Shazhinbatyn A. Ethnic Groups and the Evolutional Conception of Culture

Abstract: The article deals with the problem of an ethnic group as interpreted by the evolutional concept of culture. Almost for two centuries cultural anthropology has been studying man. In its interpretation, the world of human being appears to be an expression of ethnographic factors. In the middle of the past century the concept of cultural evolutionism took shape. Its outstanding representative was Leslie A. White (1900-1975). He was an active participant of theoretical discussions of the middle of the 20th century. In 1949 a book of his essays was published in which he discussed not only general problems of culture but also the role of ethnic groups in interpretation of cultural dynamics. The book contained selected essays that defended evolutionary theory of cultural development (he united them in Part I), several works where Leslie A. White introduced his concept of culture (part II) and articles dealing with particular problems of anthropology (parts III-VI). With some exceptions, the composition of the book belongs to L. White. All works except for the two – «Satellites and Gods; or the Press, the Clergy, and an Anthropologist» and «Anthropological Approaches to Religion» (1957) – had been published before in journals and books, many of which are currently hard to get. Together they give a complete idea of the creative method and concept in general.For the past century there were the following three fundamental methods of explaining cultural changes – historical, structural-functional and evolutional ones – that were engaged in dispute on the scientific arena. Each of them, as it is shown in the article, reflected one of the aspects of cultural dynamics or one of the levels of the cultural process or subprocess.The novelty of the article is related to the analysis of the problem of an ethnic group in the evolutionary concept of culture. The author critically reviews the main ideas of this ethnological essay and shows that it is possible to reveal the specificity of an ethnic group as a phenomenon only within the framework of the philosophical-anthropological discourse. Understanding of human nature permits to deeper and more fundamentally understand an ethnic group as a constructive idea.

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