Describe the similarities between sociology and social anthropology.

 Sociology is very close to social/cultural (Socio-Cultural) anthropology. The relationship between the two is so close that in the contemporary times the difference has become very bleak. There are many eminent anthropologists who have opined the close relationship between Sociology and anthropology, particularly socio-cultural anthropology. For instance, Frazer is, perhaps, the first anthropologist who in his Inaugural Lecture as the first Professor of Social Anthropology in1908 defined “social anthropology as that branch of sociology that deals with primitive societies” (Radcliffe-Brown,1952:2; cf. Voget, 1975:143). According to Frazer, sociology “should be viewed as the most general science of society. Social anthropology would be a part of sociology, restricted to the “origin, or rather the rudimentary phases, the infancy and childhood of human society” By limiting social anthropology to a study of savage life, Frazer echoed the ideas of Waitz and of Tylor in placing the anthropological emphasis on the early history and institutions of mankind” (Voget, 1975:143).

 

According to Radcliffe-Brown (1983) social anthropology is a ‘comparative sociology’. By the term ‘comparative sociology’, he would mean “a science that applies the generalizing method of the natural sciences to the phenomena of the social life of man and to everything that we include under the term culture or civilisation” (p.55). Thus, he is of a considered view that social anthropology should look for ‘nomothetic’ approach (search for general laws of society) rather than the idiographic approach (search for particular scientific facts and processes, as distinct from general laws). It is a method to demonstrate “a particular phenomenon or event” to establish a “general law” (ibid.). There are also many other anthropologists who concur to his view. For instance, Evans-Pritchard, another well-known anthropologist considers social anthropology as “a branch of sociological studies, that branch which chiefly devotes itself to primitive societies” (1951:11). He opines that “[w]hen people speak of sociology they generally have in mind studies of particular problems in civilized societies. If we give this sense to the word, then the difference between social anthropology and sociology is a difference of field (ibid.).According to E.A. Hoebel, the relationship between sociology and social anthropology are, “in their broadest senses, one and the same. Both are the study of social interrelationships, i.e., the relations of men to men” (1958: 9). Lucy Mair (1965) and many other anthropologists also consider social anthropology as a ‘branch’ of sociology.

 

Although, anthropology (an integrated anthropology including physical anthropology) is said to have emerged earlier than sociology, from the very beginning it was very difficult to differentiate between the subject matters of the two, particularly with socio-cultural anthropology. While anthropology was formulated as a holistic study of mankind and related aspects, Auguste Comte also considered that sociology would be the overarching study of human society, and therefore, sociology should be the “queen of all sciences”. Anthropology and sociology also founded with the significant elements from the natural sciences in one way or another although the subject matter of anthropology (integrated anthropology), particularly due to the components of physical anthropology and archaeological anthropology exceeds sociology in terms of its linkage with the physical sciences. Even when the discipline of sociology and socio-cultural anthropology were established their relationship still existed. The relationship is mainly because of the similarity in the subject matter and methodology. According to Fred W. Voget (1975), the difference between sociology and anthropology (particularly socio-cultural anthropology) is more on the application level rather than at the level of the scope, concept, and method. He states:

 

The procedural distinctions by which early sociologists sought to separate and to relate anthropology and sociology did not hold historic development of the disciplines. Both anthropology and sociology, following the model of science, combined description and generalization. The pragmatic distinction between these two disciplines came when their respective exponents began fieldwork (Voget, 1975:144).

 

In fact, there had been many universities and colleges where sociology and social anthropology existed in the same department in many universities of the world. It was only by the early 20th century that the distinction became more visible with the establishment of respective academic disciplines. The relationship has been growing even more in the contemporary times that it is becoming more difficult to distinguish between the two despite the maintenance of disciplinebased barriers. The relationship of the two subjects is also due to the necessity of the cross-use of concepts and also the identical theoretical and research problems and their findings. This is for the fact that both the subjects need each other to strengthen their disciplines and also do justice to the scope of the study of society at large.

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