Aztec philosophy: understanding a world in motion

Cover -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1: Teotl -- 1.1: Teotl -- 1.2: Supporting Scholarship -- 1.3: The Cosmos as Teotl's Artistic-Shamanic Self-Transformation -- 1.4: Some Implications of and Objections against Several Aspects of This Interpretation of Aztec Metaphysics -- 1.5: Conclusion -- 2: Pantheism -- 2.1: Pantheism -- 2.2: The Sacred -- 2.3: Neltiliztli, Self-Presentation, and Nonhierarchical Well-Ordering -- 2.4: Ixiptla and Teixiptla -- 2.5: Animism -- 2.6: Objections and Replies -- 2.7: Conclusion -- 3: Agonistic Inamic Unity -- 3.1: Agonistic Inamic Unity -- 3.2: Agonistic Inamic Unity as A Pattern in the Weaving of the Cosmos -- 3.3: Examining Agonistic Inamic Unity -- 3.4: Artistic Presentations of Agonistic Inamic Unity -- 3.5: Abstract Inamic Pa irs -- 3.6: Balance and Imbalance, and Center and Periphery Are Not Inamic Pairs -- 3.7: Ometeotl -- 3.8: Conclusion -- 4: Teotl as Olin -- 4.1: Olin -- 4.2: Linguistic Evidence -- 4.3: Literary Evidence -- 4.4: Graphic Evidence -- 4.5: Conclusion -- 5: Teotl as Malinalli -- 5.1: Linguistic Evidence -- 5.2: Literary Evidence -- 5.3: Graphic Evidence -- 5.4: Conclusion -- 6: Teotl as Nepantla -- 6.1: Linguistic Evidence -- 6.2: Literary Evidence -- 6.3: Graphic Evidence -- 6.4: Conclusion -- 7: Teotl as Time-Place -- 7.1: Introductory Remarks on Time and Place -- 7.2: The Tonalpohualli -- 7.3: The Xihuitl or Xiuhpohualli -- 7.4: Aztec Cosmogony -- 7.5: Aztec Time-Place: A Monistic and Processive Interpretation -- 7.6: Conclusion -- 8: Weaving the Cosmos -- 8.1: The Dynamics of the Aztec Cosmos -- 8.2: Backstrap Weaving -- 8.3: Weaving the Fifth Sun-Earth Age -- 8.4: The First Four Sun-Earth Ages as Nepantla-Process -- 8.5: The Fifth Age as Nepantla-Generated Woven House -- 8.6: The Vertical Folding of the Cosmos and of the Fifth Age.

In Aztec Philosophy, James Maffie reveals a highly sophisticated and systematic Aztec philosophy worthy of consideration alongside European philosophies of their time. Bringing together the fields of comparative world philosophy and Mesoamerican studies, Maffie excavates the distinctly philosophical aspects of Aztec thought. Aztec Philosophy focuses on the ways Aztec metaphysics-the Aztecs' understanding of the nature, structure and constitution of reality-underpinned Aztec thinking about wisdom, ethics, politics, and aesthetics, and served as a backdrop for Aztec religious practices as wel

Chapter 1Teotl21 --1.1Teotl21 --1.2Supporting Scholarship31 --1.3The Cosmos as Teotl's Artistic-Shamanic Self-Transformation38 --1.4Some Implications of and Objections against Several Aspects of this Interpretation of Aztec Metaphysics43 --1.5Conclusion62 --Chapter 2Pantheism79 --2.1Pantheism79 --2.2The Sacred92 --2.3Neltiliztli, Self-Presentation, and Nonhierarchical Well-Ordering100 --2.4Ixiptla and Teixiptla113 --2.5Animism114 --2.6Objections and Replies116 --2.1Conclusion121 --Chapter 3Agonistic Inamic Unity137 --3.1Agonistic Inamic Unity137 --3.2Agonistic Inamic Unity as a Pattern in the Weaving of the Cosmos140 --3.3Examining Agonistic Inamic Unity143 --3.4Artistic Presentations of Agonistic Inamic Unity159 --3.5Abstract Inamic Pairs164 --3.6Balance and Imbalance, and Center and Periphery Are Not Inamic Pairs168 --3.7Ometeotl169 --3.8Conclusion172 --Chapter 4Teotl as Olin185 --4.1Olin186 --4.2Linguistic Evidence187 --4.3Literary Evidence194 --4.4Graphic Evidence230 --4.3Conclusion241 --Chapter 5Teotl as Malinalli261 --5.1Linguistic Evidence261 --5.2Literary Evidence267 --5.3Graphic Evidence320 --5.4Conclusion329 --Chapter 6Teotl as Nepantla355 --6.1Linguistic Evidence355 --6.2Literary Evidence364 --6.3Graphic Evidence401 --6.4Conclusion403 --Chapter 7Teotl as Time-Place419 --7.1Introductory Remarks on Time and Place419 --7.2The Tonalpohualli423 --7.3The Xihuitl or Xiuhpohualli 43° --7.4Aztec Cosmogony432 --7.5Aztec Time-Place: a Monistic and Processive Interpretation452 --7.6Conclusion465 --Chapter 8Weaving the Cosmos: Reality and Cosmos as Nepantla Process479 --8.1The Dynamics of the Aztec Cosmos479 --8.2Backstrap Weaving483 --8.3Weaving the Fifth Sun-Earth Age495 --8.4The First Four Sun-Earth Ages as Nepantla Process502 --8.5The Fifth Age as Nepantla-Generated Woven House503 --8.6The Vertical Folding of the Cosmos and of the Fifth Age504 --8.7Cosmos and Reality as Nepantla Process508 --8.8Conclusion512.