--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Mead's anthropology had many other red…" description: "\"Mead's anthropology had many other red, white and blue- blooded virtues. One was the common anthropological conceit, out of which she made a career, to..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53e/margaret-mead-982_anthropology_mead-s-anthropology-had-many-other-red-w_560213.jpg" --- # Mead's anthropology had many other red, white and blue… ![“Mead's anthropology had many other red, white and blue- blooded virtues. One was the common anthropological conceit, out of which she made a career, to the effect that the ultimate value of studying other cultures was the use we could make of them to reconstruct our own - a heady kind of…” quote by Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53e/margaret-mead-982_anthropology_mead-s-anthropology-had-many-other-red-w_560213.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53e/margaret-mead-982_anthropology_mead-s-anthropology-had-many-other-red-w_560213.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53e/margaret-mead-982_anthropology_mead-s-anthropology-had-many-other-red-w_560213.jpg) > “Mead's anthropology had many other red, white and blue- blooded virtues. One was the common anthropological conceit, out of which she made a career, to the effect that the ultimate value of studying other cultures was the use we could make of them to reconstruct our own - a heady kind of intellectual imperialism, as if the final meaning of others' lives was their significance for us.” [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She critiques using other cultures merely as mirrors for self‑understanding, calling it intellectual imperialism. **In simple terms:** Studying others should not just serve our own narratives. Key Takeaway Respect cultures on their own terms. Themes anthropology ethics colonialism Mood reflective critical Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - academic research - museum curation - policy making Key Concepts cultural relativism intellectual humility Questions to Reflect On - How can we study cultures without exploiting them? - What responsibilities do scholars have? A Different Perspective Overlooks potential benefits of cross‑cultural insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anthropology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthropology/) [Blue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blue/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Conceit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conceit/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Imperialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imperialism/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Other cultures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/other-cultures/) [Red](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/red/) [Red white and blue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/red-white-and-blue/) [Significance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/significance/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [Anthropology... has always been highly dependent upon photography... As the use of still photography - and moving pictures - has become increasingly essential as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/anthropology-has-always-been-highly-dependent-upon-photography-as-the/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Anthropological fieldwork is so much like writing a novel. Granted, you don't have the physical disruption and disorientation, but writing a novel is like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-king/anthropological-fieldwork-is-so-much-like-writing-a-novel-granted-you/) [Lily King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-king/) > [Anthropological fieldwork is so much like writing a novel. You don't know what the hell is going on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-king/anthropological-fieldwork-is-so-much-like-writing-a-novel-you-don-t/) [Lily King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-king/) > [The study of expression ought to form a part of the study of psychology, but it also comes within the province of anthropology because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/the-study-of-expression-ought-to-form-a-part-of-the-study-of/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Myth does not want to be interpreted in cosmological terms but in anthropological terms or, better, in existentialist terms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-bultmann/myth-does-not-want-to-be-interpreted-in-cosmological-terms-but-in/) [Rudolf Bultmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-bultmann/) > [ Its \[the anthropological method\] power to make us understand the roots from which our civilization has sprung, that it impresses us with the relative… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-boas/its-the-anthropological-method-power-to-make-us-understand-the-roots/) [Franz Boas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-boas/) > [“Anthropological theory assumes that exposure in a treeless situation where all escape upwards was cut off led to the invention of myths. Kafka's ape,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald-2/anthropological-theory-assumes-that-exposure-in-a-treeless-situation/) [W.G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald-2/) > [We translated the script together with them. And during the process of translation, they rewrote the scripts. They put a lot into it. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ciro-guerra/we-translated-the-script-together-with-them-and-during-the-process-of/) [Ciro Guerra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ciro-guerra/) > [Anyone who regards poetry as an entertainment, as a 'read,' commits an anthropological crime, in the first place against himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/anyone-who-regards-poetry-as-an-entertainment-as-a-read-commits-an/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [“Members of many lowland Indian societies play flutes or sing for that number of hours for long periods. Yet we know much more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-seeger/members-of-many-lowland-indian-societies-play-flutes-or-sing-for-that/) [Anthony Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-seeger/) > [Acting is very anthropological for me. It makes me less judgmental.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parvathy/acting-is-very-anthropological-for-me-it-makes-me-less-judgmental/) [Parvathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parvathy/) > [“Something is indeed returning today - but the conventional wisdom that this is religion making its reappearance is insufficient to satisfy critical inquiries. Nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sloterdijk/something-is-indeed-returning-today-but-the-conventional-wisdom-that/) [Peter Sloterdijk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sloterdijk/) > [“My anthropological back gets raised hackles with simple worlds and simple conflicts. Nothing's simple. Nothing ever was.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/my-anthropological-back-gets-raised-hackles-with-simple-worlds-and/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [The idea of a personal God is an anthropological concept which I am unable to take seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-idea-of-a-personal-god-is-an-anthropological-concept-which-i-am/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The image is not a closed field of knowledge; it is a whirling, centrifugal field. It is not a field of knowledge like any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-didi-huberman/the-image-is-not-a-closed-field-of-knowledge-it-is-a-whirling/) [Georges Didi-Huberman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-didi-huberman/) ## More by Margaret Mead > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [The contempt for law and the contempt for the human consequences of lawbreaking go from the bottom to the top of American society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-contempt-for-law-and-the-contempt-for-the-human-consequences-of/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [If one cannot state a matter clearly enough so that even an intelligent twelve-year-old can understand it, one should remain within the cloistered walls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/if-one-cannot-state-a-matter-clearly-enough-so-that-even-an/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [I learned the value of hard work by working hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/i-learned-the-value-of-hard-work-by-working-hard/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/children-must-be-taught-how-to-think-not-what-to-think/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Women are scolded both for being mothers and for not being mothers, for wanting to eat their cake and have it too, and for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/women-are-scolded-both-for-being-mothers-and-for-not-being-mothers/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [we came to realize that a civilization which rode roughshod over the way of life of other peoples was incorporating evil in its own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-came-to-realize-that-a-civilization-which-rode-roughshod-over-the/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [WE MUST DEVISE A SYSTEM IN WHICH PEACE IS MORE REWARDING THAN WAR.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-must-devise-a-system-in-which-peace-is-more-rewarding-than-war/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Through a grandmother's voice and hands the end of life is known at the beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/through-a-grandmother-s-voice-and-hands-the-end-of-life-is-known-at/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [today's children are the first generation to grow up in a world that has the power to destroy itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/today-s-children-are-the-first-generation-to-grow-up-in-a-world-that/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [We are now at a point where we must educate our children in what no one knew yesterday, and prepare our schools for what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-are-now-at-a-point-where-we-must-educate-our-children-in-what-no/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Humanity . . . lies in man's capacity to question the known and imagine the unknown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/humanity-lies-in-man-s-capacity-to-question-the-known-and-imagine-the/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Fathers are biological necessities, but social accidents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/fathers-are-biological-necessities-but-social-accidents/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“One of the most dangerous things that can happen to a child is to kill or torture an animal and not be held responsible.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/one-of-the-most-dangerous-things-that-can-happen-to-a-child-is-to/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [We end up with the contradictory picture of a society that appears to throw its doors wide open to women, but translates her every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-end-up-with-the-contradictory-picture-of-a-society-that-appears-to/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) [Explore all 314 Margaret Mead quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) ## More Anthropology quotes > [“Marriage," "mating," and "love" are socially constructed phenomena that have little or no transferable meaning outside any given culture. 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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 > [“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 > [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": "Mead's anthropology had many other red, white and blue- blooded virtues. 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