ANTHROP 1AB3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Essentialism, Liminality, Qualitative Property
12 Sep 2018
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Ethnocentrism: the tendency to judge the beliefs of one culture from your own perspective. Ethnocentric fallacy: using your own cultural values to judge another group of people. Cultural relativism: understanding another culture from its own perspective, but, at times, can be morally problematic! We do not want to condone horrific acts of violence, genocide, human suffering, inequality, torture, etc. If a practice is deemed emotionally, physically or otherwise harmful within a culture"s own broader framework, then it is possible to explore problems, solutions, and to question the validity of such practices. Virginity testing in turkey: carol delaney, the seed and the soil . From the perspective of cultural relativism an anthropological analysis would try to understand why this practice exists in turkish cultural terms. To establish paternity and to ensure division of property, etc. after death. Main points: such practices are not barbaric, exotic, primitive. Similar concepts exist in our culture eg. catholic practice of transubstantiation, medicinal cannibalism.
