ANT102H5 Lecture 3: Identity and Difference
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There"s something essential within us that makes us who we are. It determines what i share/don"t share with others. A popular belief in western discourse is that everything about human nature can be understood if we break it down to its biological structures; this is called biological essentialism. Through genetics, we can search what makes us who we are. The key to who we are resides within us. The reality of the matter and what anthropologists study is that the truth behind human nature and the aforementioned questions is that they are cultural truths that require exploration and explanation. The similarities and differences we share with others are not fixed they are products of society and culture. In short, human beings can"t be explained by resorting to essentialism, as well as these subunits (they are all products of society and culture): Although we do share things with others, we aren"t identical to them.
