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Understanding The Self

Anthropology takes a holistic approach to studying the self, recognizing the interrelationships between biological, psychological, and cultural factors. Anthropologists acknowledge both human universals and cultural diversity. They advise avoiding two common errors: viewing aspects of the self as isolated layers rather than interconnected, and reducing self-understanding to a single level of analysis. Cultures shape conceptions of the self as either ego-centric or socio-centric, but all societies incorporate both. Anthropologists promote cultural relativism over ethnocentrism in evaluating other cultures.

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Jay Velasco Deguzman
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4K views

Understanding The Self

Anthropology takes a holistic approach to studying the self, recognizing the interrelationships between biological, psychological, and cultural factors. Anthropologists acknowledge both human universals and cultural diversity. They advise avoiding two common errors: viewing aspects of the self as isolated layers rather than interconnected, and reducing self-understanding to a single level of analysis. Cultures shape conceptions of the self as either ego-centric or socio-centric, but all societies incorporate both. Anthropologists promote cultural relativism over ethnocentrism in evaluating other cultures.

Uploaded by

Jay Velasco Deguzman
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 15

THE SELF FROM

AN
ANTHROPOLOGICA
——

L PERSPECTIVE
Anthropology employs a
holistic approach to the
study of the self.

The physical
characteristics of people
affect their culture, their
Anthropology seeks to discover the
interrelationships between various
scientific models of the human being.
THE UNIVERSALS OF
VARIETY:HALLMARKS OF
ANTHROPOLOGY
Anthropologists are likewise mindful
that any general theory of humanity
must at the same time account for the
variety. They are concerned with
human universals as well as human
STATIGRAPHIC APPROACH AND
REDUCTIONISM
Anthropologists advise us to avoid two
common pitfalls that must be avoided in our
study of the self. These errors are the
stratigraphic approach and reductionism.

STRATIGRAPHIC APPROACH- is simply stacking


independent models one after the other without
interrelating them.

DEDUCTIONISM- when we attempt to interpret all


observations by reducing them to a single level of
analysis.
UNDERSTANDING THE SELF AND
CULTURE
A person's culture influences
his/her physical being.

On other hand, people's physical


being also affects the kind of culture
they build and the ways in which they
relate to fellow human beings.
TWO CONTRASTING MODELS
OF THE SELF:EGOCENTRISM
AND SOCIOCENTRIC
Culture exerts an influence to
the development of an
egocentric and sociocentric self.
Evry society works with both
egocentric and sociocentric
aspects of selfhood.
EGOCENTRISM- is the natural tendency
to view everything within the world in
rrlationto oneself.

SOCIOCENTRISM- is the natural


tendency to view everything within the
world in relation to one's group and so be
group- centered.
FIGURE 2: EGOCENTRIC AND
SOCIOCENTRI VIEWS OF THE
SELF
Where people are raised to
value the sociocentric aspects of
selfhood, self- centered and
egoistic behavior are devalued.
On the other hand, where people
are raised to value the egocentric
aspects of selfhood, other-
centred behaviors are devalued.
EGOCENTRIC- person lives by
the maximum be true to yourself
at the expense of being
unpopular with the group.

SOCIOCENTRIC- person abides


by the group and so is highly
accepted by and is popular in the
group.
CULTURAL RELATIVISM,
ETHNOCENTRISM AND
XENOCENTRISM

Cultural relativism- is the idea


that a person's beliefs, values and
practices should be understood
based on that persons's own
culture, rather than be judged
against the criteria of another.
Ethnocentrism- is the belief that
one's culture is superior to that of
others.

Xenocentrism- is the thinking


that others' culture is superior to
one's culture.
The proper thing to do then is
to put into practice cultural
relativism, never to judge others'
culture based on one's own
culture but rather to see other's
cultural practice and belief in the
light of their culture.
Thank
——

you

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