--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Minds, unlike brains, are not entirely…" description: "\"“Minds, unlike brains, are not entirely given at birth. Minds are also forms of cultural achievement.”\" — Elliot W. Eisner" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0d/elliot-w-eisner-22990_achievement_minds-unlike-brains-are-not-entirely-giv_3028314.png" --- # Minds, unlike brains, are not entirely given at birth… ![“Minds, unlike brains, are not entirely given at birth. Minds are also forms of cultural achievement.” quote by Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0d/elliot-w-eisner-22990_achievement_minds-unlike-brains-are-not-entirely-giv_3028314.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0d/elliot-w-eisner-22990_achievement_minds-unlike-brains-are-not-entirely-giv_3028314.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0d/elliot-w-eisner-22990_achievement_minds-unlike-brains-are-not-entirely-giv_3028314.png) > ““Minds, unlike brains, are not entirely given at birth. Minds are also forms of cultural achievement.”” [Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Minds are shaped by culture, not just biology; education must nurture cultural achievement. **In simple terms:** Minds are culturally cultivated. Key Takeaway Promote culturally rich education. Themes education culture mind Mood inquisitive optimistic Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - curriculum design - community projects - teacher training Key Concepts developmental psychology pedagogy Questions to Reflect On - How to balance innate abilities with cultural learning? - What practices foster cultural achievement? A Different Perspective Cultural bias can limit learning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Achievement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achievement/) [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Birth Minds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth-minds-4934397/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Cultural Achievement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cultural-achievement-4934396/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given/) [Intellect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellect/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Minds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minds/) [Minds Unlike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minds-unlike-4934394/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Unlike Brains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unlike-brains-4934395/) ## Related quotes > [Alas, we think of ourselves as unique entities-minds unlike any others-and thus we often reject the lessons that the emotional experience of others has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-gilbert/alas-we-think-of-ourselves-as-unique-entities-minds-unlike-any-others/) [Daniel Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-gilbert/) > [“As much as they loved each other, Willow and Gavin had seldom seen eye to eye on anything. And now was obviously no exception.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-mcpherren/as-much-as-they-loved-each-other-willow-and-gavin-had-seldom-seen-eye/) [Charlotte McPherren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-mcpherren/) > [Wars begin in the minds of men, and in those minds, love and compassion would have built the defenses of peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/u-thant/wars-begin-in-the-minds-of-men-and-in-those-minds-love-and-compassion/) [U Thant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/u-thant/) > [I mean, the thing with Simple Minds is that there's many Simple Minds within Simple Minds. There was definitely an electronic art-rock phase; a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-kerr/i-mean-the-thing-with-simple-minds-is-that-there-s-many-simple-minds/) [Jim Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-kerr/) > [Our Heavenly Father is far more merciful, infinitely more charitable, than even the best of his servants, and the Everlasting Gospel is mightier in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-f-whitney/our-heavenly-father-is-far-more-merciful-infinitely-more-charitable/) [Orson F. Whitney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-f-whitney/) > [“Creativity means bringing simplicity to the existing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/creativity-means-bringing-simplicity-to-the-existing/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [In 'Self Comes to Mind' I pay a lot of attention to simple creatures without brains or minds, because those 'cartooned abstractions of who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/in-self-comes-to-mind-i-pay-a-lot-of-attention-to-simple-creatures/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [It would be a tragic mistake for us out here to imagine that Bush represents the hearts and the minds of the majority of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/breyten-breytenbach/it-would-be-a-tragic-mistake-for-us-out-here-to-imagine-that-bush/) [Breyten Breytenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/breyten-breytenbach/) > [Bridge the gap with closed minds though careful dissection of ideas and solid presentation of fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximillian-degenerez/bridge-the-gap-with-closed-minds-though-careful-dissection-of-ideas/) [Maximillian Degenerez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximillian-degenerez/) > [“they're fucking up minds they do not own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-carroll/they-re-fucking-up-minds-they-do-not-own/) [jim carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-carroll/) > [“You can not have empty or neutral mind, as long as you work the mind will contain dreams, if you stop working it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/you-can-not-have-empty-or-neutral-mind-as-long-as-you-work-the-mind/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [People who are right most of the time are people who change their minds often](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bezos/people-who-are-right-most-of-the-time-are-people-who-change-their/) [Jeff Bezos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-bezos/) > [What bothers me about TV is that it tends to take our minds off our minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-orben/what-bothers-me-about-tv-is-that-it-tends-to-take-our-minds-off-our/) [Robert Orben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-orben/) > [What I love most about Her Majesty is that she has kept hats alive in people's minds for more than 60 years. You can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-treacy/what-i-love-most-about-her-majesty-is-that-she-has-kept-hats-alive-in/) [Philip Treacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-treacy/) > [“Eyes will not see you. Minds will not hold you. Where you are is nothing and nobody”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/eyes-will-not-see-you-minds-will-not-hold-you-where-you-are-is/) [neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## More by Elliot W. Eisner > [The arts teach children that problems can have more than one solution and that questions can have more than one answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/the-arts-teach-children-that-problems-can-have-more-than-one-solution/) [Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/) > [We have inadvertently designed a system in which being good at what you do as a teacher is not formally rewarded, while being poor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/we-have-inadvertently-designed-a-system-in-which-being-good-at-what/) [Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/) > [The arts make vivid the fact that words do not, in their literal form or number, exhaust what we can know. The limits of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/the-arts-make-vivid-the-fact-that-words-do-not-in-their-literal-form/) [Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/) > [All art forms employ some means through which images become real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/all-art-forms-employ-some-means-through-which-images-become-real/) [Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/) > [The ultimate