Philosophy: Idealism, Realism, and Pragmatism

Anthropology

1:Cultural/Social Anthropology

Definition [Cultural Anthropology]:

• Studies past + present cultures

  • What do people do?

  • What do people make?

  • What do people believe?

    • Rituals, foods, cultural clothing

• Ethnology : immerse in culture for months/years, to take meticulous notes

• Linguistic Anthropology : study history/structure of language + ways of humans using language 

Ethnology:

• Study of origins/cultures of different groups

  • Marriage/kinship patterns → relationship between people*

  • Common ancestry / adoption 

  • Political/economic systems 

  • Art/music/religion  

• Utilization of participant observations / rely on ethnography (written culture)

Margaret Mead:

• Margaret Mead : influential cultural anthropologist

  • Focused on child-rearing (parenting) / gender differences in Samoa, New Guinea, Bali (1926)

  • From participant observations, gender roles are considered not universal / from culture, not biology 

Observation (Primary Social Sciences):

1. Participant Observation

   1. Participant : research interaction with group

      1. For eg. ethnologist living in a tribe for an extended period to learn about culture 

2. Non-Participant Observation

   1. Observes group from far away / runs record (or anecdotal) of observation 

      1. Running record : taken AS observing 

      2. Anecdotal record : taken AFTER observing 

3. Structured Observation

   1. Usage of a checklist, to look for

      1. For eg. a teacher in the food lab, I use a checklist to ensure students are following sanitation rules (hair, hands washed, surfaces have been wiped down, all equipment put away, etc.)

4. Unstructured Observation

   1. Researcher record everything AS observed

      1. *not having anything in particular to search for 

Linguistic Anthropology:

• Study of human language

• Under two beliefs:

  • Humans aren’t born knowing a language: Babies don’t come into the world already knowing how to speak. Instead, they’re born with the ability to learn and understand the rules of any language they’re exposed to.

  • Every language has its own set of rules: Each language has its own unique way of forming sentences and organizing words. Children pick up these rules naturally, usually by the time they’re about 3 years old.

Branches of Linguistics: 

1. Historical Linguistics

   1. Study of similarities/differences between languages of past/present (Edward Sapir)

   2. Edward Sapir : Indigenous languages of North/South America / invested International Auxiliary Language (so people can understand one another)

      1. For eg. Shakespeare was writing (late 1500s–early 1600s), English looked and sounded different from how we use it today. Some words he used have disappeared (forsworn = “lied under oath”) Some have changed meaning (silly used to mean “innocent”) 

2. Structural Linguistics

   1. Study of sounds put together to make meaning (Noam Chomsky)

      1. Structural Example: How we can instantly recognize when a sentence is grammatically incorrect, even if we understand its intended meaning. 

      2. Ex: "Him go store yesterday." Intended meaning: "He went to the store yesterday." 

         1. Structural issue: The sentence violates standard English grammar because: "Him" should be "He" (incorrect subject pronoun). "Go" should be "went" (wrong verb tense). "Store yesterday" lacks proper prepositions or articles (to the store yesterday).

3. Sociolinguistics 

   1. Study of languages used for status/context (Roger Brown & Marguerite Ford)

      1. How people change the way they speak depends on who they are talking to. You might say “Hey, what’s up?” to a friend but “Hello, how are you?” to a teacher or boss. This shift in language based on social context shows how we use language to express formality, politeness, or status. 

      2. Another example is dialects and accents. Someone from New York might say “You guys,” while someone from the South might say “Y’all”—both mean the same thing, but they reflect regional identity.

Schools of Thought in Cultural Anthropology

1. Cultural Relativism

   1. Franz Boas : people see other cultures, through their own culture

      1. No such thing as ‘superior race’, no cultures can be compared

      2. Ethnocentricity : believing your culture is ‘superior’ than others

   2. For eg. eating insects → one culture can see it as delicious, another can see it as disgust 

      1. An anthropologist would recognize that eating insects is a rational and environmentally sustainable practice in these cultures. 

      2. Shaped by local resources, dietary needs, and environmental conditions.

      3. Rather than seeing the consumption of insects as strange, the anthropologist would appreciate it as a valuable food tradition that aligns with the cultural and ecological context.

