A thread through the archive
Essays tagged “anthropology”. Follow an idea across the archive.
A review of L.R. Hiatt's book on Aboriginal anthropology that examines the complexity of their traditional social structures and practices, while exploring broader questions about cultural evolution and the impact of colonialism.
The review examines Daniel Everett's 'How Language Began', which challenges Chomsky's linguistic theories and proposes an alternative view of language as a gradual cultural invention.
A review of 'The Family That Couldn't Sleep' by D. T. Max, discussing its exploration of prion diseases and their impact, with updated perspectives on the book's conclusions.
Scott Alexander reviews Rene Girard's 'I See Satan Fall Like Lightning', critiquing its theory of myths and religion centered on scapegoating, and discussing its application to modern 'wokeness'.
A review of 'The Arctic Hysterias' by Edward Foulks, exploring culture-bound mental disorders among Eskimos and their decline with westernization.
A critical review of 'The Dawn of Everything' by Graeber and Wengrow, examining their challenge to standard prehistory narratives and proposing an alternative hypothesis.
A review of 'The Anti-Politics Machine' by James Ferguson, discussing its critique of development projects and implications for Effective Altruism.
The review analyzes Robert Ellickson's 'Order Without Law', which argues that close-knit communities often develop welfare-maximizing social norms that supersede formal laws.
Scott reviews Julian Jaynes' controversial theory that ancient people lacked consciousness and instead heard hallucinated voices of gods, critiquing some aspects while finding value in the idea of theory of mind as culturally constructed.
Scott Alexander examines the hypothesis that sexual purity taboos evolved to prevent STI spread, considering historical STI prevalence and cross-cultural taboos.
Scott Alexander shares and comments on excerpts from Joseph Henrich's 'The Secret of Our Success', exploring cultural evolution and its impact on human societies.
Scott reviews 'The Secret of Our Success' by Joseph Henrich, which argues that culture, not raw intelligence, is key to human success and explores the evolutionary basis for cultural transmission.
Scott Alexander discusses the challenges of community growth, relating his experiences with micronations and rationalist groups to theories about natural group size limits.
Scott presents Horace Miner's satirical essay describing American culture as an exotic tribe called the 'Nacirema,' demonstrating how framing effects and cultural expectations shape anthropological interpretation.