Anthology of Ideas

The four fields in American anthropology are usually classified as physical, cultural (or ethnology), linguistics and archeology. Cultural Anthropology deals with the aspects of human lives that are learned. It examines the way different groups keep societal control, delegate responsibilities and other such learned behaviors. Physical Anthropology studies the way humans have evolved over time and how different environmental and cultural influences affected human evolution. Archeology is the study of things humans have created in the past.

Sapir and Whorf postulated that grammar and language are part of the mental process, thus they help to shape the way an individual interprets and views the world around them. However, the theory has always been controversial because people tend to see language as a tool created by humans instead of a mold that shapes people. By accepting this theory one must accept that humans do not have complete control over language, allowing a language to die out is as much a loss as any other extinction, and forcing people to adopt a new language forces them to change the way their mind works.

The four fields in American anthropology are usually classified as physical, cultural (or ethnology), linguistics and archeology. Cultural Anthropology deals with the aspects of human lives that are learned. It examines the way different groups keep societal control, delegate responsibilities and other such learned behaviors. Physical Anthropology studies the way humans have evolved over time and how different environmental and cultural influences affected human evolution. Archeology is the study of things humans have created in the past.

Sapir and Whorf postulated that grammar and language are part of the mental process, thus they help to shape the way an individual interprets and views the world around them. However, the theory has always been controversial because people tend to see language as a tool created by humans instead of a mold that shapes people. By accepting this theory one must accept that humans do not have complete control over language, allowing a language to die out is as much a loss as any other extinction, and forcing people to adopt a new language forces them to change the way their mind works.