2. Functional Theory

   1. Every beliefs, action, relationship in cultural has to meet needs of individuals 

   2. Stressed the interdependence of all social things, to promote long-term survival  

      1. For eg. cultural ritual → farmers perform a ritual every season

         1. Psychological need : reduces uncertainty around success of crop

         2. Social cohesion : strengthens community from bringing people together for a purpose/bonding moment together 

         3. Cultural continuity : preserves cultural traditions, linking present generation with ancestors / ensuring survival of important practices (cultural)

3. Cultural Materialism

   1. How the environment (climate, food, geography) influences how culture develops (trial/error) + ideology (law, government, religion benefitting society, or they simply won't exist)

      1. For eg. The Nile River → environment got influenced by farming, economy, religion 

         1. The Nile’s yearly flooding helped crops grow, so Egyptians saw it as a gift from the gods. 

         2. Their gods were often connected to nature, like Ra, the sun god, because the sun was important for farming. 

         3. They built irrigation systems to control water, which led to organized government and laws to manage resources

4. Feminist Anthropology

   1. Feminists re-examined anthropology to ensure their voices are in the research (1970)

   2. Feminists look at cultures determines general roles, district gender myths that are culturally/socially constructed: shaped by society (modern time)

      1. For eg. Haudenosaunee Society → research are overlooked for women

         1. Iroquois women: 

         2. Had power in society : chose male leaders, could remove them if failed to serve the community 

         3. Controlled agricultural economy : primary cultivators of crops, main staple in diet

         4. Maintained social cohesion : central to family unit, elders maintaining tradition + education

      2. Political Power: Iroquois women held significant power in their society. They were responsible for choosing the male leaders, known as chiefs, and could remove them from power if they failed to serve the community well.

      3. Economic Control: Iroquois women controlled the agricultural economy. They were the primary cultivators of crops such as corn, beans, and squash (the "Three Sisters"), which were the main staples of their diet.

5. Postmodernism

   1. Rejects idea of objective truth

   2. Can’t detach themselves from subjects objectively 

   3. Postmodern anthropologists conduct research in familiar settings, to increase objectivity (since 1980)

      1. For eg. social media within teenagers

      2. If Anthropologists, already have their own experiences about social media, they can’t pretend to be neutral / not ONE way to understand the usage

      3. Personal experiences affect understandment of teenagers’ behaviour 

      4. Focus on individual stories from teens: 

         1. For eg. connecting with friends / activism 

2:Archaeology

Definition [Cultural Anthropology of the Past]:

• Archaeologists excavate physicals of the past for research

  • For eg. Pompeii / Herculaneum 

What is an Archaeologist?

• Collects/studies past human activities 

  • Determining how life was in the ancient timing / piece history together

  • Usage of hypothesis (from evidence) and conclusion → for solving mysteries 

  • Artifacts (evidence) can be potteries, bones, building sites / can use technologies (satellite images, X-rays)

• Most evidence located on ground / usage of digging, excavation 

  • Each layer withholds different texture, colour, chemical in the soil / different time ranges, from different environment and/or human factors leading to the cause 

• Keep track of everything / map out excavation sites to piece together larger story

Techniques Being Used

• Comparison : comparing similarities within findings at other areas 

• Statistical Analysis : counting accordingly of types of remains

  • Large # of gazelle bones could indicate people living in the area liked eating gazelle

• Chemical Analysis : chemically determine chemical composition of the artifacts 

  • High level of lead in body tissue leading to indication of death being food poisoning 

• Carbon 14 Dating : amount of Carbon-14 in an object / amount decreases overtime, can help determine what died 

• Remote Sensing : satellites measures light reflecting on Earth’s surface / allowing identification of ancient fields, buildings, roads

3:Physical Anthropology

Definition [Physical Anthropologist]:

• Humans as species come from

• Bodies evolving → past to present

Branches of Physical Anthropology:

1. Paleoanthropology 

   1. Studies fossils (early hominins) / biological, evolutionary history of humans + ancestors 

   2. Archaeology : past human cultures / artifacts, structures (tools, pottery, buildings)

      1. Ancient society / technologies / cultural practices

2. Primatology

   1. Studies anatomy / behaviour of living primates (bonding/grooming is significant)

      1. Jane Goodall : works with chimpanzees

   2. Similarities : longest infant dependency periods / common dominance hierarchies (aggressiveness for food, female) / communication + structures

   3. Differences : spirituality / self actualization 

3. Human Variation 

   1. Every species is different based on appearance (Variation)

   2. Species pass on traits to offsprings (Heritability)

   3. Best adapted to environment will produce more offspring to next generation (Environment Fitness)