Holism in Anthropology

Man is the only creature in the animal kingdom having two aspects: biological and cultural.

• Anthropology explores both - the biological and cultural aspects of man.
• In contrast to other disciplines like psychology, economics, zoology, and others, anthropology does not only study one aspect of human life but covers all dimensions of humanity. Only anthropology explores the entire panorama of human experiences.
• As well as studying humanity as a whole, it also seeks to comprehend the differences within it. That is the diversity and variation among human beings - across time and space.

Thus, Anthropology is the 'holistic science of man' --- a science of the sum of human existence.

It is this multifaceted holistic approach that makes it unique and accounts for the wide scope of the field. 

Anthropology has a 'four-field' approach that encompasses:

1. Physical/Biological Anthropology
2. Social/Cultural Anthropology
3. Archaeological Anthropology
4. Linguistic Anthropology

Each of these unique subdisciplines contributes to the understanding of different aspects of human beings in a holistic way. 

Examples: 

• Capacity for learning a language is genetically programmed in our DNA (our biology); however, our environment determines which language/s we end up learning (our culture).
• Anthropologists study Kinship not only as a cultural aspect. but also studies the variety of kinship patterns in different societies across the World.
• Anthropology is equally interested in the lifeways of a Polynesian farmer, and a Japanese businessman.

Anthropological study has the deepest possible time frame - starting from the earliest beginnings of human ancestors millions of years ago to the present. The broad time frame covered by anthropology is important because they believe any insights about contemporary human adaptations, either biological or cultural should be made with eye to past adaptations. 

To conclude, anthropology does not limit itself to

• any particular aspect of humanity
• any particular group of people
• any particular period in time

It is this holistic approach through which anthropologists are able to gain an understanding of humanity.

References: Collected from various sources. 

What is Anthropology?

• Study of all humans in all times and places.
• Anthropology studies human population throughout time and space - from the earliest humans to modern city dwellers - and attempts to incorporate knowledge of them into meaningful understanding of humanity. (Miller et al.)
• Only one of the sciences of human beings, bringing together the common aims of many disciplines which describe human beings.
• Science of human being, study of man/mankind (includes both men and women) in time and space.
• Anthropology confronts basic questions of human existence and survival.
• Discipline of infinite curiosity about human beings.
• Anthropology is the myth of humankind, an explanation of our nature.
• Anthropology is the research of human beings and human behaviour and communities in the present and past. The abstract term anthropology first appeared in the works of Magnus Hundt and Otto Casmann during the German Renaissance. It was derived from the combining forms of the Greek words ánthrōpos (human) and lógos(study), which began to be used in English by the early 18th century.6 With development, many disciplines are related to anthropology nowadays, such as sociocultural, biological, archaeological, and linguistic fields. (The Anthropology Reflection on Space and Place, BilingYang)
• Anthropology is the study of humanity across time and space. Anthropologists study every possible realm of human experience, thought, activity, and organization. Human as we are, we can only engage in social and natural worlds through our human minds and human bodies. Even engagement with nonhuman realms such as astronomy and botany is conditioned by our human senses and human cognition and thus varies across different societies and different time periods. You may be thinking, If anthropology is the human aspect of absolutely everything, then does anthropology encompass the other social disciplines, such as political science, religious studies, and economics? This is not the case. Certainly, anthropologists are frequently multidisciplinary, meaning that while their research and teaching are focused within the discipline of anthropology, they also engage with other disciplines and work with researchers and teachers in other fields. But the way that scholars in the other social disciplines approach their subject matter is different from the way anthropologists approach those same subjects. The distinctive approach of anthropology relies on a central narrative, or story, about humanity as well as a set of scholarly commitments. This central story and these common commitments hold the discipline together, enabling anthropologists to combine insights from diverse fields into one complex portrait of what it means to be human. Anthropology is everything, but it’s not just anything. Anthropology is the study of humanity guided by a distinctive narrative and set of commitments. (Introduction to Anthropology, Open Stax)

• "Anthropology is the most humanistic of the sciences and the most scientific of the humanities." -Alfred L. Kroeber.

References: Collected