The related distinction used traditionally in anthropology is stated in terms of "ideal culture" and "actual behavior" and is said to be characteristic of all cultures, thereby helping to confuse the issue of the uniqueness and problematical nature of European culture. Let us see how the mechanism of the rhetorical ethic works. Without this interpretation certain manifestations within the verbal iconography of the culture appear to be inconsistent with its underlying ideological thrust. It fits the logic of the European asili, assisting the culture in the achievement and maintenance of power. But with the concept of asili, which facilitates an ideological approach to the study of culture, the rhetorical ethic becomes visible even compelling. The concepts of traditional European anthropology are inadequate to explain the phenomenon to which I am referring here, as it has no counterpart in the types of cultures to which anthropologists have generally directed their attention in the past. I call this the "rhetorical ethic " it is of great importance for the understanding of the dynamics of the culture. Within the nature of European culture there exists a statement of value or of "moral" behavior that has no meaning for the members of that culture.
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