--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It seems very strange that one must turn…" description: "\"“It seems very strange that one must turn back, and be transported to the very beginnings of history, in order to arrive at an understanding of humanit..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1b/emile-durkheim-7413_anthropology_it-seems-very-strange-that-one-must-turn_1889395.jpg" --- # It seems very strange that one must turn back, and be… ![“It seems very strange that one must turn back, and be transported to the very beginnings of history, in order to arrive at an understanding of humanity as it is at present.” quote by Émile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1b/emile-durkheim-7413_anthropology_it-seems-very-strange-that-one-must-turn_1889395.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1b/emile-durkheim-7413_anthropology_it-seems-very-strange-that-one-must-turn_1889395.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1b/emile-durkheim-7413_anthropology_it-seems-very-strange-that-one-must-turn_1889395.jpg) > ““It seems very strange that one must turn back, and be transported to the very beginnings of history, in order to arrive at an understanding of humanity as it is at present.”” [Émile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding humanity requires revisiting origins to grasp current societal structures. **In simple terms:** Looking back explains today’s humanity. Key Takeaway Study history to understand modern society. Themes history human nature societal development Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - academic research - education - policy making Key Concepts historical analysis cultural evolution Questions to Reflect On - What past events shape current values? - How does history inform future decisions? A Different Perspective Historical narratives can be biased. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anthropology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthropology/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Humanity Present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity-present-2719075/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Sociology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sociology/) [Strange Turn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange-turn-2492785/) [Transported Beginnings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transported-beginnings-2719076/) [Understanding Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding-humanity-1688584/) ## Related quotes > [He that lays down precepts for the governing of our lives, and moderating our passions, obliges humanity not only in the present, but in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/he-that-lays-down-precepts-for-the-governing-of-our-lives-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [What a strange turn of events.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/delta-goodrem/what-a-strange-turn-of-events/) [Delta Goodrem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/delta-goodrem/) > [In the end dreams became his life, and his whole life thereafter took a strange turn: one might say he slept while waking and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-gogol/in-the-end-dreams-became-his-life-and-his-whole-life-thereafter-took/) [Nikolai Gogol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-gogol/) > [Any attempt at understanding humanity must include an explanation of the hold that supernatural belief continues to have on most of the human race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-stenger/any-attempt-at-understanding-humanity-must-include-an-explanation-of/) [Victor J. Stenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-stenger/) > [“When we get our understanding of humanity wrong, we get everything wrong. When”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-madsbjerg/when-we-get-our-understanding-of-humanity-wrong-we-get-everything/) [Christian Madsbjerg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-madsbjerg/) > [We have to realize only in communication, in real knowledge, in real reaching out, can there be an understanding that there's humanity everywhere, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-nair/we-have-to-realize-only-in-communication-in-real-knowledge-in-real/) [Mira Nair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-nair/) > [I think with any characterization there's a point where you empathize, no matter how much of a deviance his or her actions may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/i-think-with-any-characterization-there-s-a-point-where-you-empathize/) [Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/) > [I used to read more when I was a kid than I do now. 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It is storming the gates of hell. It is a power confrontation-h and-to-hand combat with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-p-yohannan/missions-is-not-applied-anthropology-comparative-religion-or/) [K.P. Yohannan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-p-yohannan/) > [I think sociologists are among the best at thinking about emergence, of thinking about the ways that the society is more than the sum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/i-think-sociologists-are-among-the-best-at-thinking-about-emergence/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) > [Oral history is a research method. It is a way of conducting long, highly detailed interviews with people about their life experiences, often in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-leavy/oral-history-is-a-research-method-it-is-a-way-of-conducting-long/) [Patricia Leavy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-leavy/) > [“All social interactions require some loss of freedom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erol-ozan/all-social-interactions-require-some-loss-of-freedom/) [Erol Ozan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erol-ozan/) > [When you ask why did some particular question occur to a scientist or philosopher for the first time, or why did this particular approach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/when-you-ask-why-did-some-particular-question-occur-to-a-scientist-or/) [Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/) ## More by Émile Durkheim > [Man seeks to learn, and man kills himself because of the loss of cohesion in his religious society; he does not kill himself because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/man-seeks-to-learn-and-man-kills-himself-because-of-the-loss-of/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [Irrespective of any external, regulatory force, our capacity for feeling is in itself an insatiable and bottomless abyss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/irrespective-of-any-external-regulatory-force-our-capacity-for/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [Man's characteristic privilege is that the bond he accepts is not physical but moral; that is, social. He is governed not by a material…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/man-s-characteristic-privilege-is-that-the-bond-he-accepts-is-not/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [It is only by historical analysis that we can discover what makes up man, since it is only in the course of history that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/it-is-only-by-historical-analysis-that-we-can-discover-what-makes-up/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [There is no sociology worthy of the name which does not possess a historical character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/there-is-no-sociology-worthy-of-the-name-which-does-not-possess-a/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [The liberal professions, and in a wider sense the well-to-do classes, are certainly those with the liveliest taste for knowledge and the most active…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/the-liberal-professions-and-in-a-wider-sense-the-well-to-do-classes/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [If religion has given birth to all that is essential in society, it is because the idea of society is the soul of religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/if-religion-has-given-birth-to-all-that-is-essential-in-society-it-is/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [The man whose whole activity is diverted to inner meditation becomes insensible to all his surroundings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/the-man-whose-whole-activity-is-diverted-to-inner-meditation-becomes/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [Man is a moral being, only because he lives in society. Let all social life disappear and morality will disappear with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/man-is-a-moral-being-only-because-he-lives-in-society-let-all-social/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [One does not advance when one walks toward no goal, or - which is the same thing - when his goal is infinity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/one-does-not-advance-when-one-walks-toward-no-goal-or-which-is-the/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [The roles of art, morality, religion, political faith, science itself are not to repair organic exhaustion nor to provide sound functioning of the organs.