I learned from the this discussion about the nature and goals of anthropology , sociology,and political science
Answers
You don’t get it, do you. Neither anthropology, nor sociology, nor political science, have “natures” or “goals” - only people do - as anthropods, as social individuals, as polities: and their natures thus are very varied, and the goals are multifarious, and the studies of these variations are what constitue anthropology, sociology and political science. And because of the great variations involved, you CANNOT start off by making the simplifyng assumption - “Well, all people are basically the same” - hence mega loads of b/s.
You’ll just have to listen to your Professor, stating what HE thinks is the bleeding obvious about his subject - and remember to regurgitate it come the examinations. And don’t call it “science” - it is Literature, of the class Fiction, or light entertainment. Or alternatively it is VERY advanced Chemistry, of the Trans-Ontological elements - Narrativium, Speculum, Hopium, Mendacium, Idiom, and the rest.
For us to answer this question will need to analyze each discipline with their nature and goal.
Anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, and societies, in both the present and past, including past human species. In other words Anthropology, “the science of humanity,” which studies human beings in aspects ranging from the biology and evolutionary history of Homo sapiens to the features of society and culture that decisively distinguish humans from other animal species.
Nature of Anthropology
Its roots go back to the intellectual Enlightenment of the 18th and early 19th centuries in Europe and North America. As European nations developed colonies in distant parts of the world and Americans expanded west and south into the territories of Indians, it became apparent to them that humanity was extremely varied.
Anthropology began, in part, as an attempt by members of scientific societies to objectively record and comprehend this variation. Curiosity about strange people and customs in far off parts of the world is what primarily motivated these early amateur anthropologists.
By profession, they most often were naturalists, medical doctors, Christian clerics, or educated explorers. They asked such fundamental questions as whether or not the differences between human cultures are the result of genetic inheritance and if there is a relationship between the size of a human brain and intelligence. It was late 19th century that anthropology finally became a separate academic discipline in American and Western European universities.
Goals of Anthropology: