Essay --

I. - Là ©vi-Strauss’ â€Å"La Pensà ©e Sauvage†, scientific explanation is substitution of the more intelligible complexity for the less intelligible - The Enlightenment viewed human nature as all the same, regularly defined, did not account for the variability of all of man through history - Culture arose from the idea that man is inseparable from his surroundings - There must be balance between universal and local (culturally determined), not dualistic like the Balinese in their dissociated trances II. - â€Å"Stratigraphic† conception of human factors, wherein man is composed of layers of different factors of humanity - Anthropologists began search for â€Å"consensus gentium† (consensus of all mankind) - For universal/particular dualism to stand, universal aspects must be substantial, grounded in scientific processes, defensible; Geertz thinks gentium approach fails - No generalizations can be made of man, except that - Parsons & others said that cultural universals are human responses to realities all humans face - Common human action is much more meaningful than simple response to need III. - Universals are accepted to avoid relativism and historicism, but the specific can teach a lot about the general - Culture is not complexes of concrete behavior patterns, but a set of control mechanisms to govern behavior - Man depends on such control mechanisms, and they are not genetic - Humans use social symbols and ideas to create meaning - Culture did not suddenly appear, it evolved with humanity; genetics were not enough so men were guided by and completed through the creation of culture - Humans have a great capacity to learn, but there is also much to be learned; culture helps us to learn that which we need to know IV. - Enlightenment thinking... ...p in a limitless ocean. Yet what is any ocean, but a multitude of drops?† So in the end, what does it matter that we are human? Maybe, as a Christians and humans, we must start viewing others as humans. We are so quick to apologize for what the church did to other humans in the crusades, or to humans before blacks were free. When we own up to our own humanness and stop the idea that we are the judge of who is human, maybe we will apologize to the gays, lesbians, bisexuals, pot smokers, democrats, republicans, and independents alike for what people have done to them in the name of the church. Against all odds, we are told that one man will never make a difference. I think the beauty of humanity is that it’s true. One man will never, ever make a difference by himself. But humanity as a whole, working together as one human race? That may just shake things up a bit. â€Æ'