Anthropology, the study of human beings through time and across place, is characterized by the concept of culture, a particular set of methods (ranging from anatomical analysis to ethnographic fieldwork), and a holistic perspective. Most anthropologists also adhere to the principle of relativism, which holds that one must at least temporarily suspend judgment and comprehend behavior from the perspective of the people studied to combat human tendencies toward ethnocentrism and naive realism—the view that, at root, everyone views the world in a similar manner. Although a relativist stance might seem problematic in the face of genocidal horrors, few anthropologists adhere to a fanatical relativism, which argues that "anything goes." Relativism is nevertheless essential to the ethnographer's attempt, as one of the founding figures in anthropology put it, "to grasp the native's point of view, his relation to life, to realize his...