Ethnocentrism

"Ethnocentrism" is a commonly used word in circles where ethnicity, inter-ethnic relations, and similar social issues are of concern. The usual definition of the term is "thinking one's own group's ways are superior to others" or "judging other groups as inferior to one's own". "Ethnic" refers to cultural heritage, and "centrism" refers to the central starting point... so "ethnocentrism" basically refers to judging other groups from our own cultural point of view. ut even this does not address the underlying issue of why people do this. !ost people, thinking of the shallow definition, believe that they are not ethnocentric, but are rather "open minded" and "tolerant." "owever, as e#plained below, everyone is ethnocentric, and there is no way not to be ethnocentric... it cannot be avoided, nor can it be willed away by a positive or well-meaning attitude. To address the deeper issues involved in ethnocentrism calls for a more e#plicit definition. $n this sense, ethnocentrism can be defined as% making false assumptions about others' ways based on our own limited experience . The key word is assumptions, because we are not even aware that we are being ethnocentric... we don't understand that we don't understand. &ne e#ample of ethnocentrism is seen in the above comments on the $nuit snowshoe race. $ assumed that $ had "lost" the race, but it turns out the $nuit saw the same situation very differently than $ did. 'esterners have a binary conflict view of life (right or wrong, liberal versus conservative, etc.), and $ had imposed my "win or lose" perspective of life on the situation. *s a result, $ did not understand how they e#perience life, that trying is a basic element of life. This did not necessarily involve thinking that my ways were superior, but rather that $ assumed my e#perience was operational in another group's circumstances. *nother e#ample illustrates how basic ethnocentrism is. $f we go to a store and ask for a green coat and the sales clerk gives us a blue one, we would think the person was color blind at the best or stupid at the worst. "owever, "colors" are not so simple. The $nuit lump shades of what *nglo *mericans call "blue" and "green" into one color category, tungortuk, which can only be translated as "bluegreen." +oes this mean that they cannot see the difference, -ust as we can distinguish between different shades (such as "sky blue" and "navy blue," and "kelly green" and "forest green"), so can the $nuit. $f they want to refer to what we would call "green," they would say tungUYortuk, which can be translated something like "that bluegreen that looks like the color of a .conifer/ tree." The point is that something so "simple" as colors has very different meanings to us and to the $nuit. "ow could an $nuk "feel blue", 0olors, after all, are only different wavelengths of light, and the rainbow can be divided in many different ways. There are many, many e#amples of such differences in meanings that make life e#perience so uni1ue for all the human groups around the world. 2or e#ample, English has tenses built into our verb forms, so we automatically think in terms of time (being

"punctual," "time is money," "make the time," etc.). ut *lgon1uian $ndian languages do not have tenses (not that they cannot e#press time if they wish), but rather have "animate" and "inanimate" verb forms, so they automatically think in terms of whether things around them have a life essence or not. 3o when 0hippewa $ndians do not show up for a medical appointment, *nglo health care workers may e#plain this as being "present oriented," since we normally cannot think e#cept in terms of time frames. ut this is the essence of ethnocentrism, since we may be imposing a time frame where none e#ists. The assumptions we make about others' e#perience can involve false negative judgments, reflected in the common definition of ethnocentrism. 2or e#ample, *nglos may observe 0ree $ndians sitting around a camp not doing obvious work that is needed and see 0rees as "la4y". 'esterners generally value "being busy" (industriousness), and so may not appreciate the 0ree capacity to rela# and not be compelled to pursue some activities of a temporary nature... nor reali4e how much effort is put into other activities like hunting. *ssumptions can also reflect false positive attitudes about others' ways. 2or e#ample, we in urban industrial society fre1uently think of 0ree $ndians as being "free of the stresses of modern society," but this view fails to recogni4e that there are many stresses in their way of life, including the threat of starvation if injured while checking a trap line a hundred miles from base camp or when game cycles hit low ebbs. 2alse positive assumptions are just as misleading as false negative assumptions. E#amples abound in our local communities, as well as around the world. 'hen you think about your own e#perience with people from other ethnic groups and with attitudes e#pressed about relations with other countries, what e#amples come to your mind where you may have imposed your own views and feelings about life on their e#perience,

