Historical Development of Anthropology Blog; Franz Boas

 Cape Echols

    Franz Boas was a revolutionary thinker for his time. In the 19th and earlier 20th century, Europeans looked down on other cultures and thought theirs superior. A popular idea of the time was that racism was scientifically justifiable. The theory was that race was a biological concept rather than a cultural one. Boas opposed this theory and the idea of western superiority with his theory of cultural relativism. Cultural relativism is the theory that no one culture is superior when compared to systems of morality, law, customs, politics, etc. Cultures are fundamentally different from one another in ideals and concepts like morality. For instance, what someone from one culture might find normal, someone from another culture might think is foreign and strange. This can create a cultural bias, like in western Europeans. The theory basically suggests that your beliefs and ideals are a product of your upbringing and no one’s beliefs and ideals are incorrect or wrong. Because of his theory, Franz Boas is often called “The Father of American Anthropology”.    

https://www.thoughtco.com/franz-boas-4582034

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