From the Comments: Not All Opinions on Anthropology Are Equal

Flickr / Argonne National Laboratory

Is anthropology a science? Scientists say yes, according to a University of Florida professor.

A commenter, citing a letter from a University of Florida anthropology professor, responds to the ongoing conversation about whether anthropology is a STEM study.

The opinions of the groups assessing anthropology should not be treated equally:

First, there are scientific organizations, institutions built, managed
and participated in by a broad spectrum of scientists, united in the
use of scientific methodologies and theoretical structures for data
gathering and analysis to test the hypotheses and theories. Mentioned
in the Truth-O-Meter article is one: the National Science Foundation,
whose personnel is largely comprised of actual scientists. NSF is a
powerful arbiter STEM scientific research because it manages the
distribution of public monies in support of scientific endeavors…

Second: the other agencies mentioned by
Truth-O-Meter as arbiters of scientific standing are not scientific
organizations, but bureaucratic ones, in which some scientists
participate but are agencies subject to political whims, preferences and
often the selective utilization of factual materials responding to
those who establish them

Scientist-led groups believe anthropology is a STEM field, the professor writes.