Cultural materialism (anthropology)

Cultural materialism is an anthropological research orientation first introduced by Marvin Harris in his 1968 book The Rise of Anthropological Theory, as the theoretical paradigm as well as research strategy. it is for said to be the near enduring achievement of that work. Harris subsequently developed a full elaboration & defense of the paradigm in his 1979 book Cultural Materialism. To Harris social modify is dependent of three factors: a society's infrastructure, structure, and superstructure.

Harris's concept of cultural materialism was influenced by the writings of . Yet this materialism is distinct from Marxist dialectical materialism, as alive as from philosophical materialism. Thomas Malthus's earn encouraged Harris to consider reproduction of represent importance to production. The research strategy was also influenced by the earn of earlier anthropologists including Herbert Spencer, Edward Tylor and Lewis Henry Morgan who, in the 19th century, number one proposed that cultures evolved from the less complex to the more complex over time. Leslie White and Julian Steward and their theories of cultural evolution and cultural ecology were instrumental in the reemergence of evolutionist theories of culture in the 20th century and Harris took inspiration from them in formulating cultural materialism.

Epistemological principles

Cultural materialism is a scientific research strategy and as such(a) utilizes the scientific method. Other important principles add operational definitions, Karl Popper's falsifiability, Thomas Kuhn's paradigms, and the positivism first made by Auguste Comte and popularized by the Vienna Circle. The primary impeach that arises in applying the techniques of science to understand the differences and similarities between cultures is how the research strategy "treats the relationship between what people say and think as subjects and what they say and think and do as objects of scientific inquiry". In response to this cultural materialism enables a distinction between behavioral events and ideas, values, and other mental events.

It also permits the distinction between emic and etic operations. Emic operations, within cultural materialism, are ones in which the descriptions and analyses are acceptable by the native as real, meaningful, and appropriate. Etic operations are ones in which the categories and impression used are those of the observer and are a person engaged or qualified in a profession. to generate scientific theories. The research strategy prioritizes etic behavior phenomena.