Everybody is ethnocentric, as all of us around the world assume things about other people's ways. The 1uestion is why are we ethnocentric, The definition given above emphasi4es that we make false assumptions based on our own limited experience. This is all we know... what we have already e#perienced is the basis for our "reality", what we expect. $t is normal to assume it is the "natural" basis of reality... because our own ways work for us. &ur perceptions of colors, our time frames, our values on industriousness, our social roles, our beliefs about 5ife and the 6niverse, and all our other ways help us organi4e life e#perience and provide important meanings and functions as we move through daily and life span activities. Therefore, our limited e#periences we have already had are the basis for interpreting new e#periences, in this case, others789 behavior. 3ince we have not e#perienced everything they have e#perienced, how can we not be ethnocentric?

3o what is the problem with ethnocentrism, Ethnocentrism leads to misunderstanding others. 'e falsely distort what is meaningful and functional to other peoples through our own tinted glasses. 'e see their ways in terms of our life e#perience, not their conte#t. 'e do not understand that their ways have their own meanings and functions in life, just as our ways have for us. *t the heart of this is that we do not understand that we do not understand : 3o we aren't aware that we can develop more valid understandings about how they e#perience life. *t the best, we simply continue in our unawareness. ;et this can have conse1uences within our own society and in international relations. 'e may be well meaning in interethnic relations, for e#ample, but can unintentionally offend others, generate ill feelings, and even set up situations that harm others. 2or e#ample, it is easy not to see the life concerns of others (particularly minorities and the disadvantaged) or conversely to pity them for their inabilities to deal with life situations (like poverty or high crime rates). "ow do we feel when someone doesn't recogni4e our concerns, or feels sorry for us because we can't "just let go" of a stressful situation, * lack of understanding can also inhibit constructive resolutions when we face conflicts between social groups. $t is easy to assume that others "should" have certain perspectives or values. "ow often are we prone to address conflicts when others tell us how we should think and feel, Ethnocentrism is also evident in international relations, creating conflicts and inhibiting resolution of conflicts. 2or e#ample, how might our 'estern binary conflict view of life (* versus ) influence our interpretation of another group's intents when they e#press a different position on an issue, $s it just another" viewpoint, or is it "against" our viewpoint, $f we don't "win" the conflict, will we "lose", 'e may have positive intentions (from our viewpoint) in "helping" other groups deal with certain "problems," but how do they see the problem and what kind of solution do they want, 3ome peoples around the world see *mericans as very competitive and violent people, as evidenced by our business practices, "ollywood movies, and events like the 0olumbine "igh 3chool massacre. "ow much does this describe your personal e#perience, "ow do you think this perception might influence their assumptions about our intents in relations with their societies, *n ultimate case of such misunderstandings is warfare, where many people are killed, maimed for life, have their families, subsistence, health, and way of life disrupted, sometimes forever. There are e#treme forms of ethnocentrism that pose serious social problems, of course, such as racism, colonialism, and ethnic cleansing. These views are generally condemned by the world community, but we regularly see such cases in the news.

&ne issue that we need to consider is that ethnocentrism is often e#ploited to foster conflict... and to promote the power of a particular group. "istory shows us that promoting an "us versus them" perspective, political, religious, and other groups foster discrimination and conflict to benefit themselves at the e#pense of others. 3ocial conflict and wars usually have ethnocentrism at their core, which over time usually proves to be self-destructive for all concerned. 0an better understandings of others' life e#perience avoid conflicts that drain the resources and well-being of all parties, and instead promote cooperative relations between peoples to the mutual advantage of all, 3o here we have a paradox% we falsely assume because we are not even aware we are assuming... and furthermore it is the normal thing to do. 'e cannot not be ethnocentric, and we cannot will it away or make ourselves have a completely open attitude. $s it ever possible not to be ethnocentric,

3o what can we do about ethnocentrism,

*ddressing ethnocentrism is not a matter of trying not to be ethnocentric. This is an impossible task, since we will never e#perience every life situation of everyone around the world. 'e will always have our assumptions about life based on our e#isting limited e#perience. 3o a much more productive approach is to catch ourselves when we are being ethnocentric and to control for this bias as we seek to develop better understandings. $n science, grounded understandings are not developed from the absence of biases, but rather the recognition and control of biases. The scientific process helps us have a clearer view of what we do understand in the conte#t of what we do not understand. Ethnocentrism is a bias that keeps us from such understandings of other people's life e#perience, but it is possible to recogni4e this bias and control for it... so that we can go on to develop more valid and balanced understandings. This calls for us to develop our learning skills, but it can be done. !any of us know people who have moved to other societies and have learned to become functional in their new social settings, evidence that it is possible to develop more grounded understandings. *nthropologists, of course, have worked on systematically developing these skills for well over a century.

