Piaget and Durkheim: Competing paradigms in the anthropology of morality

The recent resurgence of interest in the anthropology of morality has been accompanied by repeated calls to disentangle the moral from the cultural. The conflation of these domains is seen as a hindrance to further advancement in developing a theory of morality and is frequently blamed on the persistent influence of Durkheim’s powerful conception of society as the ultimate moral authority. In this essay, I explore the contrasting views of one of Durkheim’s contemporaries, the psychologist Jean Piaget, and consider their relevance for understanding the relationship between culture and morality. To do so, I draw on ethnographic research on moral development and culture acquisition conducted with Shan children and adults in northwest Thailand. Based on this research, I suggest that indigenous concepts of personhood, agency, and human development are intrinsic to any formulation of morality, and that they provide an entry point for culturally sensitive anthropological investigations of moral discourse.