Knowing Right From Wrong: A Review of Key Anthropological Ethics

Ethics.  It’s a big term, but what exactly does it mean?  Ethics are standards that regulate right and wrong conduct (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy).  Ethics are different from morals & laws.  Ethics are formal rules of conduct, typically objectively (meaning without bias, without a personal motivation/personal gain) reached, and meant to apply generally to a variety of different situations. 

Morals, on the other hand, are often personal, based on subjective (often biased), culturally specific rules or guidelines.  For example, there are different cultural ideals out there in regards to what is considered animal abuse.  In American culture we believe it is morally wrong to eat dogs as it is considered a form of animal abuse.  In some cultures it is perfectly acceptable and normal to eat dogs and not viewed as animal abuse.  There are other cultures, however, that believe that dogs are vermin and can be treated as such, and therefore any treatment of dogs is considered neither abuse nor kindness.

Laws are also formal rules of conduct, but they are political in nature, meaning that a small group/party came up with the rules that may or may not be agreed upon by others, and maintained by a judiciary force (police, judges, lawyers, etc.).  Laws also vary by culture and within culture, as well.  For example, in United States, there are different traffic laws depending on which state you are in.  In Missouri it is illegal to wait in the middle of an intersection to turn left, whereas in Illinois it is legal as long as you have a solid green or yellow light while your car is stopped in that intersection.

To demonstrate the differences among, morals, laws, and ethics, let’s do a quick exercise.  Based on the image below (Figure 1), what would be the moral, lawful, and ethical responses to this image?

Figure 1: Topless woman in NYC (Image Source: RYOT.org)

There are several different moral, lawful, and ethical responses to this image, but I am going to pick one for each.  A moral response to this image may be that nudity is bad based on religious grounds.  A lawful response may be that it is illegal for a woman to go topless in public.  But an ethical response, again being the objective & formal rules, to a woman going topless may be that it should be up to each individual to decide how they wish to present his or herself and his or her body in public-be it clothed or unclothed.

Anthropological ethics are a necessary and integral part of anthropology and anthropological research for a variety of reasons.  Today’s blog post is dedicated to the discussion of anthropological ethics as they affect and relate to all four subfields of anthropology.  This post will explore the origins & purpose of anthropological ethics, the top three ethical responsibilities that apply to all anthropologists-regardless of subdiscipline, and the sources of anthropological ethics for each subdiscipline.

The origins of anthropological ethics can be attributed to what anthropology is: the holistic study of human beings from both a cultural and biological perspective.  Because anthropology is the study of people it can and unfortunately has been utilized for inexcusable purposes.  Early anthropologists, like many scholars in a variety of social and hard science disciplines, utilized anthropology for either their own personal or national gains.  During World War II European archaeologists were tasked with legitimizing the goals of the Nazi regime.  Over a century ago American cultural anthropologists were tasked with learning about American Indian cultures and languages in order to learn how best the US government could manipulate these groups.  And physical anthropologists throughout the 1700-1800s utilized biometric analyses (measurements of the body) to identify and characterize body parts & proportions that could be used “to predict” deviance, but they only recognized features that they believed were consistent with minorities as being evidence of deviance.  These anthropologists were not necessarily bad people, but they were influenced by the dominant perceptions and their own cultural values, which drove them to conduct and produce prejudicial research.  Therefore, anthropology, like many disciplines, has ethical standards in part to avoid making the same mistakes and continue poorly developed research methods that were commonplace in the past. 

Anthropological ethics, however, are more than a fail-safe to make up for past transgressions.  They are also present as they aid in guiding and enhancing research agendas.  The ethics that exist for all anthropological pursuits actually build in guidelines and responsibilities of anthropologists that if used properly provide for more robust research and results.  So while many anthropology students and some anthropologists will bemoan the ethical requirements of their subdiscipline these ethics are very useful and beneficial.

So what are some of the ethical responsibilities that are applicable to all four subdisciplines of anthropology?  I have identified three ethical responsibilities that apply to all the subfields.  Please note that these three may be different from those identified by other organizations or individuals.  These three were collected from the American Association of Anthropology website and actually combine several of the top ten anthropological ethics that the organization identifies.

