Understanding Human Societies: Culture, Behavior, and Change
Social Anthropology: The Study of Humanity
Social anthropology is the science that focuses on the study of human beings, dealing with how people live in society, their language, culture, and customs.
Harris’s work focuses on investigating the different lifestyles of non-Western cultures, examining the influence of modernization. He objectively analyzes real-world phenomena, attempting to solve puzzles and explain seemingly inexplicable phenomena. Fieldwork helps Harris describe and explain these phenomena, including social structures, food production, religion, and material culture. The comparative analysis made by the author reveals broader cultural patterns, dynamics, and universal principles.
Methodology
The methodology used by Harris is based on information from secondary historical texts and interviews with other anthropologists. For example, the chapter on the mother cow mentions events during World War II in 1944. Drought and the Japanese occupation caused an alarming increase in the slaughter of cows and draft animals, forcing British troops to enforce laws protecting cows. The story also appeared in The New York Times in 1967, explaining that Hindus faced starvation rather than sacrificing sacred cows.
From biographies and information collected by others, Harris uses stories to argue and formulate hypotheses, attempting to explain the causes of seemingly inexplicable and irrational lifestyles.
Emic vs. Etic Perspectives
“The Mother Cow” (pp. 15-38): Why do starving peasants in India refuse to eat cows?
- Emic Explanation: The cow is a sacred animal, a symbol of life, and killing a cow is a great sacrilege.
- Etic Explanation: The cow is more valuable as fuel and fertilizer than as a source of nutrition.
Analysis of Research
Harris uses an inductive process of analysis and reflection to develop a definition of the phenomenon he seeks to explain. He formulates hypotheses and studies cases, checking if these hypotheses align. Negative cases lead to hypothesis rejection and reformulation. He uses the comparative method, for example, comparing industrialization in the U.S. to farming practices in India.
Ethnographic Techniques
Ethnographic techniques involve studying people and their local settlements firsthand. Researchers discover local beliefs and perceptions, comparing them with their own observations. This is an ongoing, long-term study in one area. They observe, become accustomed to, and adapt to the culture they study.
Culture: A Way of Life
Culture studies the way of life of a human group, encompassing everything they have done to adapt to their environment and each other. It includes beliefs, customs, material artifacts, values, norms, and symbols. Culture is distinguished by its material aspects (artifacts and technology) and its mental component (principles for coexistence, meanings, values, and norms), which influence each other.
Culture involves interaction and communication, occurring through norms and values shared by a group. It is learned in the family, school, and among friends. These are transmitted through vocabulary and are transformed over time. Some cultures experience acculturation (cultural exchange) and enculturation (culture change through long-term contact).
Cultures are in continuous transformation, with dominant and dominated cultures, ascending and descending, majority and minority groups. Harris examines subcultures (traditions within the same company group, with different cultural symbols).