''The Mind of Primitive Man'' is a 1911 book by

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...

Franz Boas Franz Uri Boas (July 9, 1858 – December 21, 1942) was a German-American anthropologist and a pioneer of modern anthropology who has been called the "Father of American Anthropology". His work is associated with the movements known as historical ...

which takes a critical look at the concept of

primitive culture ''Primitive Culture'' is an 1871 book by Edward Burnett Tylor. In his book, Tylor debates the relationship between "primitive" societies, and "civilized" societies, a key theme in 19th century anthropological literature. Evolutionism Tylor's w ...

.Boas, Franz (1911). ''The Mind of Primitive Man''.

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The work challenged widely held racist and

eugenic Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior or ...

claims about

race and intelligence Discussions of race and intelligence – specifically, claims of differences in intelligence along racial lines – have appeared in both popular science and academic research since the modern concept of Race (human categorization), race was fi ...

, particularly

white supremacy White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White su ...

.Staff report (October 28, 1911). Lessons of anthropology. ''

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'' In 1895, Boas made the first speech that would form this book, as vice-president of the Section of Anthropology of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

. He later made a speech by this title at the 1900 American Folk Lore Society conference held at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

.Staff report (December 31, 1900). Folk-Lore Society Meets. ''

Boston Evening Transcript The ''Boston Evening Transcript'' was a daily afternoon newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts, published from July 24, 1830, to April 30, 1941. Beginnings ''The Transcript'' was founded in 1830 by Henry Dutton and James Wentworth of the firm of D ...

'' The material was further expanded as a course of lectures delivered before the

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Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and the

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in 1910 and 1911.Staff report (October 28, 1911). The Mind of Primitive Man (review). ''

'' Following the 1911 publication, the book was revised several times. It is considered an important work in

cultural anthropology Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans. It is in contrast to social anthropology, which perceives cultural variation as a subset of a posited anthropological constant. The portma ...

and in the methodological concept of

cultural relativism Cultural relativism is the idea that a person's beliefs and practices should be understood based on that person's own culture. Proponents of cultural relativism also tend to argue that the norms and values of one culture should not be evaluated ...

Overview

Boas examines beliefs that more accomplished civilizations must have higher

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can b ...

and "discovered little evidence to support them." He then examines the debate on

nature versus nurture Nature versus nurture is a long-standing debate in biology and society about the balance between two competing factors which determine fate: genetics (nature) and environment (nurture). The alliterative expression "nature and nurture" in English h ...

and finds that

heritability of IQ Research on the heritability of IQ inquires into the degree of variation in IQ within a population that is due to genetic variation Genetic variation is the difference in DNA among individuals or the differences between populations. The multiple ...

and ratio of

intellectual giftedness Intellectual giftedness is an intellectual ability significantly higher than average. It is a characteristic of children, variously defined, that motivates differences in school programming. It is thought to persist as a trait into adult life, wi ...

of people within a civilization were "at best a possible, but not a necessary, element determining the degree of advancement of a race." He states that "a direct relation between physical habitus and mental endowment does not exist," giving examples of different human sizes and shapes that do not correlate with intelligence. He also discusses the role of

environment and intelligence Environment and intelligence research investigates the impact of environment on intelligence. This is one of the most important factors in understanding human group differences in IQ test scores and other measures of cognitive ability. It is estimat ...

, especially nutrition, as well as degree of

racial admixture Miscegenation ( ) is the interbreeding of people who are considered to be members of different races. The word, now usually considered pejorative, is derived from a combination of the Latin terms ''miscere'' ("to mix") and ''genus'' ("race") ...

and "domestication" within societies and its effects on the "mentality of man." Boas argues that all humans have the same basic characteristics. He writes that

phenotypes In genetics, the phenotype () is the set of observable characteristics or traits of an organism. The term covers the organism's morphology or physical form and structure, its developmental processes, its biochemical and physiological proper ...

developed within isolation of a genetic group, and that "similar tendencies may exist in the mental life of a man." He argues that intermarriage can spread these physical and mental traits within and among civilizations. Boas notes that the gulf in ability between different "primitive" and "civilized" humans is negligible compared to the gulf between humans and animals. He debunks claims that "primitive" humans have no

impulse control Inhibitory control, also known as response inhibition, is a cognitive process – and, more specifically, an executive function – that permits an individual to inhibit their impulses and natural, habitual, or dominant behavioral re ...

, no attention span, no

originality Originality is the aspect of created or invented works that distinguish them from replica, reproductions, clones, forgery, forgeries, or substantially derivative works. The modern idea of originality is according to some scholars tied to Romantici ...

of thought, no power of

reasoning Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, lang ...

, and are not capable of

sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...

. He compares human types, human language, and human cultures and finds no one language superior to others. He concludes that "languages were moulded by thought, not thought by languages." He also examines theories of cultural development which assume every culture must pass through specific levels or stages and states "not all stages have been present in all types of cultures." He concludes that race does not correlate with cultural development, which is "essentially a phenomenon dependent on historical causes, regardless of race." Boas spends the next section examining

epistemology Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics. Episte ...

, especially production of knowledge. Rather than being affected by race, Boas asserts that "differences in logical conclusions reached by primitive and civilized man reowing to the difference in character of knowledge accumulated by preceding generations." Boas says the primary difference between primitive and civilized society is a shift from

irrationality Irrationality is cognition, thinking, talking, or acting without inclusion of rationality. It is more specifically described as an action or opinion given through inadequate use of reason, or through emotional distress or cognitive deficiency. T ...

rationality Rationality is the quality of being guided by or based on reasons. In this regard, a person acts rationally if they have a good reason for what they do or a belief is rational if it is based on strong evidence. This quality can apply to an abil ...

caused by "an improvement of the traditional material that enters into our habitual mental operations." Boas concludes the book with an examination of

racism in the United States Racism in the United States comprises negative attitudes and views on race or ethnicity which are related to each other, are held by various people and groups in the United States, and have been reflected in discriminatory laws, practices and ...

. He expresses his hope that anthropology can lead to more tolerance and sympathy for different civilizations, since "all races have contributed in the past to cultural progress in one way or another."

References

External links

''The Mind of Primitive Man''
via

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mind of Primitive Man, The Anthropology books 1911 non-fiction books