Leslie Alvin White

1900-1975

Leslie White was an American anthropologist best known for his ideas about cultural evolution (White, Leslie A). He was influenced by the Marxian economic theory, Darwinian evolutionary theory, and by what he learned while attending school and participating in fieldwork.

When White got out of the Navy, he went to Louisiana State University, then to Columbia University, and lastly to the University of Chicago. He received a Bachelors Degree and a Masters Degree in Psychology from Columbia University and a Ph. D. in Sociology from the University of Chicago. Early on, White did fieldwork in the American southwest with the Keresan Pueblo Indians and then went on to teach at the University of Michigan. He spent the last years of his life working at the University of California, Santa Barbara in the anthropology department.

Throughout his life, White was interested in general evolution. He strongly supported the ideas of the 19th-century writers Herbert Spencer, Lewis H. Morgan and Edward Tylor. He adopted many of their ideas and gave them a fresh approach. He is known for developing the term "culturology". White coined this term because he believed that cultures should not be explained in terms of psychology, biology, or physiology, but rather in its own category. Culturology is defined as "the field of science which studies and interprets the distinct order of phenomena termed culture".

White was especially interested by technological developments. When speaking of technological advancements pertaining to how it affects culture White states, "culture advances as the amount of energy harnessed per captia per year increases, or as the efficiency or economy of the means of controlling energy is increased, or both" (Anthropological Theories). White felt that technology is a main factor within a cultural system.

White presented many great ideas to the field of anthropology through essays and lectures, but what is most widely accepted as his greatest contribution is a series of essays called "The Science of Culture."

References:

This picture reprinted by permission of the American Anthropological Association.

"White, Leslie A" Britannica Online.

Smith, Karen. "Anthropological Theories." University of Alabama.

Written By Janet Nusser

Edited by Marcy L. Voelker, 2007