Anthropology

• Anthropology


  The study of humankind in all times and places, including archaeology, primatology, cultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology and other applied anthropologies
• Anthropology


  • Explores the interconnectedness and interdependence of human cultural experiences in all places and ages
  • Provides a broad and holistic perspective that equips the anthropologist to explain human nature
• The self


  • Both a biological and cultural entity
  • An animal species that underwent biological evolution and shares characteristics with other hominids
  • Evolved from apes some 33 million years ago and traces origin from 'homo sapiens'
  • Superior to other animals due to larger brain capacity, ability to stand upright, use of language and symbols, and capacity for cooperation and invention
• Culture


  • A system of human behavior and thought that covers customs, traditions, capabilities, knowledge, beliefs, arts, religion, morals, law, language, and traditional practices needed for humans to function in society
  • Symbolic, with tools and symbols that originate meaning of significant events
• Enculturation


  The transmission of culture from one generation to the next through observation, use of language, adaptation to environment, rituals, and formal/informal education
• The anthropological self


  • Takes a holistic dimension considering both biological and environmental aspects
  • Genetic component plays a significant role in cultural development
  • Environmental exposure starts during conception and is solidified after birth
• Self-awareness


  • Permits one to assume responsibility for one's own conduct, learn how to react to others, and assume a variety of roles
  • Conceptualized by children as early as age two, but can be developed earlier through close contact and stimulation
• Attachment of positive values to one's self is important for the development of the child's identity, which is further intensified by naming rituals that individualize a person
• Object orientation


  Positions the self in relation to the surrounding objects
• Object orientation


  • The T'boli learn to respect the trees, the lakes, the falls and the animals of the forest. They believe in the spirit of the forest hence they consider the woods as a holy ground where no leaf shall be turned as one walks through.
• Spatial orientation


  Provides the self with personal space in relation to other people or things
• In individualistic societies


  Personal space is emphasized
• In communal societies

  Personal space is more likely lessened
• It would be a deviant behavior to any community when a person intrudes the personal space of the other
• Temporal orientation


  Endows the self with the sense of time
• In Filipino philosophy, time is seen as spherical (unlike the western concept of time as linear), where life-events are repeated but may not be necessarily the same
• In rural communities, routinary activities are not considered a repetition of previous activity because these activities will be done at the "feel of time"
• In urban communities where time is of the essence, and where the western linear concept of time is practiced, the self must be able to adjust to this temporal orientation
• Normative orientation


  Provides the self with the grasp of accepted norms in the community
• Being on time is a generally accepted norm in communal activities. In communities where punctuality is considered a value, being on time is already a charitable gesture
• Normative orientation provides the self an idea of behaviors which are not acceptable in the community. The self at a very early age must have known that killing, stealing, hurting others and the like are behaviors that should be avoided
• When the self is able to distinguish what is acceptable behavior and what is not, it only follows that the self is already able to recognize the differences of one's self and the other
• The actual self includes all the feelings, thoughts, experiences, biological and psychological constitutions, language and memory. However, the actual self is also being shaped by all these same elements and more
• The self should not maintain the individualistic, independent and autonomous entity but that the self should be able to maintain his solid culturally reflexive identity in relation to everything and everyone else
• Anthropology recognizes the movement of this understanding towards plurality and multiplicity of thoughts, beliefs, convictions, and practices
• The anthropological movements at this time are already geared toward recognizing the power of culture in influencing little gaps and interstices, meaning intervening spaces between people
• Cultural degradation or more horribly cultural genocide means the loss of a particular culture due to assimilation or loss of interest
• Assimilation happens when a dominant culture is overshadowing the inferior culture, meaning the culture possessed by lesser population living within the dominant culture's communities: the inferior culture will eventually lose its identity
• Excessive exposure to media in various forms influences language, traditions, beliefs, knowledge and even personalities
• In anthropology, the self is recognized as (1) biologically attuned to respond to his environment, (2) variably self-aware of the mechanisms of the elements of culture working within the self, and (3) self-reflexive of the uniqueness and differences of all other selves and everything else around
• Biologically attuned


  Connected to physical body and responds to environment through biological processes
• Self-awareness


  Ability to recognize and understand one's own thoughts, feelings, and experiences
• Variably self-aware


  Different levels of understanding about how cultural elements influence thoughts and behaviors
• Mechanisms of the elements of culture

  Ways in which cultural elements (e.g. norms, values, beliefs) operate within the self
• Self-reflexive


  Able to reflect on oneself and one's own experiences
• All other selves


  Understanding that other people have their own distinct experiences, perspectives, and cultural backgrounds
• Everything else around


  Recognizing the diversity of things, people, and experiences in the world