Anthropological Ethical Responsibility #1: DO NO HARM!

Every anthropologist must consider the impacts of one’s research, both positive and negative, and how each can affect the group(s) under study.  The positive impacts are not necessarily a primary concern, but it is the negative, particularly the harmful consequences to an individual’s and/or culture’s dignity, body, and property, that must not only be considered but avoided at all costs.  Anthropologists have to take care considering not just the obvious and immediately negative outcomes but any latent, unexpected effects that may occur due to or through the course of the study.      

Sometimes, anthropologists will take an advocacy approach to their research and/or research goals.  Generally the advocacy approach is a newer and vogue direction that appeals to many anthropologist & anthropological studies.  Advocacy is a noble goal, but it still falls within the do no harm responsibility because anthropologists must remember that the advocacy must be on the group’s/groups’ terms.  Although the anthropologist(s) may believe that he/she/they know best it is ultimately the decision of the group/groups in regards to what they feel they want and/or need when it comes to advocacy decisions.   

Anthropological Ethical Responsibility #2: ACQUIRE INFORMED CONSENT & PROPER PERMISSIONS!

Prior to conducting research anthropologists must ensure they have received both informed consent and proper permissions.  To get both of these trust is key, and the anthropologist must be open and honest with all parties in order to receive both informed consent and proper permissions.  Informed consent is the agreement sought by scholars from community members to take part in research (Gezon & Kottak).  This is typically acquired by the individual(s) being studied or worked with through the anthropological research.  Proper permissions are applied beyond the individuals and include receiving permission to conduct the research from governments/governmental organizations and local scholars.  Anthropologists may be required to receive permission from the national and/or local governments prior to beginning research for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to guaranteeing the safety of anthropologist(s) and community members, allowing foreigners (e.g. the anthropologist[s]) to legally enter the country (typically through appropriate visas), etc.  And local scholars need to be informed of the research in order to not replicate studies that were already completed and/or facilitate collaborations between local and nonlocal scholars, which often times leads to enriched research. 

Anthropological Ethical Responsibility #3: ACCESSIBILITY & RECIPROCITY!

All anthropologists are expected and required to make their research results accessible, not just to peers but to the public and especially the group(s) involved in research (be it the groups that were directly studied or worked with in the course of the research or those who are closely related to the groups studied or worked with).  Anthropologists meet this goal by completing a variety of tasks, including presenting at conferences, publishing in peer-reviewed journals (in order to ensure value-free and objective research), speaking at public lectures, and more.  Anthropologists must also make sure that the research results are made available to the groups most likely to be affected by the results, which is completed by publishing and/or presenting in the host country and in their preferred language. 

Reciprocity is related to the point made under the second ethical responsibility, and this simply means that whenever and wherever possible that anthropologists must include local colleagues and individuals in the research and work being completed.  This establishes collaborative relationships with local scholars and local groups, which takes the shape as sharing in authorship in publications and disseminating research in appropriate ways. 

It is important to note that ethical responsibilities noted herein are by no means exhaustive.  There are several more ethical responsibilities that are applicable to all anthropologists, regardless of subdiscipline, but there are several that pertain only to specific subdisciplines.  Each subdiscipline has a standard international, as well as several national and regional, organizations that preside over and maintain the standards of the subdiscipline.  The American Anthropological Association is the overarching organization that focuses on all four subfields, but other organizations, such as the Society for American Archaeology, Archaeological Institute of America, American Association of Physical Anthropology, Canadian Association of Physical Anthropologists, and the Society for Linguistic Anthropology (to name just a few), focus on the standards and guidelines for specific subdisciplines.  These organizations are also responsible for revising and updating ethical standards are necessary and as the political and social climate of the world changes.  As such, anthropological ethics are continually changing in order to meet the needs of all groups around the globe, and all anthropologists working within the discipline.

Works Cited

American Anthropological Association Ethics Blog

Gezon & Kottak.  2012.  Cultural Anthropology.  McGraw-Hill

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy