SOCI 421: Social Anthropology Session 5 Founding Fathers I Lecturer: Dr. Kodzovi Akpabli-Honu, UG Contact Information: kodzovi@ug.edu.gh College of Education School of Continuing and Distance Education 2014/2015 2016/2017
Session Overview Introduction Every discipline thrives on theories. This holds for social anthropology which deals with human behaviour. This session identifies and explains the theories propounded by the founding fathers of social anthropology. It also discusses the basic tenets of the identified theories and the phenomenon/phenomena each explains Objectives Objectives At the end of the session, the student will be able to: Identify the early founding fathers of social anthropology and their theories. Articulate the basic tenets of social anthropological theories Explain the observed issue each theory concerns itself with Subject the theories to critical analysis and point out their strengths and weaknesses Be able to demonstrate understanding of the theories by applying them to practical situations. Dr. Kodzovi Akpabli-Honu, Sociology Dept. UG Slide 2
Session Outline The key topics to be covered in the session are as follows: Evolutionism Sir Charles Darwin and Darwinism Herbert Spencer and Social Darwinism Dr. Kodzovi Akpabli-Honu, Sociology Dept. UG Slide 3
Reading List Kottak, C. P. (2004), Cultural Anthropology, Boston, McGraw Hill Corporation. Kottak, C. P. (2004), Anthropology: The Exploration of Human Diversity, Boston, McGraw Hill Corporation. Mair, L., (1972), Introduction to Social Anthropology, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ember, C. R. and Ember, M., (1981), Cultural Anthropology, London: Prentice-Hall. Peoples, J., and Bailey, G. ( ), Humanity: An Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, New York: West Publishing Company. Dr. Kodzovi Akpabli-Honu, Sociology Dept. UG Slide 4
Topic One: Evolutionism Anthropological theories are used to explain what the practitioners have been doing in the field since the birth of the discipline and its professionalized status since the nineteenth century. It is therefore important to explore the significant theoretical and methodological approaches that have helped in informing, shaping and focusing on anthropological research. At its beginning, anthropology was seen as modelled after the natural sciences until the twentieth century when it assumed its humanistic form but not totally departing from its scientific approaches. Dr. Kodzovi Akpabli-Honu, Sociology Dept. UG Slide 5
Topic One: Evolutionism During the development of anthropology, Darwinism was a dominant theory and played a vital role in understanding the stuck differences between the natives and the Europeans Darwinism played a great role in understanding the natural environment and its application to the social world/environment makes it the primary anthropological theory and referred to as Social Darwinism. However, the theory is social evolutionism; it is also referred to as cultural evolution and other early philosophers such as Montesquieu, Condorcet, Rousseau, Comte, Frazer, Morgan and Spencer have all been regarded as evolutionists. Dr. Kodzovi Akpabli-Honu, Sociology Dept. UG Slide 6
Topic One: Evolutionism It is also called cultural evolution because of the differences that Europeans perceived between their societies which they classified as industrialized and urban compared to the small-scale societies they saw as being foraging, gardening and agricultural and non-industrialized groups. Then came the idea that cultures evolved from simple state to complex, civilized state. Evolution is the transformation of individual organisms over time during interaction with their environment. Dr. Kodzovi Akpabli-Honu, Sociology Dept. UG Slide 7
Topic One: Evolutionism The concept posits that a simple form becomes differentiated and becomes complex. Evolution is a continuous process in which the object going through the transformation retains essential features of its original form. This applies to any society, organism, institution etc towards its state of perfection. In natural science the environment and hereditary are important factors in transformation and anthropological theories on evolution also focus on these factors. Dr. Kodzovi Akpabli-Honu, Sociology Dept. UG Slide 8
Topic One: Evolutionism In physical anthropology, the same assumption prevails that through adaptation to environments, organisms transform and assume forms characterized by complexities and differentiation. This results in diversification of species as they evolve from simple to complex states. This concept of evolution applies to the analysis of the development of human society and culture. Darwin (natural science) and Spencer (social science) have been recognized as founders of evolutionary theory. Dr. Kodzovi Akpabli-Honu, Sociology Dept. UG Slide 9
Topic Two: Sir Charles Darwin (1809-1882) An English man who postulated the theory of natural selection He explained the process of evolution in his The Origin of Species. He said, before evolution, random mutations occurred with some surviving while others withered. Those that survived were selected naturally because they were more fitted and adaptive to their environment as opposed to the less adaptive which withered. Adaptation also favoured organisms that are well able to compete with one another for space, mates, food and other things needed for survival. Dr. Kodzovi Akpabli-Honu, Sociology Dept. UG Slide 10
Topic Two: Sir Charles Darwin (1809-1882) Successful competitors had the greatest chance of reproducing The characteristics responsible for their greater success are passed on to their offspring. This brings about gradual modification in successive species. As organisms struggle for life, the fit leave offspring that continue to transmit particular qualities through hereditary with supplements from the environment by adaptation. Three aspects of Darwinism is of importance to anthropology Dr. Kodzovi Akpabli-Honu, Sociology Dept. UG Slide 11
