Mentifact
Encyclopedia
Mentifact is a term coined by Sir Julian Sorell Huxley, used together with the related terms "sociofact
" and "artifact
" to describe how cultural traits, such as "beliefs, values, ideas," take on a life of their own spanning over generations, and are conceivable as objects in themselves. This concept has been useful to anthropologists in refining the definition of culture
. For instance, Edward Tylor, the first academic anthropologist, included both artifacts and such abstract concepts as kinship systems as elements of culture. Anthropologist Robert Aunger explains that such an inclusive definition ends up encouraging poor anthropological practice because "it becomes difficult to distinguish what exactly is not part of culture." Aunger goes on to explain that after the cognitive revolution
in the social sciences in the 1960s, there is "considerable agreement" among anthropologists that a mentifactual analysis, one that assumes that culture consists of "things in the head" (i.e. mentifacts), is the most appropriate way to define the concept of culture.
Sociofact
Term coined by Sir Julian Sorell Huxley, used together with the related terms "mentifact" and "artifact" to describe how cultural traits take on a life of their own, spanning over generations. This idea is related to memetics. The idea of the sociofact was developed extensively by David Bidney in...
" and "artifact
Cultural artifact
A cultural artifact is a term used in the social sciences, particularly anthropology, ethnology, and sociology for anything created by humans which gives information about the culture of its creator and users...
" to describe how cultural traits, such as "beliefs, values, ideas," take on a life of their own spanning over generations, and are conceivable as objects in themselves. This concept has been useful to anthropologists in refining the definition of culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
. For instance, Edward Tylor, the first academic anthropologist, included both artifacts and such abstract concepts as kinship systems as elements of culture. Anthropologist Robert Aunger explains that such an inclusive definition ends up encouraging poor anthropological practice because "it becomes difficult to distinguish what exactly is not part of culture." Aunger goes on to explain that after the cognitive revolution
Cognitive revolution
The cognitive revolution is the name for an intellectual movement in the 1950s that began what are known collectively as the cognitive sciences. It began in the modern context of greater interdisciplinary communication and research...
in the social sciences in the 1960s, there is "considerable agreement" among anthropologists that a mentifactual analysis, one that assumes that culture consists of "things in the head" (i.e. mentifacts), is the most appropriate way to define the concept of culture.