ANT 2410 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Thumb, Cultural Relativism, Indigenous Intellectual Property
Document Summary
It is a feature of american culture, transmitted constantly in our daily lives. Assumption: we are individuals first, and members of a group seconds. Avoiding ethnocentrism: error of viewing one"s own culture as superior and applying one"s own cultural values in judging people from other cultures. Sir edward tylor, british anthropologist - cultures are systems of human behavior and thought -obey natural laws and therefore can be studied scientifically. Culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief arts, morals, law, custom and, habits acquired by man as members of society . Culture is acquired , not through biological inheritance but by growing up in a particular society where they are exposed to a particular cultural tradition. Enculturation: process by which a child learns his or her culture. Clifford gaertz: culture are ideas based on cultural learning and symbols . Cultural learning depends on the human capacity to use symbols. Humans internalize an established system of meanings and symbols.
