Transcript Unit 12 The Science of Custom

Unit 12
The Science of Custom
Ruth Benedict
The Science of Custom
 The Author: Ruth Benedict
 Anthropology and Culture
 The Text: Global Questions
 The Text: Paragraph Analysis
 Who is the author Ruth Benedict?
What do you know about her?
Ruth Fulton Benedict (1887–1948)
 Ruth Benedict is regarded as
one of the pioneers of cultural
anthropology.
 She was also one of the first to
apply anthropology to the study
of advanced societies.
 She is best remembered for her
works dealing with the national
character of various culture
groups, most famously the
Japanese circa World War II.
Important Works
1923
The Concept of the Guardian Spirit in North America
1928
Psychological Types in the Cultures of the Southwest
1932
Configurations of Culture in North America
1934
Patterns of Culture
1935
Zuñi Mythology (2 vol.)
1946
The Chrysanthemum and the Sword
Her tutor and mentor: Franz Boas
German-American
anthropologist, a professor at
Columbia University in New
York City for 37 years (from
1899 onwards), helped pioneer
modern anthropology.
He advocated the theories that
there is no pure race and that no
race is superior to any other.
Boas’s Major Achievements
as an Anthropologist
 helped establish anthropology as a well-respected
science;
 had done highly regarded fieldwork in all areas
except archaeology;
 helped define the discipline and trained many of the
most prominent American anthropologists of the
20th century.
 the progenitor of cultural relativism in anthropology;
(The notion and theory of cultural relativism: the
standards of good and evil vary from culture to
culture);
Her student: Margaret Mead
(1901-1978)
Margaret
Mead
doing
field work
honored by the U.S. Postage office
Some quotations -- Ruth Benedict
 Life: The trouble with life isn't that there is no
answer, it's that there are so many answers.
 Perception: No man ever looks at the world with
pristine eyes. He sees it edited by a definite set of
customs and institutions and ways of thinking.
 Racism: Racism is an ism to which everyone in the
world today is exposed; for or against, we must
take sides. And the history of the future will differ
accordingly to the decision which we make.
Source: Encarta R Reference Library 2005
Patterns of Culture (1934)
 This groundbreaking comparative
study describing cultural patterns of 3
different primitive peoples -- the Zuni
(New Mexico), the Dobu (Melanesia),
and the Kwakiutl (Vancouver Island) - shows how custom and tradition
influence behavior.
 Demonstrated the primacy of culture
over biology in understanding the
differences between people
Patterns of Culture (1934)
 Cultural configuration（构造，结构，配置）: a
culture is not simply a collection of traits but a unique
patterning or organization of these traits.
 Cultural Relativism: all cultures are
different but equal
 Cross-cultural Comparison: Can help
anthropologists better understand their
own cultures as well as others’.
Basic Ideas of Patterns of Culture
 Through unconscious selection, some
cultures select some traits to focus on,
while others ignore them.
 These traits interweave to form a
cohesive pattern, a cultural configuration.
 It is the "personality," the particular
complex of traits and attitudes, of a
culture that defines the individuals within
it as successes, misfits, or outcasts.
Chrysanthemum and the Sword
During World War II, she worked for
the Office of War Information, applying
anthropological methods to the study of
contemporary cultures.
1946 The Chrysanthemum and the
Sword: Patterns of Japanese Culture.
This book has been referred to as the
single most important book ever written
on the Japanese.
Chrysanthemum and the Sword
 It is still recommended as
introductory reading for
students of Japanese culture.
 National character studies:
the Japanese personality
structure to assist in their
defeat during the war.
 “Anthropology at a distance” ,
but in fact very ethnocentric,
totalizing, reductionist.
Basic concepts:
Anthropology & Culture
 What is Anthropology?
 derives from the Greek words anthropos “human”
and logos “the study of.”
 the scientific study of the origin, the behavior,
and the physical, social, and cultural
development of humans.
Anthropology as a discipline of study
 Anthropology is a field-study oriented discipline which
makes extensive use of the comparative method in
analysis. The emphasis on data gathered first-hand,
combined with a cross-cultural perspective brought to the
analysis of cultures past and present, makes this study a
unique and distinctly important social science.
 A branch of intellectual enquiry which seeks to study
humans and their endeavors in the same reasoned,
orderly, systematic, and dispassioned manner that natural
scientists use for the study of natural phenomena.
Basic Concepts: Culture
 A broad sense: civilization of a particular time in history;
all the knowledge and values shared by a society;
 A narrow sense: e.g.: the drug/FBI/cooperate culture;
 Anthropologists use "culture" in a purely descriptive
fashion to describe the habits and customs of a
particular population, cultural achievements that can't
be judged across different societies.
Basic Concepts: Custom
 accepted or habitual practice; a specific practice of long
standing
How is custom related to culture?
 Sir Edward Tylor defined culture as “... that complex
whole which includes belief, art, morals, law, custom,
and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as
a member of society.”
Definitions of Custom
 1. (uncountable)– usual and generally
accepted behavior among members of a
social group, e.g., the custom of giving
presents and visiting friends and relatives at
the Spring Festival
 2. (countable)– a particular way of behaving
which, because it has long been established,
is observed by individuals and social group,
e.g., It is the old man’s custom to take a walk
every morning.
 Do different societies have different customs?
What causes the differences, if any?
The causes are many and varied, e.g.,
people’s religion, belief, the physical
environment, superstitions, etc.
The Science of Custom
What does it mean by the word “custom” here in
this passage?
 It denotes an established practice or the body of
established practice of a community or of a people that
has the force of unwritten law. Consequently, custom
when used as a collective or abstract noun commonly
implies a force as strong, as binding, and as difficult to
escape as that exerted by those who enforce the law of
the land.
Distinguish the following words
 Custom, habit, behavior, institution, culture
 Custom (see above)
 Habit refers more often to the way of an individual than to the
way of a community. It applies to a way of behaving (as in acting
or thinking) unconsciously or without premeditation.
 Behavior refers to a person’s action in general or on a particular
occasion.
 Institution refers to a habit, custom, etc., which has been in
existence for a long time, e.g., “the institution of slavery”
 Culture, in anthropology, refers to the way of life of a society.
The customs, ideas and attitudes shared by a group, which
make up its culture, are transmitted from generation to
generation by learning process rather than by biological
inheritance. Basically, each human group has its own distinctive
culture.
The text: Global Questions
What type of writing is this extract from Patterns
of Culture?

