Anthropology Chapters 1 And 2

Front 1

culture

Back 1

- sets of learned behavior and ideas that humans acquire as members of society
- humans use culture to ADAPT AND TRANSFORM THE WORLD IN WHICH WE LIVE
- culture is learned, but is not based on a set of deterministic principles

Front 2

human agency

Back 2

- the principle that human beings actively create and change culture
- culture DOES NOT DETERMINE the way people live. people create and expereince culture through dynamic interaction and interpretation

Front 3

the problem of determinism

Back 3

- human behavior is complex
- most social science disciplines are based on cause and effect, deterministic models of human behavior
- determinism is based on reductionism and dualism

Front 4

holism

Back 4

- The view that the mind and body, individuals and society, and individuals and the environment interpenetrate and even define one another
- everything is connected
- the answer to the problem of dualistic reasoning, materialism/idealism, and reductionist reasoning
- how anthropology tries to integrate all that is known about human beings and their activities

Front 5

dualism

Back 5

- the philosophical view that reality consists of two equal irreducible forces: mind and body
- opposite of holism

Front 6

Dialectical relationship

Back 6

- a network of cause and effect in which the various causes and effects affect each other
- ex) freedom "causes" democracy, and the "effect" of democracy is freedom

Front 7

Materialism

Back 7

- human nature is genetic
- the philosophical view that the material activities of our physical bodies in the material world constitute the essence of human nature
- ex) the idea that there is a genetic cause for social behavior or intelligence

Front 8

determinism

Back 8

- the philosophical view that one/a few simple force(s) causes complex events
- ex) materialism and idealism

Front 9

idealism

Back 9

- human nature is based on the mind
the philosophical view that ideas or the mind that produces ideas constitute the essence of human nature
ex) healing through prayer. religion

Front 10

Ethnocentrism

Back 10

the opinion that one's own way of life is natural or correct and THE ONLY WAY OF BEING TRULY HUMAN
ex) racism

Front 11

Cultural relativism

Back 11

- a solution for ethnocentrism
- understanding another culture on it's own terms sympathetically enough so that the culture appears to be a coherent and meaningful design for living

Front 12

universal biology?

Back 12

- there are biological actions that we all share. ex) breathing, sleeping, eating, blowing your nose, etc.
- but they mean different things to different cultures

Front 13

limits to cultural relativism? how do you reach an understanding?

Back 13

NO
- understanding does not mean agreeing/justifying
- Reach through comparative analysis and holistic understanding

Front 14

4 fields of anthropology: b, c, l, a

Back 14

-biological/physical- sees humans as biological organisms
- cultural- study of cultures
- linguistic- study of languages
- archeology- fossils

Front 15

what makes anthropology unique from other social sciences?

Back 15

anth's approach to humans- uses a HOLISTIC approach

Front 16

culture is...L, Sh, R, A, E, Sym

Back 16

- learned
- shared
- patterned- repeating>tradition
- adaptive
- evolutionary- always changing
- symbolic- it has meaning

Front 17

"Salamanders" documentary- hidden symbolic meaning

Back 17

- foster brotherhood/"right of passage"- initiate people, solidify them into the frat
- pass on traditions through ritual
- gender competition- the girls break gender stereotype