Sigfrid Rafael Karsten (16 August 1879 — 21 February 1956) was a Finnish

social anthropologist Social anthropology is the study of patterns of behaviour in human societies and cultures. It is the dominant constituent of anthropology throughout the United Kingdom and much of Europe, where it is distinguished from cultural anthropology. In t ...

and

philosopher of religion Philosophy of religion is "the philosophical examination of the central themes and concepts involved in religious traditions". Philosophical discussions on such topics date from ancient times, and appear in the earliest known texts concerning ph ...

, known especially for his work among the indigenous people of

Southern America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the south ...

Career

Rafael Karsten was born in

Kvevlax Kvevlax ( fi, Koivulahti) is a church village in the municipality of Korsholm, Finland. It is located approximately north of the city of Vaasa. Kvevlax became an independent parish in 1857. Until 1 January 1973 it was an independent municipalit ...

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland ( fi, Suomen suuriruhtinaskunta; sv, Storfurstendömet Finland; russian: Великое княжество Финляндское, , all of which literally translate as Grand Principality of Finland) was the predecessor ...

, to a very religious family, and his native language was

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

. He studied philosophy at the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...

in 1899–1902 and had his first job at the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. A student of

Edvard Westermarck Edvard Alexander Westermarck (Helsinki, 20 November 1862 – Tenala, 3 September 1939) was a Finnish philosopher and sociologist. Among other subjects, he studied exogamy and the incest taboo. Biography Westermarck was born in 1862 in a ...

, Karsten was critical of theological explanations of religions. He was a critic of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

and

state religion A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular state, secular, is not n ...

, and a proponent of freedom of religion. Karsten defended his doctoral thesis, ''The Origin of Worship: A Study in Primitive Religion'', in 1905 at the University of Helsinki. He was a member of the

Prometheus Society The Prometheus Society is a high IQ society, similar to Mensa International, but much more restrictive. The entry criterion, achievable by a number of tests, is designed to be passable by 1 in 30,000 of the population, while Mensa entry is achiev ...

, a student society promoting

freedom of thought Freedom of thought (also called freedom of conscience) is the freedom of an individual to hold or consider a fact, viewpoint, or thought, independent of others' viewpoints. Overview Every person attempts to have a cognitive proficiency by ...

and

freedom of religion Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedom ...

. In total, Karsten travelled six times in Southern America and studied the indigenous people and their religions — in

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

and

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

, 1911–1913, in

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

, 1916–1918, and in the Amazonas, 1946–1947, and others — and published extensively on them in Swedish, Finnish, German, English, and Spanish. He also authored several academic course books on sociology and social anthropology. Karsten served as the professor of

practical philosophy The modern division of philosophy into theoretical philosophy and practical philosophyImmanuel Kant, ''Lectures on Ethics'', Cambridge University Press, 2001, p. 41 ("On Universal Practical Philosophy"). Original text: Immanuel Kant, ''Kant’s Gesa ...

at the University of Helsinki in 1922–1946. His pupils include Arne Runeberg.Runeberg, Arne
in ''Uppslagsverket Finland'' . Karsten died in Helsinki, aged 76.

Publications in English (selection)

* ''The Origin of Worship: A Study in Primitive Religion'' (1905) * ''Contributions to the Sociology of the Indian Tribes of Ecuador'' (1920) * ''The Religion of the Jibaro Indians of eastern Ecuador'' (1922) * ''Civilization of the South American Indians, with Special Reference to Magic and Religion'' (1926) * ''Indian Tribes of the Argentine and Bolivian Gran Chaco'' (1932) * ''The Headhunters of Western Amazonas'' (1935) * ''A Totalitarian State of the Past: The Civilization of the Inca Empire in Ancient Peru'' (1949)

Sources

External links

Biography by Ilona Salomaa. {{DEFAULTSORT:Karsten, Rafael 1879 births 1956 deaths People from Korsholm People from Vaasa Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Swedish-speaking Finns Finnish philosophers Finnish ethnologists Finnish explorers Religion academics Finnish critics of Christianity Academic staff of the University of Helsinki

Career

Publications in English (selection)

Sources

Further reading

External links