An Exposition;

An Explanation of an idea logically;

By appealing to our emotion, or more likely, our reason,
an expository writer informs, clarifies, defines, explains
or analyze an idea by reference to evidence and logic.
The text: Global Questions
Which of the following is the main idea of this passage?
1.
2.
3.
Custom is a more interesting and more significant subject than the
way our brains work, and thus is worthy of more serious study.
To understand the way custom shapes our beliefs and behavior, it
is only necessary to study Western civilization because institutions
of various civilizations are based on the same premises.
Custom plays an important role in determining people’s beliefs and
behavior, and all manifestations of human custom should be
studied without discrimination.
The text: Global Questions
How does Benedict explain her view point?
 Her explanations are mostly based on her own
assumption or analysis rather than on evidence that is
acceptable to the general public.
 By employing different methods, such as definition,
examples, quotation, illustrations, analogy, comparison and
contrast, etc., she seems to expect her readers simply to
understand her personal view on this issue.
The Science of Custom
What Benedict is trying to call her readers’ attention to is
that the study of anthropology in general and the study of
 The 6 in
paragraphs
this passage
to deal
with two she
custom
particularinshould
not be seem
biased.
Presumably
was
arguing
against
by the
some
related
notions,
whatthe
areprevalent
they? Canview
you held
identify
anthropologists
thedevoted
time of respectively
her writing that
their
own
paragraphs thatatare
to each
notion?
culture is the culture of humanity and thus is the only variety
Para. 1, serious
2, & 6 arescientific
devoted study.
to the notion
of anthropology.
deserving
Such an
attitude is what
4,Eurocentrism.
& 5 are devoted to the notion of custom.
wePara.
now 3,
call
 An obvious relation between anthropology and custom is
that the study of the latter is part of that of the former. But
this is not the main thing Benedict wants to tell her
readers. Can you tell what is the main point Benedict
wants to make in these paragraphs?
Ethnocentrism
William Graham Sumner
1840-1910
 “Ethnocentrism is the technical name for this view of things
in which one’s own group is the center of everything, and
all others are scaled and rated with reference to it. . . Each
group nourishes its own pride and vanity, boasts itself
superior, exalts its own divinities, and looks with contempt
on outsiders. Each group thinks its own folkways the only
right ones, and if it observes that other groups have other
folkways, these excite its scorn.
 -- Sumner, Folkways: A Study of the Sociological Importance of Usages,

