Tylor, Sir Edward Burnett (1832-1917), a British anthropologist, is often regarded as the father of anthropology in the English-speaking world. In his books, Tylor developed ideas that helped give rise to modern anthropology. For example, he believed that the scientific method could be applied to the study of human culture. Unlike other social scientists of his time, Tylor believed that all people of the world were essentially equal. But he saw human cultures as changing gradually throughout time as a result of various processes. A result of this cultural evolution was that some cultures became more highly developed compared to others.
Unlike modern anthropologists, Tylor did not think that long-term field research and observation were necessary to understand the culture of a people. He thought that differences among various cultures could be adequately studied from reports of others and observing differences in the technology of various peoples. Observing different cultures, Tylor found evidence of what he called survivals. These were cultural practices or rituals performed by peoples that seemed illogical or senseless. Tylor argued that these cultural practices may have made sense or served some function earlier in the cultural development of the people, but no longer served such purpose. Customs and habits prevented survivals from being abandoned by the people over time. However, modern anthropologists consider this idea controversial.
Tylor also made important contributions concerning the origins of religious beliefs. He introduced the term animism to describe certain religious beliefs based upon the concept of a soul that departs the body after death. He argued that early people first developed the idea of the soul from dreams about the dead. However, modern scholars reject most of Tylor’s ideas on the origin of religious beliefs.
Tylor was born on Oct. 2, 1832, in London. He traveled widely. Although he never studied formally at a university, he was professor of anthropology at Oxford from 1896 to 1909. He wrote Researches into the Early History of Mankind (1865) and Primitive Culture (1871). He died on Jan. 2, 1917.
See also Mythology (Anthropological approaches) ; Religion (The origin of religion) .
