Anthropological

Perspective
Anthropology
study of people, past and present that
focuses on understanding the human condition
both culturally and biologically.
Anthropological Perspective
focuses on the study of the full scope of
human diversity and application of that
knowledge to help people of different
backgrounds.
 FOUR MAIN
PERSPECTIVE

Evolutionary/ Ecological
Cross-cultural Holistic
Historical Emphasis
Emphasis Emphasis
Emphasis
1. A cross-cultural or comparative approach
This emphasis also makes anthropology unique among the social sciences. Unlike sociologists,
psychologists, economists and political scientists, anthropologists look beyond the confines of
our own society and compare it to the beliefs and practices of other societies, past and present.
Where a sociologist, for example, may attempt to explain social organization with reference only
to their own society, an anthropologist would almost invariably go on to compare and contrast
our own patterns of social organization with other societies.

As John Bodley (1999) puts it, an examination of the wide diversity of other societies encourages anthropologists
“to view their own culture through an outsider’s eyes.” In other words, studying other cultures
with very different understandings of the world, very different customs and styles of life, leads to
what anthropologists refer to as “defamiliarization.”
Defamiliarization refers to the process through which you develop an ability to look at our own
culture as though it were a foreign culture through the study of other societies. That is, extensive
cross-cultural study allows one to think more critically about one’s own culture, and to
understand that many aspects of one’s own beliefs or ways of doing things, which we all take for
granted on a daily basis, are actually not only completely arbitrary, but also far from universal
throughout human history, or even in the present day in many cases.
2. Evolutionary/Historical Approach
This approach, coming from archeology and physical anthropology, focuses upon both the
biological and cultural evolution of human beings and of human societies. It is also one of
the reasons why a four subfields approach is so important to the discipline as a whole. An
evolutionary/historical approach is “diachronic.” In other words, it is focused upon the
understanding of and description of patterns of change over time. This approach provides
time depth to an anthropological perspective which, along with its cross-cultural emphasis,
helps to put contemporary society and contemporary patterns of social development into
an historical context.
 3.Ecological Approach, which views human societies or cultures within the context of larger
natural systems and,

4. Holistic Approach, which is very closely related to an ecological approach philosophically.

In fact, anthropology was the first social science to begin to incorporate ecological insights into
its studies of human behavior and society. Ecology has been part of the discipline at least since
the 1960s. Anthropology also remains the only social science which continues to incorporate
ecology in a significant and integral way (even though all anthropologists wouldn’t agree that we
should be ecological)
Why is anthropological perspective
important?
Anthropology is the study of people, past and present, that focuses on understanding the human condition both
culturally and biologically. Other than culture concept, Anthropology has different distinctive ways of thinking about
the world, human cultures, societies, and people. Anthropological Perspective focuses on the study of the full scope
of human diversity and the application of that knowledge to help people of different backgrounds. Some of the
aspects of the Anthropological Perspective are culture, cultural relativism, fieldwork, human diversity, holism,
biocultural focus. The four main perspectives of Anthropology are the cross-cultural or comparative emphasis, its
evolutionary/historical emphasis, its ecological emphasis, and its holistic emphasis (Dudgeon). From an
anthropological perspective, these concepts are related to each other and they are also seen as integrated with one
another. In order to understand the origin and the history of human beings, and to acknowledge global cultured
and communities, people should be able to consider anthropological perspectives in their both social and academic
lives. Anthropological perspective is very important because it looks at shared aspects of humanity like language,
cultural connections, economics, and curiosity to find the common thread. What makes the Anthropological
Perspective unique is that unlike other social scientists, anthropologists look beyond the confines of our own society
and compare it to the beliefs and practices of other societies, past, and present (Dudgeon). The holistic, cross-
cultural and comparative approach can help us think more deeply about other people and cultures, and live more
consciously in our global world. It also changes your way of thinking about the world with a wider appreciation of
the human experience. It allows us to understand how the evolutionary package inherited from our ancestors work
in today’s environment.
Anthropological Perspective on Understanding ourselves

Anthropological perspective helps in understanding ourselves, it teaches us to

not just focus on ourselves and interact with others. It's important to us to
look beyond the confines of ourselves and learn about our world. This gives us
the oppurtunity to developed ourselves to our fullest capabilities.
 Reporters
Condoy,Zarina Kate
Trinidad, Samuel
Lauriano, Keilah