Drawing on ethnographic examples from around the world and theoretical understandings from cognitive science, structural analysis, and phenomenology, the author formulates a sophisticated new framework, the "four ontologies" - animism, totemism, naturalism, and analogism - to account for all the ways we relate ourselves to nature.

"Originally published as Philippe Descola, Par-delaa nature et culture (Paris: Editions Gallimard, 2005) A Editions Gallimard, Paris, 2005"--title page verso.