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 science- based.

Henry Louis Morgan U.S 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 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 – 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 Margaret Mead U.S 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.