Chapter 25 - The Family

Summary

This chapter addresses some principles and practices of being part of a family, with specific focus on the family in India. It discusses the issue of methodology in the study of cultures, especially with reference to preferring families as opposed to individuals as the unit of study in certain kinds of research. Care of the new generation is one of the critical tasks for the family. The economic dimension of family cohesiveness is important to consider. At every step, the social organization of resources has determined the structure of the family that would "best fit" the social organization. The condition of human beings is inextricably bound to created ideas and situations, and to having moved far beyond the limitation of genetic material. The dynamic organization and authority structures within the family have also been studied to have distinct consequences with specific reference to children.