资源描述：
《ANTHROPOLOGY AND THE HUMANITIES'人类与人文科学》由会员上传分享，免费在线阅读，更多相关内容在学术论文-天天文库。
1、AHERICANANTHROPOLOGISTVOL.50OCTOBER-DECEMBER,1948No.4,PART1ANTHROPOLOGYANDTHEHUMANITIES'ByRUTHBENEDICT*ANTHROPOLOGYbelongsamongthesciencesinfarmoresensesthantheobviousonethatitsitsontheNationalResearchCouncilandontheSocialScienceResearchCouncil.Fromthemomen
2、tofitsprofessionalbegin-ningsjustaboutahundredyearsagoithasphrasedtheproblemsitinvesti-gated,andhasadoptedconceptualschemes,accordingtopatternswhichbe-longtothescientifictraditionofwesterncivilizationofthepastcentury.Itborrowedsomeofitsearlyconcepts,suchast
3、hatofevolutionorofthesinglelocalizedoriginofcivilization,directlyfromphylogeneticconceptsofbiology,andithasattemptedinallitsseriousworktoarriveatobjective,theoretical,generalizeddescriptionsofreality.Thisscientificframeworkinwhichanthropologyhasworkedanddev
4、elopedbasnotpreventeditfromfallingintoerrororfromexploringblindalleys.Anthropology,likeanyscience,mustconstantlyrephraseitsquestionsinthelightofnewdiscriminationsinitsownfieldandofnewknowledgeavailabletoitintheworkofothersciences.Itmustconstantlytrytoprofit
5、bymethodsandconceptswhichhavebeendevelopedinthephysicalandbiologicalsciences,inpsychologyandinpsychiatry.Inthispresentdecadewehaveeveryoppor-tunitytodoso;wearenolongerlivinginanagewhichconcernsitselfwithcontroversiesabouthowtodelimitandtodefineeachself-suff
6、icientscience.Thesituationisquitedifferentinregardtoanthropologyandthebumani-ties.Theyaresofarapartthatitisstillquitepossibletoignoreeventhefactthattheydealwiththesamesubjectmatter-manandhisworksandhisideasandhishistory.Tomymindtheverynatureoftheproblemspos
7、edanddiscussedinthehumanitiesiscloser,chapterbychapter,tothoseinanthro-pologythanaretheinvestigationscarriedoninmostofthesocialsciences.ThisisahereticalstatementandtojustifyitImustturnbacktothegreatdaysofthehumanities.FromtheRenaissancedowntoahundredyearsag
8、o,thehumanities,notthesciences,weretheintellectualfoodofwesterncivilization.Humanitasmeantthen,asitmeanttoCicero,theknowledgeofwhatmanis-hispowers,AddressoftheRetiringPresident,AmericanAnthropologicalA
