Generative Anthropology
Note: This website is a work in progress.
What is Generative Anthropology?
Overview
Generative Anthropology (GA) is a field of study based on the hypothesis that the origin of human language happened in a singular event. The discipline of Generative Anthropology centers upon this original event which Eric Gans calls the Originary Scene. This scene is a kind of origin story that hypothesizes the specific event where language originated. The Originary Scene is powerful because any human ability: our ability to do science, to be ironic, to love, to think, to dominate, etc can be carefully explained first by reference to this scene of origin.
Because The Originary Scene was the origin of all things human; Generative Anthropology attempts to understand all cultural phenomena in the simplest terms possible: all things human can be traced back to this hypothetical single origin point.
About this Site
The goal of this website is to create a comprehensive GA learning resource, including:
- A glossary of GA terminology. Some definitions were initially crossposted from this glossary, but will be expanded as the site is worked on.
- GA literature, such as posts from Dennis Bouvard's substack, gablog, or anthropoetics.
Get Started
Interested in learning about GA? Here are some resources to get you started:
