Readings:
Marshall Sahlins, "Evolution: Specific and General," in Sahlins and Service, eds., <Evolution and Culture, 1960.
Elman Service, "Cultural Evolution as Intellectual History," Part I of Cultural Evolutionism, New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1971.
Marvin Harris, The Rise of Anthropological Theory, "Evolutionism: Methods"
Assignment:
Consider the relationship between the idea of cultural relativity (that all cultures are equally valid in moral and/or ontological terms) and the increases in scale and complexity that have happened since the Neolithic revolution. In particular, consider two propositions that are topsy-turvy to each other:
1) There is no such thing in as cultural evolution in the general sense: if all cultures are morally and/or ontologically equal, there is no means for comparison
2) Cultural relativism is a kind of romanticism that seeks to deny (for reasons of survivors' guilt, liberal softness, or whatever) the idea that there are in fact trends in history, even if they are not trends of moral worth.
Write your thoughts on these and post to the class listserv before 2 a.m on the day of class.
In class:
1st hour: Clarification in lecture of the ideas of evolution and progress
2nd hour: Discussion of each other's postings on the philosophical issues.