude towards oneself, attitude towards another 152Part III. Pre-establishments of existence6. Revived animism 1717. On totemism as ontology 1908. The certainty of naturalism 2269. Intoxication with analogy 26310. Elements, relationships, categories 302Part IV. Approaches to life11. Collective institutions 32312. Metaphysics of morals 365Part V. Ecology of relations13. Forms of attachment 39914. Communication of souls 43315. Stories of structures 469Epilogue. Features Inventory 501Acknowledgments 520Bibliography 522Notes 544Name Index 574