Page 46 - DSOC402_SOCIOLOGY_OF_KINSHIP_ENGLISH

Sociology of Kinship

Notes This evolutionism goes from simple to complex and in different ways. The definition of cultural
parallels different ways. The definition of cultural parallels was said to be the result of Mental
Unity of The Human World. It was also believed that the development of every institution takes
place in the local surrounding of culture, in an independent manner. In case, similar or similar
looking institutions are found in two cultures, then they are said to be an example of Conver-
gent Evolution. In this regard, the following examples have been cited—Agriculture: which
was developed in South-East and South-West Asia the New World (America) in an independ-
ent manner; Zero: which was discovered by Hindus, Babylonians and Mayans independently;
Architecture: which was developed by Masinians, Mayans and Eskimoes in an independent
way, etc. It is believed that the development of writing too, took place in different parts of the
world, on half a dozen occasions, in an independent manner the development of print and the
production of paper too, is said to have taken place in East and West independently. The list of
such examples is quite long.

Representative Examples

The specific examples, as to how the ideologists of development presented their part can be
taken from the eructing of Morgan, Toylor, Hayden and Levi-Bruhall.
Believing that the development of human-societies took place from low to high, Morgan es-
tablished three stages. In the beginning, man lived in an uncultured stage. This stage had three
periods: ancient, mid (The beginning of fishing and use of fire was contemporary) and invention
period (when bow and arrow was used).
The second stage was barbaric. With the production of clay objects, man entered the early pe-
riod of barbarism. When cattle-rearing and the use of irrigation in agriculture began it was the
mid-period of barbarism. Starting from the invention of melting metals and the use of iron in-
struments/equipments to the next change, was the period of barbarism (its peak). After that the
period culture rose. It’s beginning is believed to be from the period when alphabets and writ-
ing were invented. According to Morgan, the conditions of the contemporary west European-
Society too, fall in the cultural period.
Discussing the objective part of culture, Morgan, again uses logic of speculation. He accepts
that a legally determined marriage is the ultimate position of development of married relations.
Morgan presented the evolutionary process of stages (of marriage) in this order starting from
the imaginary stage of sexual freedom to group marriages, multiple-husband marriages, self-
willed single marriage and multiple-wife marriage. According to the changes unmarried rela-
tions, Morgan has also presented the order of evolutionary stages of various families. After the
evolution of elan, the stages of a family have been termed as Matrilineal, Patrilineal and Bilineal.
Toylor has studied the growth of religion in a similar way. He considered Multi-deityism as
the most general and ancient form of religion. The mid-stage in this order showed high multi-
deity-ism ideology. Toylor believed that eventually un-deity-ism must have developed from it.
In the context of art, Hayden termed the primary stage of evolution of the art forms as reality art.
He said sketch, symbolic or formless art forms are the later stages in order.
Levi-Bruhall too, considered primitive logic as the evolution of modern logic. He emphatically
said that as far as the primitive people were concerned, they were not materialistc radical and
contradictory. Thus, their mental state was undeveloped compared to ours. Because of it, he
termed the primitive stage as pre-logical mentality.

Criticism and Amendment

Proofs of all such speculative developmentalist establishments were collected from various
cultures and periods. While making such efforts, the importance of their cultural context was
not specifically taken into consideration. The scholars of the materialistic culture went too far

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