The 5 differences between sociology and anthropology

Differentiating between these two social sciences is not always easy. We help you.

The human being is a creature with a relatively short history compared to others. And even shorter is the history of which the current human being has real evidence, not knowing most of the events that our ancestors lived before the invention of writing.

In this sense, different branches of science have tried to explore both in our present and in our past to study the different ways in which the to study the different ways in which civilization and humanity in general have been organizing themselves. Among them, anthropology and sociology stand out, two disciplines with different characteristics and objects of study that are often confused by those who are not dedicated to them due to the similarity of the subjects they deal with.

In this article we intend to make a brief distinction between them, first by giving a brief description of these social sciences, and then by explaining the differences between sociology and anthropology. the differences between sociology and anthropology.

The definition of these two social sciences

Anthropology is the discipline or branch of science dedicated to the study of the human being in its various aspects. study of the human being in its various aspectsgenerally focusing on the evolution of man through the ages. Anthropology is a broad science, which aims to study the human being from a global perspective, with a tendency to qualitative and descriptive analysis,

There is a great diversity of branches within anthropology, which basically take into account on the one hand the evolution of the human being as an animal species and on the other hand the socio-cultural development that has taken place throughout this evolution. Thus, anthropology can evaluate how a language has evolved, how human beings have adapted to changes in temperature, or how traditions and beliefs have changed.

Among the many branches of anthropology that exist, of the many branches of anthropology, the one most often confused with other social disciplines is social anthropology.. With regard to this type of anthropology, it tends to emphasize the analysis of the evolution of culture, beliefs and perspectives, customs and ways of acting and organizing.

Sociology, on the other hand, is the branch of science that is dedicated to the study of societies.Sociology refers to the study of the way in which the different members of a community organize themselves and establish different ways of managing their resources and coexistence, generating norms and ways of relating to each other. This analysis of societies is done from a mainly social point of view, i.e. focusing on interpersonal or intergroup elements. It generally has a more qualitative approach and tends to emphasize more operational aspects.

Sociology also includes the study not only of how the members of a society are organized, managed and linked together, but also of the social problems that affect them. with respect to the social problems that exist in it, having both a theoretical and an operational approach.Theoretical as well as practical approach.

Main differences between Sociology and Anthropology

Considering the definitions given above, we can observe the presence of great similarities between both disciplines. Differentiating between sociology and certain types of anthropology may therefore be complex for most people, but this does not imply that it is not possible to observe distinctive elements. The following are some of the most obvious differences.

1. Object of study

The main difference between anthropology and sociology is curiously one of the reasons why they are confused. Y The fact is that both disciplines have different objects of study and analysis, although both are intimately related to each other.although both are closely related.

As we mentioned in the previous presentation, the main object of anthropology is man and in the case of cultural anthropology the culture and development of the community itself. As for sociology, it tends to focus on the study of social interactions and relationships, the organizations that exist in it and the problems that arise from living in community.

The fact that society and culture are closely linked and largely indivisible (since social norms are based on the beliefs and values of the culture to which they belong), makes this distinction difficult to make on a practical level, which facilitates confusion between the two.This makes this distinction difficult to make at a practical level, something that facilitates confusion among people who are not involved in either of these two areas.

Time window explored

Anthropology and sociology can focus on the analysis of the same time period. However, the truth is that sociology tends to be more focused on the study of historical periods closer in time, or even more closely in time. or even the present day, while anthropology tends to be more focused on the study of historical periods closer in time or even the present day.while anthropology tends to focus more on analyzing the evolution of societies throughout history.

3. Level of ethnocentrism

One of the differences between sociology and anthropology is found in the contexts and groups that each analyzes. Anthropology's approach tends to be holistic, including in its research a global perspective of humanity and often looking at cultures other than the one from which it originates in order to better understand different cultural and social developments.

Sociology, however, tends to be more ethnocentric, generally focused on culture or culture-as-usual.Sociology, however, tends to be more ethnocentric, generally focused on the culture or type of culture from which the research starts (more focused on the here and now).

4. Level of applicability

Another of the most notable differences is that while anthropology generally seeks knowledge in order to improve understanding of what has happened and how we got to where we are, in the case of sociology the objective is to analyze the existing reality, generally with the aim not only of understanding but also of being able to introduce, predict or evaluate the introduction of changes in the system.

In other words, in Western societies, sociology claims to be a science with a higher level of practical application than anthropology, sociology claims to be a science with a higher level of practical application than anthropology, which tends to be more theoretical-explanatory.which tends to be more theoretical-explanatory.

5. Type of data used

As mentioned above, sociology and anthropology also differ in the type of data they tend to use. Anthropology usually performs an analysis based on more qualitative data, being the data derived mainly from observation and analysis of cultural products or observation.

In contrast, sociology tends to focus on obtaining data of a more quantitative nature, searching for and generatingIn contrast, sociology tends to focus on obtaining data of a more quantitative nature, seeking and generating research on operationalizable elements based on current data and their comparison with previous data.