Theory Of Anthropology
A theory is a systematic organization of ideas proposed to explain a phenomenon. In other words a theory is simply a speculation, which at the time cannot be proven and is used as a means to explain an event, trend, or other occurrences.
Theories attempt to directly refute well established schools of thought which are widely held as fact. It should be noted that “science [as well as social science] does not rest upon solid bedrock. The bold structure of its theories rises, as it were, above a swamp. It is like a building erected on piles. The piles are driven down from above into the swamp, but not down to any natural or ‘given’ base; and if we stop driving the piles deeper, it is not because we have reached firm ground. We simply stop when we are satisfied that the piles are firm enough to carry the structure, at least for the time being.” (Popper LSD 2002: 122)
In attempting to explain and rationalize the world, Popper defines scientific theories as "universal statements" used to cast a net to "catch" the world. Popper believes our goal is to make the holes in the net as small as possible through modification and revision.(Popper 2002: 37, 38) Consequently, "scientific theories are perpetually changing" (Popper LSD 2002: 50). Furthermore, strict universals are non-verifiable "all-statements" that can not be reduced into a finite number of singular statements, thus they are theories or natural laws.(Popper LSD 2002: 40-42)
Just as science speculates reality of the structure of the universe that we live in, social science comments on the social reality in which we live in. The social reality in which we live in, or as anthropologists, in which we observe, is constantly changing. As post-modernity has progressed, the world has become increasingly globalized, which has created a hybridization of culture. America serves as a paradigmatic example, certain elements of American culture are integrated into other countries of the world. However, discovering what parts of western culture have taken hold in other areas of the world and why cannot be explained in real time, but must be observed then speculated upon. Clearly, not all the contributing factors will be brought to light. By the time many of the contributing factors have been speculated upon the culture will have shifted to a new paradigm.
Theories in social science heavily reflect the time period in which they were written in. Therefore, not all of the premises in the theory which may have been true during the time it was written would still remain so contemporarily. A large problem with social theories is that they are heavily reliant upon the people, while in science an experiment can be conducted over and over again under similar circumstances. Often anthropologists rely on less than reputable members of society which will deceive them for their own ends, as was often the case in early anthropology. Similarly the biases of the anthropologist come into light when analyzing the data gathered. Given that there is no Truth which we can observe, in light of the fact that would take an omniperspective, we are left with creating theories based on our senses on which to constantly revise both in science and social science.
