Humans have always tried to define who we are and why we are here, which has proved to be very difficult. We have created sets of definitions and tried to analyze several aspects of our lives in order to understand. We’ve learned to accept these definitions and assumptions. However, anthropologist Augustin Fuentes has been examining the issue of human myths for nearly two decades, and he says that many of them are wrong. He says that the three mai myths to bust are race, aggression, and sex. In his book, Race, Monogamy, and Other Lies They Told You: Busting Myths about Human Nature, he shares his beliefs and findings that if society learned to bust these myths, humans would live in a world where communities co-exist peacefully and sustainably. He goes on in his article, “Busting myths of human nature,” to say that there is no such thing as nature vs. nurture that shapes who we are or why we do things. He says that when we believe things are in our human nature, that is what will cause bad behaviors. Fuentes believes that if societies around the world learn to accept the three myths as myths, not something that will happen inevitably, problems such as war, rape and murder, will be less frequent and not accepted as something that is in our nature, and human equality between men and women of any race has the potential to be achieved.
What can you do with anthropology? 