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UTS - Lesson 4

This document discusses anthropological perspectives of the self. It begins by defining anthropology and its subfields including archaeology, biological anthropology, linguistic anthropology, and cultural anthropology. It then discusses key aspects of human culture like material culture, non-material culture, symbols, norms, values, rituals, and artifacts. The document presents Marcel Mauss' perspective that the self has two faces - the moi (basic identity) and personne (social concepts of self). It concludes by outlining two anthropological perspectives of the self - the egocentric view of an autonomous individual self and the sociocentric view that people are part of a social matrix rather than autonomous.

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Ian Casibang
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97 views14 pages

UTS - Lesson 4

This document discusses anthropological perspectives of the self. It begins by defining anthropology and its subfields including archaeology, biological anthropology, linguistic anthropology, and cultural anthropology. It then discusses key aspects of human culture like material culture, non-material culture, symbols, norms, values, rituals, and artifacts. The document presents Marcel Mauss' perspective that the self has two faces - the moi (basic identity) and personne (social concepts of self). It concludes by outlining two anthropological perspectives of the self - the egocentric view of an autonomous individual self and the sociocentric view that people are part of a social matrix rather than autonomous.

Uploaded by

Ian Casibang
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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ANTHROPOLOGICAL

PERSPECTIVES OF
THE SELF
ANTHROPOLOGY
• Came from the Greek words Anthropos (man or human
being) and Logos (study).
• The systematic study of humanity, with the goal of
understanding our evolutionary origins, our distinctiveness
as a species, and the great diversity in our forms of social
existence across the world and through time.
• It is concerned with how cultural and biological processes
interact to shape human experience.
SUBFIELDS OF ANTHROPOLOGY
• Archaeology - The study of material remains of present
and past cultural systems to understand the technical,
social and political organization of those systems and the
larger culture cultural evolutionary process that stand
behind them
• Biological Anthropology - Seek to understand how humans
adapt to different environments, what causes disease and
early death, and how humans evolved from other animals.
SUBFIELDS OF ANTHROPOLOGY
• Linguistic Anthropology - Linguistic anthropologists
study the many ways people communicate across the
globe. They are interested in how language is linked
to how we see the world and how we relate to each
other.
• Cultural Anthropology - Explore how people in
different places live and understand the world
around them.
CULTURE
• The set of unwritten norms of conduct that
guide the behavior of a group
• Edward Taylor- defined the culture as a
complex whole which includes knowledge, belief,
art, morals, law, customs, and any other
capabilities and habits acquired by man.
ASPECTS OF HUMAN CULTURE
•Material Culture - the physical objects,
resources, and spaces that people use to
define their culture.
•Non‐material Culture - the nonphysical
ideas that people have about their culture.
ELEMENTS CULTURE
1. Symbols - things that stand for something else and that
often evoke various reactions and emotions.
a. Gestures - signs that we make with our body, such as
hand gestures and facial expressions; it is important to
note that these gestures also carry meaning.
b. Language - set of symbols used to assign and
communicate meaning. It enables us to name or label the
things in our world so we can think and communicate
about them.
ELEMENTS CULTURE
2. Norms - the formal and informal rules regarding what kinds of
behavior are acceptable and appropriate within a culture. Norms are
specific to a culture, time period, and situation. Norms may be
prescriptive (encouraging positive behavior) or proscriptive
(discouraging negative behavior).
a. Formal Norms
Mores - social norms that are widely observed within a
particular society or culture. Mores determine what is considered
morally acceptable or unacceptable within any given culture.
ELEMENTS CULTURE
Laws - system of rules created and enforced through
social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior.
b. Informal Norms
Folkways - sometimes known as “conventions” or
“customs,” are standards of behavior that are socially
approved but not morally significant.
Taboos - ‘negative norms’ – things that people find
offensive and socially inappropriate if you are caught doing
them.
ELEMENTS CULTURE
3. Values - An ideal or principle that determines what
is correct, desirable, or morally proper.
4. Rituals - established procedures and ceremonies that
often mark transitions in the life course.
5. Artifacts - material objects, that constitute a
society’s material culture. In the simplest societies,
artifacts are largely limited to a few tools, the huts
people live in, and the clothing they wear.
SELF AS EMBEDDED IN CULTURE
• Self-concept refers to all understanding and knowledge
of oneself. The components of self-concepts include
psychological, physical, social attitudes, ideas, and beliefs
that one has.
• Culture has such a great influence on individuals' lives
contributing majorly to self-concept. The influence
might either be negative or positive depending on the
type of culture that one has been brought up in.
MARCEL MAUSS (1872-1950)

The self according to the French


anthropologist Marcel Mauss, the
self has two faces:
a. Moi - a person's sense of who
he is, his body and his basic
identity.
MARCEL MAUSS (1872-1950)
b. Personne - the social concepts of
what it means to be who he is.
Personne 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.
TWO ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES OF THE SELF

1. Egocentric- a concept of the self where the


self is seen as an autonomous and distinct
individual.
2. Sociocentric- according to this view, people
are not autonomous and self-contained
packages of traits but part of a social matrix.

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