The first step in developing more balanced understandings is to recognize that we do not understand, that we are falsely assuming something that is not the case and is out of conte#t. "ow can we consciously become aware of something that is happening subconsciously, $n this case, how can we know when we are being biased, &ne of the most effective means for recogni4ing that ethnocentrism is inhibiting our understandings is to watch for reactions. <eactions tell us that we are

assuming

something

and

that

our

assumptions

are

not

working.

'e can always observe our own reactions. 'hen we have negative reactions towards others (such as thinking "that doesn't make sense" or "that's wrong," or feeling offended or confused, etc.), these are clues that our assumptions are not working in the situation. 2or e#ample, we may feel 0ree $ndians are "unfriendly" because they are often non e#pressive in social situations, but recogni4ing our reaction can provide an opportunity to better understand 0ree values on selfcontrol which can be adaptive when a small family group has to be self-sufficient in a winter camp far from others' help. &bserving our positive reactions towards others (such as thinking "that's really nice" or "that's wonderful," or feeling pleased or satisfied) can also help us to be aware that we are not understanding. 2or e#ample, *nglos fre1uently think the $nuit are "happy" and "friendly" because they smile a lot in social situations, but recogni4ing this reaction can provide an opportunity to better understand $nuit social values which are adaptive where subsistence is based on cooperative hunting.

'e can also observe their reactions. $f we blissfully go on in our misconceptions but they don't respond the way we would, this is also an important clue that our assumptions are not working in the situation. *gain, their reactions may be both positive and negative. 2or e#ample, if a 0ree shows gratification when we give him a gift, recogni4ing his reaction can provide an opportunity to better understand adaptive 0ree values on economic leveling (rather than assuming that our "generosity" has been duly recogni4ed). *lso, if an $nuk responds to our in1uiry about how to keep our shoulders warm while spending weeks on a mid-winter hunting trip with a surprised ";ou mean you want to be warm all over,", recogni4ing his reaction can provide an opportunity to better understand $nuit concepts of self and the environment (rather than providing us with the desired "answer" to maintaining our own concept of bodily comfort). $n general, reactions tell us first about us. 'hy do we think people should be "friendly", should appreciate material goods, should feel warm all over, 'hen we refer to others as "primitive" or "superstitious," what are we saying about our own premises that we value in life, 'hen we ideali4e others as being "simple" or "not wasting anything," what are we saying about the problems we perceive in our own way of life, 'hen others consider us as "technologically skilled" or "selfish," what does this say about us that we may never have reali4ed, 0ross-cultural encounters revealing more about our own perspectives, values, and emotional investments than about others, and so provide us uni1ue opportunities to learn more about ourselves.

&nce we reali4e that we do not understand, we are now in a better position to control our biases and to seek more valid and balanced understandings.

The first step involves an attitude% we are the learners. $n this process, we do not know, and that is why we are seeking to develop better understandings. They are the ones who do know what their life e#perience is like... we are asking them to help us understand better. The best method is to ask for their e#planations about what they do or say. ("0an you help me understand X better,") $n particular, avoid posing 1uestions that impose our own realities and bound their realities. (2or e#ample, not "'hy do you use 'green',") *lso, we should give people an out, and respect their right to not share with us (just as we may not want to share things that are 'private' or 'sacred'). $f we appreciate that their life e#perience can be as valid for them as ours is for us, acknowledge that we may be misunderstanding, and ask them to help us understand, most people are more than willing to help us understand better. (This is a lesson $ learned primarily from the $nuit, and many others have contributed to it since.)