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/the-roles-of-art-morality-religion-political-faith-science-itself-are/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [One cannot long remain so absorbed in contemplation of emptiness without being increasingly attracted to it. In vain, one bestows on it the name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/one-cannot-long-remain-so-absorbed-in-contemplation-of-emptiness/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [The man whose whole activity is diverted to inner meditation becomes insensible to all his surroundings. His passions are mere appearances, being sterile. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/the-man-whose-whole-activity-is-diverted-to-inner-meditation-becomes-2/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [By definition, sacred beings are separated beings. That which characterizes them is that there is a break of continuity between them and the profane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/by-definition-sacred-beings-are-separated-beings-that-which/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [For a long time it has been known that the first systems of representations with which men have pictured to themselves the world and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/for-a-long-time-it-has-been-known-that-the-first-systems-of/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) [Explore all 87 Émile Durkheim quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) ## More Anthropology quotes > [“Marriage," "mating," and "love" are socially constructed phenomena that have little or no transferable meaning outside any given culture. The examples we've noted of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-ryan/marriage-mating-and-love-are-socially-constructed-phenomena-that-have/) [Christopher Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-ryan/) > [ Anthropology has always struggled with an intense, fascinated repulsion towards its subject… \[The anthropologist\] submits himself to the exotic to confirm his own inner… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/anthropology-has-always-struggled-with-an-intense-fascinated/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [“A geneticist is a geek who claims to have proven through regression analyses that a Neanderthal had sex with your great-grandmother 50,000 years ago.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gaede/a-geneticist-is-a-geek-who-claims-to-have-proven-through-regression/) [Bill Gaede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gaede/) > [Michael Jackson is an extremely productive ethnographer, a serious reader of phenomenological and existential philosophy, and a remarkable writer at a level that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-kleinman/michael-jackson-is-an-extremely-productive-ethnographer-a-serious/) [Arthur Kleinman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-kleinman/) > [Archaeology is the anthropology of the past, and science fiction is the anthropology of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-vinge/archaeology-is-the-anthropology-of-the-past-and-science-fiction-is/) [Joan D. Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-vinge/) > [Modern anthropology ... opposes the utilitarian assumption that the primitive chants as he sows seed because he believes that otherwise it will not grow,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-carroll/modern-anthropology-opposes-the-utilitarian-assumption-that-the/) [John Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-carroll/) > [For me, a bit of anthropology in the evening is always better than staying and watching the telly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-rhodes/for-me-a-bit-of-anthropology-in-the-evening-is-always-better-than/) [Nick Rhodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-rhodes/) > [When you ask why did some particular question occur to a scientist or philosopher for the first time, or why did this particular approach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/when-you-ask-why-did-some-particular-question-occur-to-a-scientist-or/) [Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/) > [I didn't major in anthropology in college, but I do feel I had an education in different cultures very early on. My parents divorced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-king/i-didn-t-major-in-anthropology-in-college-but-i-do-feel-i-had-an/) [Lily King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-king/) > [Anthropology is the only discipline that can access evidence about the entire human experience on this planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-brian-schiffer/anthropology-is-the-only-discipline-that-can-access-evidence-about/) [Michael Brian Schiffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-brian-schiffer/) > [“All social interactions require some loss of freedom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erol-ozan/all-social-interactions-require-some-loss-of-freedom/) [Erol Ozan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erol-ozan/) > [“Morphological anthropology applied to the physical study of children, is also a strong element in the growth of the new pedagogy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/montessori-maria/morphological-anthropology-applied-to-the-physical-study-of-children/) [Montessori Maria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/montessori-maria/) > [There are savages without God in any proper sense of the word, but none without ghosts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-are-savages-without-god-in-any-proper-sense-of-the-word-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anthropology was the science that gave her the platform from which she surveyed, scolded and beamed at the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-howard/anthropology-was-the-science-that-gave-her-the-platform-from-which/) [Jane Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-howard/) > [It's always amusing to look at how something early in the 20th century was written in anthropology and how it's written now. There's been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-geertz/it-s-always-amusing-to-look-at-how-something-early-in-the-20th/) [Clifford Geertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-geertz/) [Browse all 286 Anthropology quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthropology/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It seems very strange that one must turn back, and be transported to the very beginnings of history, in order to arrive at an understanding of humanity as it is at present.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Émile Durkheim" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/it-seems-very-strange-that-one-must-turn-back-and-be-transported-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anthropology" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/it-seems-very-strange-that-one-must-turn-back-and-be-transported-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1b/emile-durkheim-7413_anthropology_it-seems-very-strange-that-one-must-turn_1889395.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1b/emile-durkheim-7413_anthropology_it-seems-very-strange-that-one-must-turn_1889395.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1b/emile-durkheim-7413_anthropology_it-seems-very-strange-that-one-must-turn_1889395.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It seems very strange that one must turn back, and be transported to the very beginnings of history, in…” — Émile Durkheim", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Émile Durkheim", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It seems very strange that one...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/it-seems-very-strange-that-one-must-turn-back-and-be-transported-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/it-seems-very-strange-that-one-must-turn-back-and-be-transported-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```