Edward Tylor

Anthropology British 1832 – 1917 105 quotes

Considered one of the founders of cultural anthropology, known for his definition of culture and his theory of unilinear cultural evolution.

Quotes by Edward Tylor

The human race is a single species, and its variations are due to environmental and cultural factors.

Anthropology: An Introduction to the Study of Man and Civilization 1881

The study of culture is a study of the human capacity for innovation and adaptation.

Anthropology: An Introduction to the Study of Man and Civilization 1881

The progress of civilization is a progress toward greater rationality and greater enlightenment.

Anthropology: An Introduction to the Study of Man and Civilization 1881

The study of man is a study of the most complex and interesting phenomenon in the universe.

Anthropology: An Introduction to the Study of Man and Civilization 1881

The human mind is a mirror of the universe, reflecting its laws and its beauty.

Anthropology: An Introduction to the Study of Man and Civilization 1881

The study of culture is a study of the human journey from savagery to civilization.

Anthropology: An Introduction to the Study of Man and Civilization 1881

The progress of humanity is a progress toward greater self-awareness and greater self-mastery.

Anthropology: An Introduction to the Study of Man and Civilization 1881

The study of anthropology is a study of the human condition in all its grandeur and its misery.

Anthropology: An Introduction to the Study of Man and Civilization 1881

The human spirit is an unquenchable flame, ever striving for knowledge and for truth.

Anthropology: An Introduction to the Study of Man and Civilization 1881

The study of culture is a study of the human quest for meaning and for purpose.

Anthropology: An Introduction to the Study of Man and Civilization 1881

Culture or civilization... is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.

Book 1871

The history of mankind is a history of the development of culture.

Book 1871

Animism, the belief in spiritual beings, forms the basis of religion in primitive societies.

Book 1871

Primitive man is not a savage in the sense of being less intelligent, but rather in the stage of cultural evolution.

Book 1881

The soul of man is an immortal essence, surviving the death of the body.

Book 1871

Religion is a system of thought and action arising from the animation of nature.

Book 1871

Mythology is the groundwork of religion; it is the interpretation of the unknown.

Book 1871

The doctrine of survivals is key to understanding cultural evolution.

Book 1871

In studying the lower races, we find the roots of our own civilization.

Book 1881

Totemism reveals the early bonds of kinship in human society.

Book 1881