=e#t, we have to ask two sets of questions (first to ourselves) to provide more insights into life e#perience in their conte#t%

(>) What are their meanings about the behavior and situation? ($n anthropological terms, what is their emit e#perience,) This includes both their cognitive views and their emotional feelings. This essentially involves in1uiring about their perspectives on their own life e#perience, including specific cognitive views about colors and the structure of the 6niverse, feelings about social relationships and proper behavior, and every other area of cultural life. *lso, observing what they are not ready to talk about can open new insights about their introspection and sense of self or about why they consider certain rituals to be secret. 'e need to keep in mind that there are many meanings of any given behavior and that these are often very deep in people's subconscious and are often difficult to put into words. 2or instance, how would we e#plain to someone from another culture what "freedom" means to *mericans, 6sually it is these differences in meanings that are the basis of ethnocentrism. (2 What are the adaptive functions of the behavior and situation? ($n anthropological terms, what is their etic e#perience,) "ow does this help the group adapt to life challenges (ecologically, biologically, economically, socially, psychologically, etc.), This is the 1uestion which is usually not asked on a common level, yet is the one that can provide the greatest insights and understandings. 2or e#ample, some people may accept that a group's belief that witchcraft causes illness is meaningful to them (rather than simply writing this off as "superstitious"). ut they may fail to consider that such beliefs often have important functions in these groups. 2or e#ample, the character and behavior of "witches" defines norms of socially unacceptable and disruptive deviancy, and in contrast also defines "good" behavioral standards for the group. This also serves as a mechanism of social control, because people are afraid of being accused of witchcraft if they step out of accepted

boundaries of behavior. $f we did not ask about the functions of beliefs in witchcraft, we would never develop insights like understanding that such views can help promote constructive behavior that helps the whole group adapt. * particular meaning may have an important function in another area of life, such as a religious belief in witchcraft having an important social function. 'e also need to keep in mind that there are many functions of any given cultural practice, including ecological, biological, economic, social, and psychological functions that help a group adapt to life challenges. "'hat are the adaptive functions," is the 1uestion that is generally not asked, but which usually leads to the greatest insights into others' cultural system. *sking about the meanings and functions of behavior is not a matter of "insiders" or "outsiders," however. 'e can analy4e the meanings of our own behavior, which are highly comple# and normally seated deeply in our subconscious, as with our idea of "freedom." 'e can also analy4e the functions of our own behavior. 2or e#ample, why is "freedom" such an important *merican value, how does it help us adapt, 3ometimes outsiders can see things we don't usually see because they are contrasting our behavior with others' ways, but being an insider does not preclude members of any group from understanding their own behavior. 'hen we start asking about how others' ways are meaningful and functional to its participants, we come to reali4e that there are many valid ways in which human beings can e#perience life. 'hat can we do when recogni4e ethnocentrism in others, 'e can follow the same process, and ask them what they think the meanings involved are, the functions, This usually brings the focus to more criical awaareness and understandings. 'hen we encounter ethnocentrism being promoted by particular groups, we can ask ourselves and those around us "'hy are they doing this," 'hat function does promoting ethnocentrism and sowing conflict serve for this group, This e#poses ulterior motives behind the group's rhetoric and actions. ?erhaps no one can ever have complete understanding of another people, without fully e#periencing everything they e#perience. "owever, this does not mean we cannot develop a functional understanding, to interact successfully with others. The many immigrants who have become functional members of our society demonstrate this is possible, as well as anthropologists and others who have become functional members of other groups. &ne goal that is achievable, however, is to make sure that what we what we do understand is valid and balanced in the conte#t of recogni4ing what we do not understand. "ow can we develop these skills, 5ike other life skills, practice at every opportunity helps us develop our abilities to catch ourselves being ethnocentric and asking good 1uestions to better understand others' cultural behavior.

