Anthropological Ideas in Historical Perspective

In this chapter, an attempt has been made to discuss the anthropological ideas that are found in the writings of: first, the ancient Greek and Roman philosophers; second, the Church Fathers, who after the fall of Roman Empire in the fifth century (476 AD), became all influential in shaping the social, cultural, theological, ideological, and even scientific course of Europe for over a thousand year; third, the scholars of the Renascence period; and finally, the contributions of the Enlightenment scholars of the eighteenth century, that have eventually shaped the modern anthropological thought since the mid-nineteenth century.