ANTH 3101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Edward Burnett Tylor, Evolutionism, Ethnocentrism
Document Summary
Holism: human life should be viewed as a whole. Culture: many definitions of culture exist, but most anthropologists agree that culture is (1) learned and taught, (2) something humans share in groups, (3) adaptive to the environment, and (4) always changing. One operative definition of culture for this course is: that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society sir edward tylor. Relativism: the different explanatory models of human life in each culture cannot be judged or compared against one another. Ethnocentrism: the belief that one"s own way of thinking about or doing something is the right way. Stereotypes: categorization of an entire group based on ignorance or simplifying assumptions and often based on easily observable group characteristics, and stereotypes have dangerous implications for those they are used to categorize.