73.3k views
0 votes
Cultural Materialism: Main Ideas

*Harris writes, "Empirical the foundation of the cultural materialist way of knowing" Epistemologically, cultural materialism focuses only on those entities and events that are observable and quantifiable
In keeping with the scientific method, these events and entities must be studied using operations that are capable of being replicated
Using empirical methods, cultural materialists reduce cultural phenomena into observable, measurable variables that can be applied across societies to formulate nomothetic theories.

User Snrlx
by
7.5k points

1 Answer

1 vote

Final answer:

Cultural materialism is an evolutionary approach that identifies technology and economic factors as fundamental aspects of culture, influencing other cultural features such as family life, religion, and politics.

Step-by-step explanation:

Cultural materialism is an evolutionary approach that identifies technology and economic factors as fundamental aspects of culture, influencing other cultural features such as family life, religion, and politics (Harris, n.d.). Cultural practices refer to routine or habitual forms of behavior (Harris, n.d.).

User Biggsy
by
8.4k points