Anthropology

Phaedrus, the book's central character, becomes interested in Anthropology after a peyote-induced revelation comes to him during a ceremonial vision quest on an Indian reservation. He realizes that the American Indian is the "originator" of American idealism; the exact straight-forward stoic, hard-working quality that the original American cowboy who tamed the wild west is infused with. This insight leads him to the mountains of Montana, where he intends to isolate himself from society and read every book on anthropology that he can find in order to understand the Indians better and thus be able to pick up where his friend and mentor, Professor Dusenberry, had left off with them when he died. What Phaedrus discovers is that the foundation of the field of Anthropology is created in such a way that every original idea Phaedrus has will be deemed unacceptable. He begins to realize that to present any...