Franz Boas Quotes

14 Sourced Quotes

My father had retained an emotional affection for the ceremonial of his parental home, without allowing it to influence his intellectual freedom

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

Franz Boas
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

Franz Boas
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

Franz Boas
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.

Franz Boas
There is no fundamental difference in the ways of thinking of primitive and civilized man. A close connection between race and personality has never been established.

Franz Boas
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,

Franz Boas
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.

Franz Boas
Eugenics should, therefore, not be allowed to deceive us into the belief that we should try to raise a race of supermen, nor that it should be our aim to eliminate all suffering and pain. The attempt to suppress those defective classes whose deficiencies can be proved by rigid methods to be due to hereditary causes, and to prevent unions that will unavoidably lead to the birth of disease-stricken progeny, is the proper field of eugenics. How much can be and should be attempted in this field depends upon the results of careful studies of the law of heredity. Eugenics is not a panacea that will cure human ills, it is rather a dangerous sword that may turn its edge against those who rely on its strength.

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

Franz Boas
Anthropology is the science that endeavors to reconstruct the early history of mankind, and that tries, wherever possible, to express in the form of laws ever-recurring modes of historical happenings.

Franz Boas
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.

Franz Boas
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

Franz Boas
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 foredoomed to eternal inferiority.

Franz Boas