Need this for my anthro assignment.
How would an anthropologist analyse him?
Thanks!
✅ Answers
Answerer 1
This depends on the type of anthropologist you ask. After all, there are four branches of anthropology: biological, archaeological, linguistic, and cultural. I’m assuming you’d like to hear answers from a cultural anthropologist, but even then, I’m not sure you’d get the same answer from any two scholars. One of the tenants of cultural anthropology, and a method applied by all cultural anthropologists, is the theory of cultural relativism, which tells anthropologists to only analyze a culture within it’s own context, not bringing in one’s own preconceived notions based on biased opinions and experiences. I’m not sure how that would apply to this particular context, perhaps your question would be better answered by psychologists than anyone else. All I can say (as a biological anthropologist) is that Ted Bundy was a mentally unstable individual who, because of his own mental instabilities combined with life experiences and upbringing, lashed out and murdered innocent individuals. There’s not much more I believe an anthropologist can say — perhaps looking at his biography would help — but even so, he’s a special case that can’t be applied to a group or population, and in the end that makes cultural anthropology a poor field to study him by.
Answerer 2
Anthropologists study and analyze cultural GROUPS, not individuals. Psychiatrists and Behavioral Psychologists study individuals. You might as well ask what a Geologist would think of Ted Bundy. It just is not their line of professional interest or expertise.
Answerer 3
From a cultural standpoint… Ted Bundy said in his final interview that he murdered woman because he was addicted to violent pornography.
While I feel this to be a rather lame excuse for him to murder all these young women, it does give us a small window into his Psyche.