aim of education is to enable individuals to become the architects of their own education and through that process to continually reinvent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/the-ultimate-aim-of-education-is-to-enable-individuals-to-become-the/) [Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/) > [The kinds of nets we know how to weave determine the kinds of nets we cast. These nets, in turn, determine the kinds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/the-kinds-of-nets-we-know-how-to-weave-determine-the-kinds-of-nets-we/) [Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/) > [The arts enable us to have experience we can have from no other source and through such experience to discover the range and variety…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/the-arts-enable-us-to-have-experience-we-can-have-from-no-other/) [Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/) > [In some sense our aim ought to be to convert the school from an academic institution into an intellectual one. That shift in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/in-some-sense-our-aim-ought-to-be-to-convert-the-school-from-an/) [Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/) > [The arts celebrate multiple perspectives. One of their large lessons is that there are many ways to see and interpret the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/the-arts-celebrate-multiple-perspectives-one-of-their-large-lessons/) [Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/) > [The arts inform as well as stimulate; they challenge as well as satisfy. Their location is not limited to galleries, concert halls and theatres.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/the-arts-inform-as-well-as-stimulate-they-challenge-as-well-as/) [Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/) > [The arts help children learn to say what cannot be said. When children are invited to disclose what a work of art helps them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/the-arts-help-children-learn-to-say-what-cannot-be-said-when-children/) [Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/) > [The Arts are fundamental resources through which the world is viewed, meaning is created, and the mind developed. To neglect the contribution of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/the-arts-are-fundamental-resources-through-which-the-world-is-viewed/) [Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/) > [The arts teach students that small differences can have large effects. The arts traffic in subtleties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/the-arts-teach-students-that-small-differences-can-have-large-effects/) [Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/) > [Schools are not about enabling children to have a living but about children being able to have a life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/schools-are-not-about-enabling-children-to-have-a-living-but-about/) [Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/) > [The Arts' position in the school curriculum symbolizes to the young what adults believe is important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/the-arts-position-in-the-school-curriculum-symbolizes-to-the-young/) [Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/) [Explore all 26 Elliot W. Eisner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/) ## More Achievement quotes > [You, of Canada, are building a magnificent record of achievement. My country rejoices in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/you-of-canada-are-building-a-magnificent-record-of-achievement-my/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [“If attempting to make the world a civilized one, makes you a bad woman in the eyes of the dumb patriarchal society, then, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/if-attempting-to-make-the-world-a-civilized-one-makes-you-a-bad-woman/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [One achieves true human dignity only when one serves. Only he is great who subjects himself to taking part in the achievement of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-antonio-primo-de-rivera/one-achieves-true-human-dignity-only-when-one-serves-only-he-is-great/) [Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-antonio-primo-de-rivera/) > [Needs cause motivation. Deep-rooted desires for esteem, affection, belonging, achievement, self-actualization, power, and control motivate us to push for what we want and need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/needs-cause-motivation-deep-rooted-desires-for-esteem-affection/) [Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [It's tragic what America has become because there is a great segment of society that now resents luxury and success and achievement by others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-leach/it-s-tragic-what-america-has-become-because-there-is-a-great-segment/) [Robin Leach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-leach/) > [To preserve an unclouded capacity for the enjoyment of life is an unusual moral and psychological achievement. Contrary to popular belief, it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/to-preserve-an-unclouded-capacity-for-the-enjoyment-of-life-is-an/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [Joel Lane documents a life we don’t quite live, in a city we can’t quite find: half glimpsed and half imagined, we know it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-brenchley/joel-lane-documents-a-life-we-don-t-quite-live-in-a-city-we-can-t/) [Chaz Brenchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaz-brenchley/) > [The main substantive achievement of neoliberalism has been to redistribute rather than to generate wealth and income.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harvey/the-main-substantive-achievement-of-neoliberalism-has-been-to/) [David Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harvey/) > [Every profession has an ideology and a drive for power that goes far beyond its achievements and it is the task of democracy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feyerabend/every-profession-has-an-ideology-and-a-drive-for-power-that-goes-far/) [Paul Feyerabend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feyerabend/) > [We have Internet now and people are not stupid. But it seems that some people are trying to push the same agenda of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/we-have-internet-now-and-people-are-not-stupid-but-it-seems-that-some/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [“If you find a way where there seems to be no way, that’s what we call miracle, not personal achievement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nkwachukwu-ogbuagu/if-you-find-a-way-where-there-seems-to-be-no-way-that-s-what-we-call/) [Nkwachukwu Ogbuagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nkwachukwu-ogbuagu/) > [The Baseball Hall of Fame is something every player dreams about, but being a member of God's Hall of Fame is the greatest achievement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-carter/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-is-something-every-player-dreams-about-but/) [Gary Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-carter/) > [Cease speaking of enemies when an achievement can kindle a great light. Solitude will transmit the message better than the murmurs of crowds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-roerich/cease-speaking-of-enemies-when-an-achievement-can-kindle-a-great/) [Nicholas Roerich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-roerich/) > [Every scene is a challenge. There are technical challenges, but often it's the simplest challenge where you feel a sense of achievement when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-deakins/every-scene-is-a-challenge-there-are-technical-challenges-but-often/) [Roger Deakins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-deakins/) [Browse all 3,867 Achievement quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achievement/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Minds, unlike brains, are not entirely given at birth. Minds are also forms of cultural achievement.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elliot W. 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