Manners, Customs, Mores, and Morals (Ginn and Company, 1906),
p.13.
Ethnocentrism
Ethnocentrism ordinarily involves a strong negative evaluation
of cultural beliefs, values, attitudes, and practices other than
your own.
Since the evaluative judgments are based on one’s own
standards, there is a tendency to view other cultures - not
only as wrong-headed - but also as bizarre; as something
that either indicates the inferiority of the culture under
examination or that defies explanation and understanding
altogether.
Cultural Relativity
 An antidote to the poison of ethnocentrism.
 Cultural relativity – which is a methodological stance –
involves the temporary suspension of evaluative judgments
when seeking to understand a culture other than your own.
 To ensure adequate understanding, all aspects of culture –
beliefs, values, attitudes, norms, customs, traditions, and the
resulting behaviors – should be examined with reference to
the cultural setting in which they exist. How are these
cultural items related to, or reflect, the way of life of the
people embedded in the culture?
Para. One
 What is the topic sentence?
Para. 2
 What is the topic sentence?
 What, according to Benedict, should be the
anthropologist’s attitude toward different
civilizations? What are his interests? What is
his object?
Para. 3
What is the topic sentence?
 Custom plays a predominant role in our experience and
our belief, and it manifests itself in a great variety of ways.
 Please explain how this thesis is developed in
the rest of the passage.
 “The role custom plays” is developed in para. 4; and “the
great varieties of custom” is developed in paras 5 and 6,
though not adequately.
Para. 4
 What does the author intend to illustrate by quoting
John Dewey (lines 29-33)?
Compared
with the role custom plays in shaping the
 Try to explain what she quotes of Dewey.
behavior of the individual, the influence of the
individual on custom is insignificant.
influence of custom on
the individual
the total number of words
in his mother tongue
influence of the
individual on custom
the number of words of
his baby talk admitted
into the family language
Para. 4 cont.
 What kind of social orders are those that “have
had the opportunities to develop autonomously”?
(l. 33-34)
They are the social orders that have developed
independently of any outside influence, with little
cultural exchange with the outside world.
 What does the word “figure” on l. 34 mean? What
does it refer to?
Figure of speech. It refers to the analogy Dewey used.
Para. 4 cont.
“The life-history of the individual is first and
foremost an accommodation to the patterns
and standards traditionally handed down in
his community. From the moment of his birth
the customs into which he is born shape his
experience and behavior. By the time he can
talk, he is the little creature of his culture,
and by the time he is grown and able to take
part in its activities, its habits are his habits,
its beliefs his beliefs, its impossibilities his
impossibilities.” (ll. 35-40)
Para. 5
 What is the topic sentence?
 Is it possible for a scholar to maintain no
preferential weighing of one or another of the
items? Think about the statement in Para. 4
that we have just discussed.
Para. 6
 What can you infer from this para. about the state of
anthropological studies in the days when the
passage was written?
Some anthropologists were strongly prejudiced
against certain cultures which they thought were
undeveloped/backward and even barbarian.
 What appeal does Benedict make here to colleagues
in their approach to the subject?
Do away with prejudices and study
all cultures without discrimination.
A close look at the text: the structure
The two main notions: Anthropology and custom
Para. 1.
definition of anthropology
Para. 2.
the importance of various customs to the
study of an anthropologist
Para. 3. 4.
significance of custom : it plays a decisive
role in human experience and belief
Para. 5.
two preliminary propositions for profitable study
of custom
Para. 6.
conclusion-- further suggestion: there should
be no bias against different cultures or customs according
to the definition of anthropology
THE END
Thank You!