Final answer:
Anthropology is distinctive in the social sciences due to its holistic approach, capturing all aspects of human life to better understand adaptation and diversity. It integrates various fields and employs cultural relativism, which allows anthropologists to provide a comprehensive view of humanity.
Step-by-step explanation:
Anthropology is distinctive within the social sciences owing to its holistic approach, focusing on all aspects of human life across time and space. Unlike disciplines that concentrate on specific phenomena such as economics, political science, or religious studies, anthropology takes a broad view, examining cultural, biological, archaeological, and linguistic dimensions of humanity. This interdisciplinary nature allows for a comprehensive understanding of human adaptation and diversity, capturing the complexities of global issues.
The discipline thrives on understanding change and adaptation, making it uniquely relevant for studying dynamic human interactions and phenomena. Anthropologists value cultural relativism and seek to understand practices from an insider's perspective. This gives them a powerful lens to explore diverse aspects of human culture, from economic practices to artistic expressions, all while contributing to a vast collection of research and cultural documentation.
In summary, what sets anthropology apart in the social sciences is its commitment to diversity, environmentalism, and the pursuit of a wide-ranging understanding of cultures. This is augmented by sustained effort in preserving the stories and artifacts of human societies, which serve as an invaluable resource for future research.