Franz Boas

“We must understand the individual as living in his culture; and the culture as lived by individuals.”

“The historical development of the work of anthropologists seems to single out clearly a domain of knowledge that heretofore has not been treated by any other science.”

“No one has ever proved that a human being, through his descent from a certain group of people, must of necessity have certain traits.”

“There is no fundamental difference in the ways of thinking of primitive and civilized man.”

“My whole outlook is determined by the fact that I have a positive horror of nationalism.”

“Courtesy, modesty, good manners, conformity to definite ethical standards are universal, but what constitutes courtesy, modesty, good manners, and ethical standards is not universal.”

“The existence of any pure race with special endowments is a myth, as is the belief that there are races all of whose members are inferior to those of another race.”

“A knowledge of the history of the race is of the utmost importance for a right understanding of the present stage of its development.”

“The passion for seeking the truth for truth's sake... can be kept alive only if we continue to seek the truth for truth's sake.”

“If we were to select the most intelligent, imaginative, energetic, and emotionally stable third of mankind, all races would be present.”

“It may be well to state that the view of a race of men whose members are all alike is a concept of the imagination and not a reality.”

“The behavior of an individual is determined not by his racial affiliation, but by the character of his ancestry and his cultural environment.”

“The history of mankind proves that advances of culture depend upon the opportunities presented to a social group to learn from the experience of their neighbors.”

“The data of ethnology prove that not only our knowledge but also our emotions are the result of the form of our social life and of the history of the people to whom we belong.”