PHILOSOPHICAL ANTHROPOLOGY;CONCEPTUAL DIFFERENCES WITH ANTHROPOLOGY

                   

THE BIG QUESTION:

 DOES PHILOSOPHICAL ANTHROOLOGY DIFFER FROM ANTHROPOLOGY

Philosophical anthropology and anthropology are two related disciplines that seem to share extensive similarities however due to varying concepts and ideologies both fields present contrasting attributes. nevertheless before proceeding further it is necessary to clarify the two terms.

     In short philosophical anthropology according to a wide range of academic scholars has been described as a critical examination of basic anthropological concepts; such as what is man?, the objectivity of anthropological claims e.t.c. in other words philosophy of anthropology gives a critique into the infrastructure of anthropology.

    Anthropology on the other hand has been perceived by Adewale Oke as the ‘’most comprehensive of the sciences dealing with man and is works’’[1984,9];accordingly ,anthropology deals mainly with all types of human beings and their works considering human kind from antiquity to present day.however,it should be noted that some subfields

 of anthropology has strong relationship with biological sciences while some identify mainly with the social sciences.

   Between the two discipline there seem to be a great difference in approach or study. Aside from philosophical anthropology giving a critique of anthropology. The discipline explores the essential characteristics of man, particularly his transcendental configurations. for instance ‘’as a self contradictory and mysterious being who has the capacity to transcend his natural limitations in search of authenticity’’ [pappe,1967,159].

     Anthropology on the other hand approaches the study of man empirically that is the use of extensive experiment and observation and also applying n interdisciplinary method diving into fields like history, ethnology, linguistics e.t.c

     Also,though there are many subfields that touch on the activities of man anthropology lacks objectivity thus,ther are no specifics in anthropology hence,posing no answer to the question what is man? and in the long run accounting for the inquiry of philosophy into anthropology.

       Lastly, philosophical anthropology differs from anthropology since it paints man metaphysically, particularly giving man a metaphysical temperament insisting temperament as the overriding nature of man over all

considerateons. thus, insisting on the idealistic essence of man as in hegelism or the materialistic nature as in fueurbach’s anthropology.

In a nutshell, though this two disciplines work interchangeably there would always be contrast in their attributes