The Myth of the Noble Savage

by Ter Ellingson

In this important and original study, the myth of the Noble Savage is an altogether different myth from the one defended or debunked by others over the years. That the concept of the Noble Savage was first invented by Rousseau in the mid-eighteenth century in order to glorify the "natural" life is easily refuted. The myth that persists is that there was ever, at any time, widespread belief in the nobility of savages. The fact is, as Ter Ellingson shows, the humanist eighteenth century actually avoided the term because of its association with the feudalist-colonialist mentality that had spawned it 150 years earlier. The Noble Savage reappeared in the mid-nineteenth century, however, when the "myth" was deliberately used to fuel anthropology's oldest and most successful hoax. Ellingson's narrative follows the career of anthropologist John Crawfurd, whose political ambition and racist agenda were well served by his construction of what was manifestly a myth of savage nobility. Generations of anthropologists have accepted the existence of the myth as fact, and Ellingson makes clear the extent to which the misdirection implicit in this circumstance can enter into struggles over human rights and racial equality. His examination of the myth's influence in the late twentieth century, ranging from the World Wide Web to anthropological debates and political confrontations, rounds out this fascinating study.

Genres: History, Anthropology, Race, Politics, Science, Nonfiction

467 pages, ebook

First published December 17, 2000

Reviews

[Daniel Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a lot more interesting and readable than I thought it would be. It explores the idea of the "Noble Savage" and of "Savages" in general in Western thought since around 1700. The top 3 pros to this book are:
1) There is a huge cast of people who show up in this book. Darwin, Lyell, Hunt, Crawfurd, Huxley, Buffon, FitzRoy, Morton, Dryden, Diderot, Rosseau, and literally 50 or more ethnologists, scientists, anatomists, historians, diplomats, etc., either have whole chapters or at least make cameos.
2) The book makes extensive use of primary sources, sometimes taking a whole page from an interview, book, article, reading minutes, etc. On a related note, the notes and references are fantastically comprehensive, and I appreciate that the year is included in-text for every reference.
3) This is not just an history of the Noble Savage in academic contexts, but frequently turns back to popular conceptions in shows, circuses, and novels, politics, activism, and colonial administration, and religious and philosophical approaches. This makes the account all the more comprehensive.

The only con: Section V is "The Noble Savage Meets the 21st Century", but the book was published in 2001. To give a sense of how that section has aged, the chapter on the "World Wide Web" includes links to a geocities site. I skipped this section entirely.

[Alexios Xifaras · Rating 5 out of 5]

A unique book that tracks the whole history of the term "the noble savage". I really enjoyed the parts where - at last - the myth that the term "noble savage" was first used by Rousseau dissolves. Μore specifically, Rousseau had made sharp critiques against the missionaries' anthropology and against philosophers who draw conclusions about "human universals" without doing ethnological research. So, stop using the phrase "the noble savage of Rousseau as opposed to the Hobbesian solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short life in the primitive societies". In short, I regard this book as a classic in the field of the history of anthropology.

[Gyrus · Rating 4 out of 5]

We all know about “the Noble Savage”. Rousseau and a bunch of others kicked off a whole phenomena of European romanticization of aboriginal people, pegging them as humans in the “state of nature”, uncorrupted by the chains of civilization, inherently good and pure—right? Wrong, says Ter Ellingson. More: http://dreamflesh.com/library/ter-ell...