Pioneers of Anthropology Social Darwinism Darwins theory of

Pioneers of Anthropology

Social Darwinism • Darwin’s theory of natural selection was mis-applied to the social world, creating the idea of “survival of the fittest”: those peoples less technologically “advanced” were inferior, and would be conquered or replaced by their “superiors”; the “inferior” races could contaminate the superior western white people! (resulting in Hitler’s death cult). • This theory of racial superiority was the background on which anthropology developed, before it became more objective and sciencebased.

Henry Louis Morgan U. S. 1818 -1881 - 1 st to research aboriginal peoples of North America - came up with a “Theory of Social Evolution”: The idea that social evolution occurred in 3 stages, a) savagery : b) barbarism : c) civilization: - once widely accepted, now the assumption of social or cultural evolution is considered ethnocentric: Morgan was “judging other cultures according to one’s values”, his being the white, European-based culture.

Franz Boas U. S. 1858 - 1942 • the founder of American anthropology (studied the language and culture of Inuit and West Coast natives – don’t write this!) • Believed in: a) - accurate records and a large data base (the scientific method) b) – believed in cultural relativism: “cultures should be judged by their own values, as successful adaptations to their own environments. ” c) - established the importance of ethnology: “the study of the origins, similarities, differences between races and cultures”.

Ruth Benedict U. S. 1887 – 1948 • Patterns of Culture, (on Plains native cultures) and The Chrysanthemum and the Sword (on Japanese culture: life should be highly ritualized and perfectly executed…) • looked at how culture and religion shape personality • concluded that cultures have personalities: some cultures believed in restraint, and others might believe in fierceness. → Main idea: the main personality traits of the culture become the main personality traits of persons of that culture.

Margaret Mead U. S. 1901 -1978 • student of Franz Boas. • worked in the south Pacific islands of Polynesia and New Guinea. • broke the gender barriers of her time. * Coming of Age in Samoa (1928) compared adolescence in Samoa and America, saw it didn’t seem to exist in Samoan culture, so she concluded adolescence isn’t a universally distinct or difficult stage, unlike many cultures (i. e. , it’s “nurture”) * her studies of 3 cultures in the south Pacific resulted in her conclusion that, “nurture” (socialization) was more influential in development than nature. This is where the Nature –Nurture debate began.