Cultural Anthropology means different things to different people. Brian learned that the hallmark of anthropology were the two pillars of Holism and Cross-Cultural Comparison. Holism is the belief that the different aspects of a society all fit together to form a whole. To understand one aspect of a community you need to understand the whole picture, as they are all parts of an integrated whole. Cross Cultural comparison means you look at a great number of societies to understand a particular society.
Segment 2: War Has an Origin. There is a theory that says throughout humanity’s past, war has been ubiquitous. This is not true. In fact, anthropologists can see when they look at the total archeological record (instead of cherry-picking certain times and places) that war has an origin. At some point in a society’s history, war appears. Usually it’s after the onset of agriculture. From then on, war does not go away.
Brian has always opted for a minimal definition of war. His definition involves a collection of people who engage in an activity against another collection of people that involves killing.
Segment 3: Moral Values to Make War Acceptable. The neurological aspect of war and cooperation is something that Brian has studied. He does not believe that war is innate in our nature. Most human decision-making is not rational; it’s emotional. This provides content as to why we quickly escalate into conflicts. In some cultures, not only is war not viewed as “bad”, but it’s also an essential part of maintaining the balance of society and allowing young men to become and be perceives as adults. Whoever makes the decision to fight looks at the practical outcome of fighting or not fighting. As they convince others to go to war and try to rationalize to themselves the need for war, they will connect their own self-interests to the highest values and morals within their culture (revenge, democracy, etc.). As people make their decisions to go to war, they evoke their moral values to make it an acceptable practice.
Segment 4: Leaders and War. Brian tells us that leaders often favor war because war often favors leaders. From tribal societies to ancient states to modern societies, leaders often find their own interest being elevated by heightened conflict and war with others. When there is deadly conflict, leaders are usually elevated. In fact, working for peace actually takes more strength than going to war. It’s all about the leadership. To read more about Brian, visit his bio: http://www.ncas.rutgers.edu/r-brian-ferguson.
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