Lesson 3: Anthropology
Anthropology - express a unique view on the issue of selfhood:
the anthropological approach both starts and finishes with the group
The self needs to be seen as a socially defined phenomenon, created by both the impression of the group upon the individual and the expression of the individual upon the group.
Marcel Mauss
French anthropologist
Remaining the same person and turning chameleon by adapting to one’s context
According to Mauss, every self has two faces: personne and moi
Moi refers to a person’s sense of who he is, his body, and his basic identity, his biological givenness.
Moi is a person’s basic identity.
Personne is composed of the social concepts of what it means to be who he is.
has much to do with what it means to live in a particular institution, a particular family, a particular religion, a particular nationality, and how to behave given expectations and influences from others.
Total Social Phenomenon - tackles that every sector in a community or society should cooperate to have a well-balanced living.
Language
It is a salient part of culture and ultimately, has a tremendous effect in our crafting of the self.
Language and culture are intertwined.
A particular language usually points out to a specific group of people.
When you interact with another language, it means that you are also interacting with the culture that speaks the language.
Clifford Geertz
An American cultural anthropologist
Defined culture as “a system of inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic forms by means of which men communicate, perpetuate, and develop their knowledge about and attitudes towards life.”
"The Impact of the Concept of Culture on the Concept of Man”
Look for what makes people/cultures different, not the same
Culture reveals the link between what man is capable of and how he actually behaves, which in turn helps define human nature.
Culture is the "accumulated totality" of symbolic patterns that appear in different societies.