- Ultermarto
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- Fabled Member
I mean, I know what it means on the surface. Anthropology is the study of man. But ... don't we already study ourselves in a variety of ways? Don't psychology, physiology, philosophy and history already cover everything that anthropology claims to? To be fair, I've only ever read two 'anthropological' books; Campbell's Hero, and -blam!- Ludens. But in -blam!- Ludens, the anthropologist Huizinga starts by ruling out what he's not looking at. He disregards the scientific approach of explanation and empiricism, but also of philosophical rationalism, and claims that what is left is the anthropological approach. And I'm just sitting here, trying to work out what the hell that means.