RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY

Practice Question – Compare and Contrast Sociology with Anthropology.  [UPSC 2013]

Approach – Introduction, Define Sociology and Anthropology, Outline the the similarities and dissimilarities between both the subjects, Briefly mention the contemporary relations of the two subjects in conclusion. 

INTRODUCTION

Sociology is the study of social life and the social causes and consequences of human behavior. In the words of C. Wright Mills, sociology looks for the “public issues” that underlie “private troubles.” Sociology differs from popular notions of human behavior in that it uses systematic, scientific methods of investigation and questions many of the common sense and taken-for-granted views of our social world. Sociological thinking involves taking a closer look at our social world and recognizing that most often things are not necessarily what they seem.

Anthropology is a broad, holistic study of human beings and includes the subfields of archaeology, physical anthropology, cultural anthropology, and linguistic anthropology. Anthropologists study human beings from a very broad and comparative perspective. We are interested in human experience around the world, past and present. Cultural anthropologists study cultures—from our own culture to those different from our owns—by living in the culture and gaining the insiders’ point of view.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

•  Anthropology examines culture more at the micro-level of the individual, which the anthropologist generally takes as an example of the larger culture. In addition, anthropology hones in on the cultural specificities of a given group or community. Sociology, on the other hand, tends to look at the bigger picture, often studying institutions (educational, political, religious), organizations, political movements, and the power relations of different groups with each other.
• Anthropology studies human behavior more at the individual level, while sociology focuses more on group behavior and relations with social structures and institutions.
• Anthropologists conduct research using ethnography (a qualitative research method), while sociologists use both qualitative and quantitative methods.
• The primary goal of anthropology is to understand human diversity and cultural difference, while sociology is more solution-oriented with the goal of fixing social problems through policy.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY

Anthropology is a general science like sociology. The word Anthropology is derived from two Greek words —Anthropos meaning ‘man’ and logos meaning ‘study’. Thus, the etymological meaning of ‘Anthropology’ is the study of man. Precisely, it is defined by Kroeber as ‘the science of man and his works and behaviour’. Anthropology is “concerned not with particular man but with man in groups, with races and peoples and their happenings and doings”.

It has made outstanding contributions to the study of man. Sociology, in particular, has been immensely enriched by the anthropological studies. Anthropology seems to be the broadest of all the social sciences. It studies man both as a member of the animal kingdom and as a member of the human society. It studies the biological as well as the cultural developments of man. Anthropology has a wide field of study. Kroeber mentions two broad divisions of anthropology: (i) Organic or Physical Anthropology and (ii) the Socio- cultural Anthropology.

Physical Anthropology
Physical Anthropology studies man as a biological being, that is, as a member of the animal kingdom. Here, anthropology accepts and uses the general principles of biology; the laws of heredity and the doctrines of cell development and evolution.

Sociocultural Anthropology
Sociocultural Anthropology, more often referred to as ‘Cultural Anthropology’, studies man as a social animal. This branch of anthropology which is concerned with the more-than-merely-organic aspects of human behaviour seems to be more interested in ancient and savage and exotic and extinct peoples. The main reason for this is a desire to understand better all civilisations, irrespective of time and place, in the abstract, or as generalised principles as possible.  Sociocultural Anthropology’s main concern is culture. It deals with the origin and
development of man’s culture.

According to Hoebel, “Sociology and Social Anthropology are, in their broadest sense one and the same”. Evans Pritchard considers social anthropology a branch
of sociology. Sociology is greatly benefited by anthropological studies. The studies made by famous anthropologists like Radcliffe Brown, B. Malinowski, Ralph Linton, Lowie, Raymond Firth, Margaret Mead, Evans Pritchard and others, have been proved to be valuable in sociology. Sociological topics such as the origin of family, the beginning of marriage, private property, the genesis of religion, etc., can better be understood in the light of anthropological knowledge. The anthropological studies have shown that there is no correlation between anatomical characteristics and mental superiority. The notion of racial superiority has been disproved by anthropology. Further, sociology has borrowed many concepts like cultural area, culture traits, interdependent traits, cultural lag, culture patterns, culture configuration etc., from socio-cultural anthropology. The knowledge of anthropology, physical as well as socio-cultural, is necessary for a sociologist. An understanding of society can be gained by comparing various cultures, particularly, the modern with the primitive.