Anthropological

Perspective
 Anthropology
● The study of human societies and
cultures and their development
● it is concerned with how cultural
and biological processes interact
to shape human experience
Self as Embedded in Culture
● It is important that individuals study and
appreciate their culture and its contribution in
shaping their individual personalities.
● Culture is the set of unwritten norms of
conduct that guide the behavior of a group .
Edward Taylor
• culture is a complex whole which
includes knowledge, belief, art, morals,
law, customs, and any other capabilities
and habits acquired by man.
 Material and Non-material Culture
Material Culture
refers to the physical objects,
resources, and spaces that people use
to define their culture. These include
homes, neighborhoods, cities, schools,
churches, synagogues, temples,
mosques, offices, factories and plants,
tools, means of production, goods and
products, stores, and so forth.
Material and Non-material Culture

Non-material Culture
refers to the nonphysical ideas
that people have about their
culture, including beliefs,
values, rules, norms, morals,
language, organizations, and
institutions.
Anthropological Perspectives of the Self
HOLISM
Anthropologists are
interested in the whole of
humanity, in how various
aspects of life interact.
Holistic approach asks how
different aspect of human life
influence one another.
Reveals the complexity of
biological, social, or cultural
phenomena.
 Anthropological Perspectives of the Self
CULTURAL RELATIVISM
The idea that we should seek to understand another
person’s belief and behaviors from the perspective of
other culture rather than our own.

Ethnocentrism
The tendency to view one’s own culture as the most
important and correct as a measuring stick by which to
evaluate all other cultures that are largely seen as
inferior and morally suspect.
Cultural Relativism

Ethnocentrism
Anthropological Perspectives of the Self
Anthropologist of all
COMPARISON subfields use comparison
to learn what humans have
in common, how we differ,
and how we change.

Through comparison, we
learn more about the
range of possible
responses to varying
Central Viewpoint of Self

1. Egocentric - a concept of the

self where the self is seen as
an autonomous and distinct
individual.

2. Socio-centric - according to
this view, there is no intrinsic
self that can possess enduring
qualities.
Recurring features of Anthropology
• Identity Struggles- a term coined by Wallace
and Fogelson to characterize interaction in
which there is a discrepancy between the
identity a person claims to possess and the
identity attributed to that person by other.
Self-identification- in order to attain
this, individuals have to overcome many
obstacles Katherine Ewing- formulated the
"Illusion of Wholeness" which implies
that the cohesiveness and continuity of self
are only illusory
Recurring features of Anthropology
• Cultural Differences- exists when
groups of people assign different
meanings to different life events
and things.

Social Identities- people construct

their self-identity from the
similarities and differences in
characteristics among individuals.
 Recurring features of Anthropology

• Language- viewed as an essential for the maintenance

of group identity.
• Family Membership- the most significant feature to
determine a person's social identity.
• Religious Affiliation- an important marker for group identity
in a given society.
• Name - an important device to individualize a person and
legitimize him or her as a member of a social group.
 My Self Through the Year
Paste a picture of you when you were in elementary, high school, and
now that you are in college. Below the photo, list down your salient
characteristics that you remember.

My Elementary Self My High School Self My College Self

 My Self Through the Year
Similarities in all stages of my life Differences in my self across the 3 stages Possible reason for the differences in me