THE MIND OF PRIMITIVE MAN. a 



By Franz Boas. 



One of the chief aims of anthropology is the study of the mind of 

 man under the varying conditions of race and of environment. The 

 activities of the mind manifest themselves in thoughts and actions, 

 and exhibit an infinite variety of form among- the peoples of the world. 

 In order to understand these clearly, the student must endeavor to 

 divest himself entirely of opinions and emotions based upon the pecul- 

 iar social environment into which he is horn. He must adapt his own 

 mind, so far as feasible, to that of the people whom he is studying. 

 The more successful he is in freeing himself from the bias based on the 

 group of ideas that constitute the civilization in which he lives, the more 

 successful he will be in interpreting the beliefs and actions of man. He 

 must follow lines of thought that are new to him. He must participate 

 in new emotions, and understand how, under unwonted conditions, both 

 lead to actions. Beliefs, customs, and the response of the individual 

 to the events of daily life give us ample opportunity to observe the 

 manifestations of the mind of man under varying conditions. 



The thoughts and actions of civilized man and those found in more 

 primitive forms of society prove that, in various groups of mankind, 

 the mind responds quite differently when exposed to the same condi- 

 tions. Lack of logical connection in its conclusions, lack of control 

 of will, are apparently two of its fundamental characteristics in prim- 

 itive society. In the formation of opinions, belief takes the place of 

 logical demonstration. The emotional value of opinions is great, and 

 consequently they quickly lead to action. The will appears unbalanced, 

 there being a readiness to yield to strong emotions, and a stubborn 

 resistence in trifling matters. 



In the following remarks I propose to analyze the differences which 

 characterize the mental life of man in various stages of culture. It is 

 a pleasant duty to acknowledge here my indebtedness to my friends 

 and colleagues in New York, particularly to Dr. Livingston Farrand, 

 with whom the questions here propounded have been a frequent theme 

 of animated discussion, so much so, that at the present time I rind it 

 impossible to say what share the suggestions of each had in the devel- 

 opment of the conclusions reached. 



"Address of the retiring president before the American Folk-Lore Society, Balti- 

 more, December 27, 1900. Reprinted, by permission of the author, from The Journal 

 of American Folk-Lore, Boston and New York, vol. xiv, Jan. -March, 1901. 



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