Anthropology distinguishes itself from the other social sciences by its greater emphasis on fieldwork as the source of new knowledge. The aim of such studies is to develop as intimate an understanding as possible of the phenomena investigated. Although the length of field studies varies from a few weeks to years, it is generally agreed that anthropologists should stay in the field long enough for their presence to be considered 'natural' by the permanent residents.
Realistically, however, anthropologists may never reach this status. Their foreign mannerisms make them appear clownish,and so they are treated with curiosity and amusement. If they speak the local language at all, they do so with a strange accent and flawed grammar. They ask tactless questions and inadvertently break rules regarding how things are usually done. Arguably this could be an interesting starting point for research, though it is rarely exploited. Otherwise, anthropologists take on the role of the 'superior expert', in which case they are treated with deference and respect, only coming into contact with the most high-ranking members of the society. Anthropologists with this role may never witness the gamut of practices which take place in all levels of the society. No matter which role one takes on, anthropologists generally find fieldwork extremely demanding. Anthropological texts may read like an exciting journey of exploration, but rarely is this so. Long periods of time spent in the field are generally characterised by boredom, illness and frustration. Anthropologists in the field encounter unfamiliar climates, strange food and low standards of hygiene. It is often particularly trying for researchers with middle-class, European backgrounds to adapt to societies where being alone is considered pitiful. It takes a dedicated individual to conduct research which is not in some way influenced by these personal discomforts.
It had been thought that man cannot be happy without a theory of life or a religion. Perhaps those who have been rendered unhappy by a bad theory may need a bettert heory to help them to recovery, just as you may need a tonic(補(bǔ)藥) when you have been ill.But when things are normal a man should be healthy without a tonic and happy without a theory. It is the simple things that really matter. If a man delights in his wife and children, has success in work, and finds pleasure in the alternation of day and night, spring and autumn, he will be happy whatever his philosophy maybe. If, on theother hand, he finds his wife fateful, his children's noise unendurable, and the office a nightmare; if in the daytime he longs fornight, and at night sighs for the light of day,then what he needs is not a new philosophy but a new style of life-different diet, or more exercise, or not.