What Is Anthropology? Why We Are All Anthropologists Without Knowing It

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What Is Anthropology (And Why We Are All Anthropologists Without Knowing It)

Introduction: The Science of “Why People Are Like This”

When people hear that I studied anthropology, they often ask two things:
  1. What exactly is anthropology?
  2. Why did you choose that field?


The simple answer is this: anthropology is the disciplined way of asking,
“Why are people like this, here, in this time — and how else could we be?”
Think of it as stepping out of your daily life for a moment, looking at your own community as if you were a curious visitor, and asking:
  • Why do we do things this way?
  • Who taught us that this is “normal”?
  • What does this say about what we value and fear?
That is anthropology. And whether you know it or not, you have been doing it your whole life.

1. So… What Is Anthropology, In Plain Language?

Anthropology is the study of humans:
how we live, how we think, how we organize society, how we believe, how we love, how we fight, and how we make meaning out of life.
More concretely, anthropologists look at:
The tools are simple but powerful:
  • Observation: watching what people do, not just what they say.
  • Listening: interviews, life stories, conversations.
  • Participation: living among people, sharing daily life.
  • Comparison: asking “How is it here vs. somewhere else?” to see what is universal and what is local.
Put simply:
Anthropology is the art and science of paying serious attention to people — including yourself.

💡 FACT: Anthropology combines methods from history, sociology, psychology, and even biology, but it’s unique in its focus on lived culture — how people actually live, feel, and make meaning, not just what laws or theories say.

2. Why I Chose Anthropology: From Numbers to Humans

Your journalist friend asked a fair question:
“As someone with decades in accounting, law, and business… why anthropology?”
My answer is simple:
Numbers tell you what is happening. Anthropology tells you why.
After years of watching policies fail, businesses collapse, institutions mistreat people, and societies repeat the same mistakes, I realized:
  • Technical solutions alone don’t fix human problems.
  • Laws, taxes, and systems fail when they ignore how people actually think, feel, and relate.
  • You can’t change behavior without understanding culture.
Anthropology gave me a language and a method to:
  • Understand why communities in Sint Maarten, the Caribbean, and beyond act the way they do.
  • See the invisible rules — the unwritten codes, fears, and loyalties — behind our public decisions.
  • Design better policies, businesses, and social interventions that fit real human beings, not just theoretical models.
So I chose anthropology because:
  • I was tired of treating symptoms.
  • I wanted to understand the root causes — the human, cultural, and historical layers beneath everything else.

3. The Big Secret: We Are All Anthropologists Already

Here’s the part I really want you to hear:
You may never have used the word, but you have been doing anthropology your entire life.
Every time you:
  • Travel and notice, “People here are so different!”
  • Compare your family’s habits to someone else’s and say, “We don’t do that in my house.”
  • Ask, “Why do people vote like that?” or “Why is this neighborhood like this?”
  • Look at another country on the news and wonder, “Why do they treat women/children/elders that way?”
…you are doing informal anthropology.
The only difference between you and a trained anthropologist is:
  • The anthropologist does it deliberately, systematically, and reflexively (reflecting on their own biases).
  • You often do it instinctively, without structure, and sometimes with unexamined assumptions.
So the real invitation is not:
“Become an anthropologist like me.”
It is:
“Start using the anthropologist that is already inside you — consciously, carefully, and with respect.”
💡 FACT: Many foundational anthropological insights started from simple, everyday questions: “Why do they raise children this way?” “Why is that ritual so important?” “Why do markets operate differently here?” The difference is that anthropologists turn those questions into sustained, structured inquiry.

4. What Makes an Anthropologist Different? Three Habits

If we are all “natural” anthropologists at some level, what sets a trained anthropologist apart?
Three main habits:

4.1. Slowing down judgment

Most people see something “strange” and immediately judge:
  • “That’s stupid.”
  • “That doesn’t make sense.”
  • “These people are backward.”
The anthropologist asks first:
  • Who benefits from this?
  • What fear does this respond to?
  • How does this fit into their history and environment?
Only after understanding do we evaluate.

4.2. Looking for patterns, not isolated events

An anthropologist doesn’t just say, “He hit his child; he’s bad.”
We ask:
  • What do parents in this culture believe about discipline?
  • What did they learn from their parents?
  • What do laws, schools, and churches say about it?
  • What economic or emotional pressures are present?
We are not excusing harm; we are mapping the bigger picture so we can change it effectively.

4.3. Turning the lens on ourselves

Anthropology is not about “studying others” only. It also asks:
  • Why do we believe our way is normal or superior?
  • How did our beliefs form?
  • What blind spots do we carry from our upbringing, class, religion, and media?
This self‑reflection is what gives anthropology its power in politics, law, business, and media.

5. Why Anthropology Matters Now (Especially in Places Like Sint Maarten)

We live in a time of:
  • Polarization,
  • Mistrust of institutions,
  • Migration and demographic change,
  • Economic pressures and inequality.
In a place like Sint Maarten, with:
  • Multiple nationalities,
  • Conflicting political cultures,
  • Strong religious and family traditions,
  • Tourism, crime, and economic vulnerability…
…anthropology becomes a practical survival tool.
It helps us:
  • Understand why communities don’t trust government or police.
  • See why political elites behave in certain patterns.
  • Recognize how colonial history still shapes today’s decisions.
  • Design interventions (laws, education, media content) that match real human behavior.
💡 FACT: Around the world, anthropologists now work not just in universities, but in governments, NGOs, tech companies, healthcare, and media — wherever understanding human behavior in its cultural context is crucial.

6. A Simple Way to Practice Anthropology in Your Daily Life

You don’t need a PhD to start thinking anthropologically. Here are three simple practices:
  1. Ask “Why?” one more time.
    When someone does something you find strange or wrong, before you judge, ask:
    • What might this behavior be protecting or expressing?
    • What story might this person be living inside?
  2. Compare gently.
    When you see a custom or habit that’s different from yours, ask:
    • Where do I see something similar in my own culture, just in another form?
  3. Turn the mirror inward.
    Once a day, ask yourself:
    • Why do I believe this is “normal”? Who taught me that?
    • What would an outsider find strange about my life?
These questions don’t make you soft; they make you effective — as a parent, leader, journalist, entrepreneur, or citizen.

Conclusion: Why I Stand Up Now As “Anthropologist”

So when my friend — a good journalist — asks:
“Why did you choose anthropology?”
My answer is:
Because I was tired of fighting symptoms without understanding causes.
Because policy without culture is blind.
Because numbers without people are empty.
Because if we want to heal our societies — from family conflict to political corruption — we must first understand what we are, how we became this, and how we might become something better.
Anthropology gave me a disciplined way to do what we are all already doing:
Observing people, asking “why,” and imagining alternatives.
You may never enroll in a program or write a thesis, but you can live more consciously as the anthropologist you already are:
  • Observant instead of automatic,
  • Curious instead of judgmental,
  • Humble instead of arrogant,
  • And committed to understanding before condemning.
That is why I chose anthropology.
And that is why, when I come on the air now as an anthropologist, I’m not just bringing a title; I’m inviting you into a deeper way of seeing yourself, your community, and your world.
💡 FACT: Studies in conflict resolution and community development show that interventions grounded in local cultural understanding are far more likely to succeed than “one-size-fits-all” solutions imported from outside. Anthropology is not a luxury — it is often the missing step.
#Anthropology #EverydayAnthropologist #SintMaarten #CultureAndSociety #WhyPeopleAreLikeThis #HumanBehavior #OCU #PhDJourney #SeeDifferently

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