ANTHROPOLOGY: Varied Opinions

Daryl DeBell writes: "I am in strong agreement with Tim Brown's position of not imposing. One still has the problem of deciding what imposing consists of. I too saw the program described by Linda Nyquist about the depressed old man. It would be impossible not to be moved as she was by the presentation and its outcome. I believe that anthropological protocols which deny the observer the option to intervene in a situation which poses peril or pain on the observed are clearly wrong. e.g. if the observed is in danger of being bitten by a poisonous snake it would be indefensible not to intervene. The old man was clearly suicidal and an effort to help him might well succeed and, I would argue, would not interfere with the study of the people under observation. One might indeed have had to 'impose' since some depressed patients reject help, but I think it should have been done. An argument still could be made that his situation was comparable to the Eskimo practice of abandoning the old and weak when they lag behind on a trek because they compromise the survival of the group. In that case I think the burden of proof would rest on the intervener."

Ronald Hilton - 9/01/00