Essay --

I.- Lvi-Strauss La Pense Sauvage, scientific explanation is substitution of the more intelligible complexity for the slight intelligible- The Enlightenment viewed human nature as all the same, regularly defined, did not account for the variability of all of man through history- goal arose from the idea that man is inseparable from his surroundings- There must be balance between universal and local (culturally determined), not dualistic like the Balinese in their dissociated trancesII.- Stratigraphic conception of human factors, wherein man is composed of layers of different factors of generosity- Anthropologists began search for consensus gentium (consensus of all mankind)- For universal/particular dualism to stand, universal aspects must be substantial, grounded in scientific processes, defensible Geertz thinks gentium approach fails- No generalizations can be made of man, except that- Parsons & others said that cultural universals are human responses to realities all humans fa ce- unwashed human action is much more meaningful than simple response to needIII.- Universals are accepted to avoid relativism and historicism, but the specific can determine a lot about the general- Culture is not complexes of concrete behavior patterns, but a set of control mechanisms to govern behavior- homosexual depends on such control mechanisms, and they are not genetic- Humans use social symbols and ideas to create meaning- Culture did not suddenly appear, it evolved with humanity genetics were not enough so men were guided by and completed through the creation of culture- Humans have a bang-up capacity to learn, but there is also much to be learned culture helps us to learn that which we need to knowIV.- Enlightenment thinking... ...p in a limitless ocean. Yet what is any ocean, but a multitude of drops? So in the end, what does it matter that we are human? Maybe, as a Christians and humans, we must scraping viewing others as humans. We are so quick to apologize for what the church did to other humans in the crusades, or to humans before blacks were free. When we own up to our own humanness and stop the idea that we are the judge of who is human, maybe we will apologize to the gays, lesbians, bisexuals, pot smokers, democrats, republicans, and independents alike for what people have d matchless to them in the name of the church. Against all odds, we are told that one man will never make a difference. I think the beauty of humanity is that its true. virtuoso man will never, ever make a difference by himself. But humanity as a whole, working together as one human race? That may just shake things up a bit.