4 ms·

Does this paper aim to influence policy?

by feet 4y ago

willis936 4y ago
Of course. All anthropological work about contemporary society seeks to inform public opinion which dictates policy.
- feet 4y ago
  That's a pretty broad statement about a broad field. Can you provide any citations that back up your position?
  - willis936 4y ago
    Could you give any explanation for why anthropological studies on contemporary society would be published if not to share their findings?
    - feet 4y ago
      >All anthropological work about contemporary society seeks to inform public opinion which dictates policy. I'm specifically asking about the goal of informing public opinion and dictating policy which is a wildly different goal than just 'sharing their findings'. Here is your claim: >Theoretical physics does not aim to influence social policy. 'aim to influence social policy' is an extremely specific goal that you're prescribing to all anthropology of modern society, I'm asking you to back up that claim
      - willis936 4y ago
        I said "which", not "and". Public opinion is inherently tied to publishing findings. Their goal is to publish their findings, which informs public opinion, which dictates policy. You're claiming that I claimed that the authors prescribed policy, which I clearly did not.
        feet 4y ago
        No, I'm refuting your claim about anthropology in general having an 'aim to influence public policy'. Public policy is not the focus of anthropology, where did you get that idea? Anthropology is not political science You used very specific words that mean very specific things. 'Aim to influence' means that the goal is literally to influence public policy. That's not what the study of anthropology is about. >Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species.[1][2][3] Social anthropology studies patterns of behaviour, while cultural anthropology[1][2][3] studies cultural meaning, including norms and values. Anthropologists generally try not to interfere with the society they're studying, they don't want to impact the system because they are just there to record. Not to change. Of course there will be some activists in many fields but that is not the goal in anthropology. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropology https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropology
- clucas 4y ago
  They're not prescribing any policy in the paper. But you seem to be saying it's impossible to write about your observations of humans without having some ulterior political motive. This seems pretty tenuous, can you back it up? What policy do you think the authors are trying to secretly advocate for?
  - willis936 4y ago
    That is not at all what I said or even implied. You're extrapolating. My point is that studies seek to inform on their areas of focus. Particle physics spending policy does not affect social issues. Anthropology of contemporary society does.
    - clucas 4y ago
      In what way would this paper affect social issues? Edit: Someone asked "does this paper aim to influence policy" and you replied "of course." I'm asking how.

Does this paper aim to influence policy?

by feet 4y ago

Does this paper aim to influence policy?

willis936 4y ago

Of course. All anthropological work about contemporary society seeks to inform public opinion which dictates policy.

feet 4y ago
That's a pretty broad statement about a broad field. Can you provide any citations that back up your position?
- willis936 4y ago
  Could you give any explanation for why anthropological studies on contemporary society would be published if not to share their findings?
  - feet 4y ago
    >All anthropological work about contemporary society seeks to inform public opinion which dictates policy. I'm specifically asking about the goal of informing public opinion and dictating policy which is a wildly different goal than just 'sharing their findings'. Here is your claim: >Theoretical physics does not aim to influence social policy. 'aim to influence social policy' is an extremely specific goal that you're prescribing to all anthropology of modern society, I'm asking you to back up that claim
    - willis936 4y ago
      I said "which", not "and". Public opinion is inherently tied to publishing findings. Their goal is to publish their findings, which informs public opinion, which dictates policy. You're claiming that I claimed that the authors prescribed policy, which I clearly did not.
      - feet 4y ago
        No, I'm refuting your claim about anthropology in general having an 'aim to influence public policy'. Public policy is not the focus of anthropology, where did you get that idea? Anthropology is not political science You used very specific words that mean very specific things. 'Aim to influence' means that the goal is literally to influence public policy. That's not what the study of anthropology is about. >Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species.[1][2][3] Social anthropology studies patterns of behaviour, while cultural anthropology[1][2][3] studies cultural meaning, including norms and values. Anthropologists generally try not to interfere with the society they're studying, they don't want to impact the system because they are just there to record. Not to change. Of course there will be some activists in many fields but that is not the goal in anthropology. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropology https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropology
clucas 4y ago
They're not prescribing any policy in the paper. But you seem to be saying it's impossible to write about your observations of humans without having some ulterior political motive. This seems pretty tenuous, can you back it up? What policy do you think the authors are trying to secretly advocate for?
- willis936 4y ago
  That is not at all what I said or even implied. You're extrapolating. My point is that studies seek to inform on their areas of focus. Particle physics spending policy does not affect social issues. Anthropology of contemporary society does.
  - clucas 4y ago
    In what way would this paper affect social issues? Edit: Someone asked "does this paper aim to influence policy" and you replied "of course." I'm asking how.