From: mt90dac@brunel.ac.uk (Del Cotter)
Newsgroups: sci.anthropology
Subject: Cultural bias in taxonomy
Date: 21 Jan 93 22:11:08 GMT
Organization: Brunel University, West London, UK

In article <1993Jan20.170643.10946@eos.arc.nasa.gov> kyrsten@eos.arc.nasa.gov (Kyrsten Swazey) writes:
>gil@tillage.DIALix.oz.au (Gil Hardwick) writes:
> (...parts deleted...)
>>Further, I would point out here that not only is that time frame a
>>cultural artifact, but so are *all* of the concepts of inheritance and
>>classification borrowed from the European social hierarchy of the day.
>>Animal KINGDOMS, indeed!
>>       ^^^^
>>Every distinction you make can be shown readily to have been invented,
>>by whom, when and where, were you honest enough to admit that like the
>>rest of scientific endeavour your theoretical constructs are no more
>>than models plainly subject to criticism and development.

The theoretical constructs of scientific endeavour are models subject to
criticism and development.  Who would have thought it.  Wait till I tell
the scientific world this!

(...parts deleted...)
>I'm coming in at the tail end here, I would think, but I am intrigued by
>your arguments.  I am a second year Anthropology major and, being
>cloistered in my own personal world, had not even *considered* the
>implications of the European influence upon the classification system.
>It's such a blatant thing i had not thought about it.  

The point is a very old one, though.  Read Plato's 'Republic' for
The Parable of the Cave, a good description of the likely effects of
trying to change someone's ideas when those ideas have surrounded them
from birth.  This is about two and a half millenia old.

>Your point is well-taken and I agree that we should attempt to "shake down"
>our sciences and expose and re-work everything tainted by unthinking
>cultural biases. (Of course, I would think that previous European biases
>would be replaced with our own, but at least that would keep things
>moving...;-) 

This is the problem though.  We are *all* cocooned in our biases.  
Practically everyone today has the choice of several cultures to belong
to, and we tend to settle into one and go to sleep.  In theory, we should
keep ourselves honest by reminding each other that there is more than one
point of view.

Sadly, what tends to happen all too often is that we shake our heads and
and say 'poor fools, they actually believe...', smugly assuring ourselves
that we see things so much more clearly.

On cultural bias in modern taxonomy, this is very old wisdom.  It has been 
discussed, to my knowledge, for decades.  With what would you replace it?  

BTW, I remember one interesting study was made of names for the flora 
and fauna of Papua New Guinea.  It turned out that there was very little 
inconsistency between the local and Linnaean classifications.  Can 
anyone recall the reference, please?

>However, I am a bit dismayed as to your comments... It seems that there
>really *is* a lot wrong with the status quo, *but* how is a beginning
>student to know the difference between real information and biased
>accounts of reality? 

You can't.  Scary, isn't it?  Think about that at your next anthropology
lecture.

>Do you have any constructive suggestions? 

Remember that science is a cultural activity.  It has to be, it's
performed by humans.  Read anything by Steven Jay Gould on this.  
'The Mismeasure of Man' is a good place to start.

>Are you saying that the comparison of humans to chimpanzees or even humans
>to other humans is invalid?  Or merely that it something we do not need to 
>dwell upon?

I certainly think we need to dwell upon the differences between 
similar cultures and species.  Ask yourself how the differences 
can be accounted for and you are well on the way to new insights.

>Where should one go to find culturally un-biased accounts?

No human has ever written a culturally unbiased account of anything.
That includes anthropologists.

-- 
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   ', ,','    |       Del Cotter       mt90dac@brunel.ac.uk      |    ', ,','  
     ','      |                                                  |      ','