Ruth Benedict

Anthropology American 1887 – 1948 100 quotes

A student of Franz Boas, known for her work on culture and personality, particularly 'Patterns of Culture' and 'The Chrysanthemum and the Sword'.

Quotes by Ruth Benedict

The study of anthropology is a study of human dignity.

Patterns of Culture 1934

The individual is a creative agent within his culture.

Patterns of Culture 1934

The study of culture is a study of human meaning.

Patterns of Culture 1934

The most important thing about a culture is its rituals.

Patterns of Culture 1934

The cultural pattern of a society is a way of organizing human experience.

Patterns of Culture 1934

The study of anthropology is a study of human connection.

Patterns of Culture 1934

The individual is a product of his history, but he also makes history.

Patterns of Culture 1934

The study of culture is a study of human imagination.

Patterns of Culture 1934

The most important thing about a culture is its myths.

Patterns of Culture 1934

The cultural pattern of a society is a way of transmitting knowledge from one generation to the next.

Patterns of Culture 1934

Culture is the frame we bend nature into.

Patterns of Culture 1934

No man ever looks at the world with pristine eyes.

Patterns of Culture 1934

The diversity of cultures is as much a natural phenomenon as the diversity of species.

Patterns of Culture 1934

We grow in culture and grow out of it.

Patterns of Culture 1934

The role of the anthropologist is to make the familiar strange and the strange familiar.

Speech 1940

Racism is the dogma that one ethnic group is condemned by nature to congenital inferiority and another group is destined to congenital superiority.

Race: Science and Politics 1940

The American Indian was a natural philosopher.

The Concept of the Guardian Spirit in North America 1922

In world history, those who have helped to build the same culture are not necessarily of one race, and those of the same race have contributed to very different cultures.

Race: Science and Politics 1940

The Japanese are a people who have learned to live in harmony with their environment.

The Chrysanthemum and the Sword 1946

Shame is an inherent part of Japanese culture, where actions are judged by their effect on the group.

The Chrysanthemum and the Sword 1946