45 Quotes by 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.

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.

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

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.

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

The disease of mutual distrust among nations is the bane of modern civilization.

It would seem that mythological worlds have been built up only to be shattered again, and that new worlds were built from the fragments.

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.

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.