Topic Two: Sir Charles Darwin (1809-1882) Firstly, Darwinism is important to the sociology of science. It influenced the early nineteenth century sociologists and anthropologists resolve to understand how society developed. The search for human origin is of importance to the sociology of science. Also philosophers and other social thinkers were interested in understanding the limits ecology places on social organization. Dr. Kodzovi Akpabli-Honu, Sociology Dept. UG Slide 12
Topic Two: Sir Charles Darwin (1809-1882) Secondly, the theory forged some understanding of physical variation to the study of race relations. The phenomenon of race particularly the extermination of indigenous population became part of intellectual problem of how to explain sociocultural differences. The question is has humanity a single biological origin (monogenesis) or whether different races had separate origins (polygenesis) characterized with related issues of cultural differences. Dr. Kodzovi Akpabli-Honu, Sociology Dept. UG Slide 13
Topic Two: Sir Charles Darwin (1809-1882) Thirdly, the enthusiasm to create sociology upon Darwinian principles constituted a significant phase in its history as social thinkers of the nineteenth century concerned themselves about how to find out and explain the transformation of societies from relatively small-scale and simple forms of organization to large scale and complex forms. Darwin s theory came to substantiate the works of naturalists and biologists of the time. Related works that existed before Darwin enabled him to conceptualize relationships between species as development of related forms. Dr. Kodzovi Akpabli-Honu, Sociology Dept. UG Slide 14
Topic Two: Sir Charles Darwin (1809-1882) Darwin is of the view that some permanent racial types are suited to particular habitat. Charles Darwin offended religious leaders by postulating that organisms were not created by divine will as captured in Genesis but rather evolved over millions of years. Darwinism suffered series of criticisms although the theory and its Neo-Darwinian evolutionary version may be considered as orthodox in scientific circles. Dr. Kodzovi Akpabli-Honu, Sociology Dept. UG Slide 15
Topic Two: Sir Charles Darwin (1809-1882) Darwinism suffered criticisms one of which centres on the difficulty to account for structural which are not gradual and quantitative but drastic and qualitative. It is difficult to account for revolutionary changes which cannot be accounted for using orthodox notion of natural selection or random genetic mutation. Irrespective of the criticisms expressed against Darwinism in terms of old and current debates on evolution, the theory is still applicable in the social sciences. Dr. Kodzovi Akpabli-Honu, Sociology Dept. UG Slide 16
Topic Three: SIR HEBERT SPENCER (1820-1913) A protagonist of social Darwinism. Social Darwinism is an offshoot of Darwin s evolutionary theory. and human relations He advocated for the use of Darwinism to the interpretation of human social evolution. Sociology as Science Darwinism, despite its shortcomings, is applied in sociological and anthropological enquiry for explaining the historical transformation of socio-cultural systems from their simple to complex forms. Dr. Kodzovi Akpabli-Honu, Sociology Dept. UG Slide 17
Topic Three: SIR HEBERT SPENCER (1820-1913) To Spencer, societies can be compared to living organisms like animals in their evolutionary journey. They both go through the same processes of growth, modification, and change human and development relations from simple to complex state. Sociology as Science From their relatively simple and homogeneous state they both evolve into more complex heterogeneous states. In their heterogeneous state, they have well developed and pronounced division of labour. Dr. Kodzovi Akpabli-Honu, Sociology Dept. UG Slide 18
Topic Three: SIR HEBERT SPENCER (1820-1913) He coined the phrase survival of the fittest which is explained to mean that only those with strong genetic traits could survive; and that the unfit would be eliminated from society. and human relations This would happen as society evolves from a simple state towards a better Sociology complex state as and Science from poor to rich. Such differences were inherent in society naturally. Spencer hinted that the inorganic, the organic and the super organic have all been united by a continuum which enabled the application of the same law to society and its progress as in the natural world. Dr. Kodzovi Akpabli-Honu, Sociology Dept. UG Slide 19
Topic Three: SIR HEBERT SPENCER (1820-1913) Societies developed through a sequence of stages from primitive and savage to the highest level of the industrial societies of Europe. Thus, like organisms, Spencer sees society as a whole and of functionally integrated and human parts. relations To Spencer, social forms are like biological organisms which evolve from simple Sociology homogenous as Science undifferentiated structures into more complex and internally differentiated forms. He also applied the principle of natural selection to humans in society. Thus, the poor, sick, less able, incapable, are all regarded as unfit and must be allowed to die out for society to naturally progress. Dr. Kodzovi Akpabli-Honu, Sociology Dept. UG Slide 20
Conclusion In this session three topics have been discussed such as evolution, Charles Darwin and Herbert Spencer. While Charles Darwin s theory centred on biological organisms, that of Spencer and is the human application relations of Darwinism to not only societies but also the individuals in society. Sociology as Science These theories enable the understanding of how societies began and evolved to their contemporary levels. They also explain the different levels societies have attained those in their simple state and others in their advanced state (industrialized ones) Dr. Kodzovi Akpabli-Honu, Sociology Dept. UG Slide 21