Jul 14, 2026 · 35 min · 14 segments
Why can your closest friends insult you without consequence while a stranger's middle finger can ruin your entire day? This week on **People Stuff**, anthropologists Dan and Michael explore **honor…
[laughs] Yeah, I mean, this is a tricky topic because, uh, uh, these are two hosts who have none of it.
So, uh, yeah, honor's one of those funny topics.
I think, uh, it's more or less fallen out of anthropology.
It had s-
Oh, it's absolutely fallen out of anthropology.
Yeah.
I mean, it had a heyday in, like, the '30s when people talked about, like, culture and personality and honor-based societies and honor-based cultures and, you know-
Yeah
... talked about the American South or the northern Mediterranean, and it was basically like, "Why are these dark-skinned people so mad at me?"
Yes.
Seemed to be the question that the anthropologists were answering.
Um, yeah.
But yeah, so the idea with the honor society was that, like, uh, this was actually an important thing that people cared about, and if you offended someone's honor, it was, like, extremely socially meaningful.
And nowadays anthropologists have no problem talking about dignity, shame, trust.
Mm.
Mm.
But you don't get much on honor.
Um-
No, it's kind of funny.
Just a, at this, about, just a few short years after academic dueling falls out of favor-
[laughs]
...
they start to study honor elsewhere, right? Just, uh, honor amongst anthropologists and then turn our gaze elsewhere.
Yeah.
Also, um, speaking of honor, you know Yale just dropped the honor system because of AI.
[laughs] Yeah, I mean, this is a tricky topic because, uh, uh, these are two hosts who have none of it.
So, uh, yeah, honor's one of those funny topics.
I think, uh, it's more or less fallen out of anthropology.
It had s-
Oh, it's absolutely fallen out of anthropology.
Yeah.
I mean, it had a heyday in, like, the '30s when people talked about, like, culture and personality and honor-based societies and honor-based cultures and, you know-
Yeah
... talked about the American South or the northern Mediterranean, and it was basically like, "Why are these dark-skinned people so mad at me?"
Yes.
Seemed to be the question that the anthropologists were answering.
Um, yeah.
But yeah, so the idea with the honor society was that, like, uh, this was actually an important thing that people cared about, and if you offended someone's honor, it was, like, extremely socially meaningful.
And nowadays anthropologists have no problem talking about dignity, shame, trust.
Mm.
Mm.
But you don't get much on honor.
Um-
No, it's kind of funny.
Just a, at this, about, just a few short years after academic dueling falls out of favor-
[laughs]
...
they start to study honor elsewhere, right? Just, uh, honor amongst anthropologists and then turn our gaze elsewhere.
Yeah.
Also, um, speaking of honor, you know Yale just dropped the honor system because of AI.
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