Franz Boas Quotes
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My parents had broken through the shackles of dogma.
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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.
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Furthermore, the study of the present surroundings is insufficient: the history of the people, the influence of the regions through which it has passed on its migrations, and the people with whom it came into contact, must be considered.
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No one has ever proved that a human being, through his descent from a certain group of people, must of necessity have certain mental characteristics.
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If we were to select the most intelligent, imaginative, energetic, and emotionally stable third of mankind, all races would be present.
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We all know scientists who in private life do not come up to the standard of truthfulness, but who, nevertheless, would not consciously falsify the results of their researches.
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In France, that let down the barriers more than a hundred years ago, the feeling of antipathy is still strong enough to sustain an anti-Jewish political party.
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I object to teaching of slogans intended to befog the mind, of whatever kind they may be.
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Remember that in every single case in history the process of adaptation has been one of exceeding slowness. Do not look for the impossible, but do not let your path deviate from the quiet and steadfast insistence on full opportunities for your powers.
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The disease of mutual distrust among nations is the bane of modern civilization.
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The behavior of an individual is determined not by his racial affiliation, but by the character of his ancestry and his cultural environment.
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I hope I may have succeeded in presenting to you, however imperfectly, the currents of thought due to the work of the immortal Darwin which have helped to make anthropology what it is at the present time.
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Anthropology has reached that point of development where the careful investigation of facts shakes our firm belief in the far-reaching theories that have been built up. The complexity of each phenomenon dawns on our minds, and makes us desirous of proceeding more cautiously. Heretofore we have seen the features common to all human thought.
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It is our task to inquire into the causes that have brought about the observed differentiation, and to investigate the sequence of events that have led to the establishment of the multifarious forms of human life.
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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.
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Not so the scientist. The very essence of his life is the service of truth.
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Courtesy, modesty, good manners, conformity to definite ethical standards are universal, but what constitutes courtesy, modesty, good manners, and definite ethical standards is not universal. It is instructive to know that standards differ in the most unexpected ways,
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We do not discuss the anatomical, physiological, and mental characteristics of man considered as an individual; but we are interested in the diversity of these traits in groups of men found in different geographical areas and in different social classes.
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My father had retained an emotional affection for the ceremonial of his parental home, without allowing it to influence his intellectual freedom.
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In other words, we are interested in the anatomical and mental characteristics of men living under the same biological, geographical, and social environment, and as determined by their past.