Exceptional methodological tasks of Social Anthropology

Abstract

In modern science, especially in social science and humanities, regardless of different theoretical-methodological orientations and views, it is recongnised and generally accepted (at least declaratively) that theoretical concepts of certain science, selectively determine what and why, is going to be investigated, t.e., the range, the direction, and the limits of the investigation, (the subject), and in connection with this, which theoretica-empirical methods and instrumentation is going to be used, (the method). In humanistic theory of social or cultural anthropology as a human science, about that eminently human (La anthropina) and the exceptionality of culture, philosophical-anthropological and social-philosophical concepts of the nature and substance of man, are inevitably implicated regarding the sense of human sociability and course of history, and then aksiological value concepts and the purpose of human creativity and engagement, as well as gnoseological about the possibility of understanding universal human character and their historic manifestations. This certainly embraces some methodological repercussions. That is, first of all the use of basic philosophical method-transcendental observation of Ihe substance of the phenomenon - man, although that, is an eminently transempirical, metaphysical area, which can never be theoretically exhausted or empirically without anything being left, which means lhat it cannot he scientifically verified. Apart from this, although man and his human world and specific situations can be little measured, and by immediate observation we can get information only about outer manifestations of human behaviour (but not about the motives and the sence), that is, with direct (parttcipational) observation and comparative- historical method, and qualitive analysis are much more important in anthropology than the method of quantitive analysis.