"ow does all this concern the idea of relativism, a prominent value in anthropology, "<elativism" usually means not judging others' ways and accepting them as e1ual to our own. This may be a positive value in terms of interethnic relations, though it is often unrealistic since we cannot avoid ethnocentrism. 'e do not necessarily have to agree with others' ways, and we have the right to our own ways, since they provide important meanings and adaptive functions for us. The real issue of relativism, $ believe, is at what point is one group !ustified in intervening in the behavior of another group, There are areas where most people around the world believe there is little justification, such as how an ethnic group defines a desirable marriage partner. There are also areas where most people believe there is great justification, as with genocide and atrocities that violate international principles of human rights. *lso, there are areas where most people readily accept aid to meet catastrophic circumstances, like relief supplies for earth1uake victims. There is a wide gray area in between where different opinions abound, such as "free trade" which fosters both investment opportunities and child labor. 'ho is right in these circumstances, There are few absolute answers, but there are some guiding principles included in the international +eclaration of "uman <ights which can be applied in evaluating what to do. 'hat are the community positions about the situation, !ost groups have norms that are both meaningful and functional. $f they promote well-being within and across groups, then we have to ask what right we have to intervene. $f situations arise that jeopardi4e the adaptive balance within and across groups, there may be some room for addressing the situation, as long as it includes all the groups concerned and it is made clear whose well-being is being served on the part of all parties involved. *s indicated, the world community has reached an international consensus about human rights and about world functioning and balances. 'e need to be careful, however, in how to be involved. There are many e#amples of people using stated values to justify their own vested interests, as with efforts to "civili4e" or "develop" other countries, which has promoted access to raw materials and new markets for their own industries. There are also many e#amples of people being sincerely well-meaning towards others (in terms of their own values) with dire unforeseen conse1uences, such as introducing medical technologies which undermine local social structures and cohesiveness. 'hose interests are being served the most, 'hat is the overall impact on the group's adaptation, "efore we act, we need to evaluate several issues%

What is our basis for becoming involved? 'hat are our cultural views involved, our values, our vested interests, Even where "justice," "health," "standards of living," and other views are shared by others, they e#ist in different contexts of

cultural meanings and functions. 'e are still acting from our values, and do we have the right to decide they are valid for them, 'hy do we want to "help", 'e can be more effective in determining mutual solutions if we can control for our own life views, and recogni4e what we want to get out of the results. What are their meanings and functions regarding the situation? 'hat do they want, 'hat are the likely outcomes for them, 'hat do they get out of the results, 'here we have more valid understandings, we have a more sound basis for identifying the common overlap areas where effective agreements and solutions can be reached.

3elf-determination is one of the most effective means of social change for all parties concerned. 'ho is in the best position for understanding what is best for them, 'e all make mistakes, but they are our mistakes and we have the opportunity to develop from them. $f we decide for others, then they will never have the opportunity to test their own initiative in doing what is best for themselves, to develop their own judgements, to learn from their own mistakes. *lso, it is when people are denied the legitimacy of their own life goals that they may turn to radical means outside accepted practice like terrorism. $ believe our most effective role is to support them in achieving their own goals where these overlap ours. $n the long run, hasty "solutions" that impose one side's views about the situation rarely work. "ow many times have we enthusiastically acted with high hopes, only to reali4e later that there were unforeseen and unwanted conse1uences that we ourselves may have generated, The most effective resolutions are those that negotiate the common areas which allow each party validation of their own ways, where the solution is desired by each party, and, of course, where each party is really able to make a contribution.

Interethnic encounters, then, can be an opportunity.

&ne of *nthropology's greatest contributions is this concept of ethnocentrism and how to recognize and control for ethnocentrism so we can go on to develop more valid and balanced understandings of other cultural ways and of ourselves. * standard scientific principle is that diversity is adaptive. The more different resources a group has, the more potentials it has for adapting to life challenges. 'e have come to reali4e this in eco diversity, but perhaps we still have to reali4e this in terms of ethnic diversity. The more different ways of e#periencing life available to a society, the more resources it has for meeting adaptive challenges. &ne of the 6nited 3tate's greatest strengths is its ethnic diversity. 'e have available within our society adaptive resources from peoples all over the world, available to contribute to our continued adaptation.

'hen we encounter people from other ethnic backgrounds, we have an opportunity to learn new ways of seeing and e#periencing life which we never knew e#isted. $n a larger framework, we can learn the tremendous potentials humans have for being human. These potentials also e#ist for us, possibilities that we never knew we could be, such as looking at life in a complementary perspective instead of as an inherent conflict@ and, on the negative side, possibilities that we want to be sure that we not foster, such as the brutality e#hibited by average young *merican men as they massacred Aietnamese civilians at !i 5ai. 'e can also better understand ourselves, by contrasting our own ways with other life e#periences and asking about our own meanings and functions. 'hen we go beyond ethnocentrism, there are whole new areas of understanding the possibilities in how all humans can e#perience life... lessons that can provide us with new possibilities for better e#periencing life.