Anthropology: The Exploration of Human Diversity by Conrad Phillip Kottak - Article Example

While people carry the assumption that human beings are equally the same all over the world, they fail to recognize that these acuities are misguided and erroneous. Such opinions assert that people share the same feelings, morals, objectives, and desires meaning they are virtually ready to adopt values, beliefs, and ideas from different parts of the world (Kottak 1). While the writer accurately asserts that these assumptions are often erroneous, he fails to elucidate sufficiently on the cultural, desire, and belief differences on a global scale.

However, the author uses anthropology to highlight a different comparative cross-cultural standpoint because anthropology persistently compares the customs of one culture to another (Kottak 1). Therefore, anthropology offers an ethnographic understanding of different societies that facilitates the veneration of other traditions and beliefs across the globe. It is interesting how the author uses anthropology to elucidate diversity and cultural differences because the article reveals how different people survive in areas considered inhabitable by others.

As such, I find the article more informative on the need to embrace diversity through interaction and study of different cultures. Understanding that there are different cultures globally and there is a need to respect these variations can avert conflicts and foster inclusivity. Equally important, anthropology is broad enough to expound on various adaptations of people by studying their immediate ancestors and this acclimatization holistically. Therefore, the article offers in-depth insight into the origin and evolution of different cultures that makes diversity an important aspect of society.

It is agreeable with the author’s assertion that anthropological attention on various aspects of life must be combined with respect to how they shape the growth and development of human beings (Kottak 5). In this sense, it is easier to understand why different cultures excel in varying activities as compared to others. The author uses an example of Brazilian women who shun swimming as it shapes their bodies into less attractive forms according to their cultural standards of attractiveness.

Swimming trims the fat and broadens shoulders and large necks of swimmers a factor considered less attractive in Brazilian culture (Kottak 5). In fact, this explains why most Brazilian women have big buttocks as compared to their American and European counterparts as their men accept fat, particularly around the buttocks. It is logically inconsistent for the author to assert that assuming people are the same is wrong because existing differences such as culture are gradually fading. Additionally, people are ready to embrace new ideas and beliefs to improve their lives and working conditions.

For instance, the technological wave was readily accepted globally due to its applications from hunting to food processing. Moreover, the culture concept is irrelevant in the explanation of human behavior because it contradicts the biological anthropology that focuses on evolution a fact that can be scientifically tested.  Believing that people are different proves that the evolution theory fostered by biological anthropology is erroneous on scientific grounds because human beings evolved from the same primate species.