Forums » Smalltalk » "Anthropologists" in anthro worlds?

Wouldn't they be called zoologists?

This question has actually run around in my mind several times tonight, haha.

Hehe, suppose that really depends on how the anthro's classify themselves? If it's a "humanity has long been gone and a magical virus has made all the animals transform into sentient IRL furries", zoologist would make sense, yeah, but if the anthro species has always been the dominant species and has a name for itself (which is the case for my own two brands of furries anthro's), it would make sense that they would name a study of themselves after themselves?

Like, my Ferae species, who are the most 'obvious' of anthro's because they have features of real Earthly animals, identify themselves as Ferae, and don't co-exist with the animal versions of themselves. They would be called feraelogists, or whatever fancy other term they might use for themselves (I think a species-neutral term for the study of the self-species would be 'autologists' or somethin'? feel free to steal that idea).

Nothin' like a good shower thought like that though, thanks for sharing, homie!

Anthropology as the study of general behavior and cultural development and stuff would still be its own thing, I think. In setting the word might be different but as a functional shorthand for RP and writing purposes I'd say just use anthropology for clarity, while Zoology mostly stays for whatever not-people animals are around. Basically "I assume there would be a distinction unless everything in sophant in which case there are food chain problems or it's probably a terrible hellscape."

If you're in a sci-fi setting you might go for "sophantology" or something but that's just flavor.