--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Many humanists and artists recoil from…" description: "\"“Many humanists and artists recoil from the proposition that cultural evolution has hitherto been shaped by unconscious impersonal forces. The determin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f11/marvin-harris-21953_art_many-humanists-and-artists-recoil-from-t_1655858.jpg" --- # Many humanists and artists recoil from the proposition… ![“Many humanists and artists recoil from the proposition that cultural evolution has hitherto been shaped by unconscious impersonal forces. The determined nature of the past fills them with apprehension as to the possibility of an equally determined future. But their fears are misplaced. It is only…” quote by Marvin Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f11/marvin-harris-21953_art_many-humanists-and-artists-recoil-from-t_1655858.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f11/marvin-harris-21953_art_many-humanists-and-artists-recoil-from-t_1655858.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f11/marvin-harris-21953_art_many-humanists-and-artists-recoil-from-t_1655858.jpg) > ““Many humanists and artists recoil from the proposition that cultural evolution has hitherto been shaped by unconscious impersonal forces. The determined nature of the past fills them with apprehension as to the possibility of an equally determined future. But their fears are misplaced. It is only through an awareness of the determined nature of the past that we can hope to make the future less dependent on unconscious and impersonal forces. In the birth of a science of culture others profess to see the death of moral initiative. For my part, I cannot see how a lack of intelligence concerning the lawful processes that have operated so far can be the platform on which to rear a civilized future. And so in the birth of a science of culture I find the beginning not the end of moral initiative. Let the protectors of historical spontaneity beware : if the processes of cultural evolution are what I have discerned, they are morally negligent to urge others to think and act as if such processes did not exist.”” [Marvin Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-harris/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding that cultural change follows predictable, often unconscious patterns helps us consciously shape a more ethical future. **In simple terms:** Knowing cultural forces lets us act responsibly. Key Takeaway Study history, influence culture deliberately. Themes culture history ethics agency Mood thoughtful critical Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - policy making - education reform - media production - community activism Key Concepts determinism social evolution moral responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How can we make cultural forces visible? - What responsibilities arise from this awareness? A Different Perspective Ignoring unconscious influences can lead to unintended harmful outcomes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Memeticists have to give empirical evidence to support the claim that, in the micro-processes of cultural transmission, elements of culture inherit all or nearly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-sperber/memeticists-have-to-give-empirical-evidence-to-support-the-claim-that/) Dan Sperber > [What women rightly long for is spiritual and moral initiative from a man, not spiritual and moral domination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/what-women-rightly-long-for-is-spiritual-and-moral-initiative-from-a/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [“I hold it perniciously false to teach that all cultural forms are equally probable and that by mere force of will an inspired individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-harris/i-hold-it-perniciously-false-to-teach-that-all-cultural-forms-are/) [Marvin Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-harris/) > [“The soul takes nothing with her to the next world but her education and her culture. At the beginning of the journey to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-soul-takes-nothing-with-her-to-the-next-world-but-her-education/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [If the world does improve on the whole, yet youth must always begin anew, and go through the stages of culture from the beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/if-the-world-does-improve-on-the-whole-yet-youth-must-always-begin/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Art at its most significant is a Distant Early Warning System that can always be relied on to tell the old culture what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/art-at-its-most-significant-is-a-distant-early-warning-system-that/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [I think the driving force for cultural evolution is this desire for groups to be splitting off and separating and forming subgroups insofar as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-pagel/i-think-the-driving-force-for-cultural-evolution-is-this-desire-for/) [Mark Pagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-pagel/) > [“By means of the notion of “cultural evolution,” the democratic anthropologist tries to avoid questions of biology.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/by-means-of-the-notion-of-cultural-evolution-the-democratic/) [Nicolás Gómez Dávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [Religion is a feature of cultural evolution that, among other things, addresses anxieties created by cultural evolution; it helps keep social change safe from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-wright/religion-is-a-feature-of-cultural-evolution-that-among-other-things/) [Robert Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-wright/) > [We are surrounded by worn-out, banal, useless and exhausted images, limping and dragging themselves behind the rest of our cultural evolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/we-are-surrounded-by-worn-out-banal-useless-and-exhausted-images/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [The current nation-state model is the product of thousands of years of political, social, and cultural evolution. I mean, it was only recently -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-miller/the-current-nation-state-model-is-the-product-of-thousands-of-years/) [Stephen Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-miller/) > [“Evolution is largely a temporal phenomenon, Merrill. The environment changes, and populations in that environment change in turn, or they languish. Individual organisms don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-marusek/evolution-is-largely-a-temporal-phenomenon-merrill-the-environment/) [David Marusek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-marusek/) > [“So again and again we see how under the prevailing paradigm our real past—and the original thrust of our cultural evolution—can only be seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riane-eisler/so-again-and-again-we-see-how-under-the-prevailing-paradigm-our-real/) [Riane Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riane-eisler/) > [That series of inventions by which man from age to age has remade his environment is a different kind of evolution -- not biological,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/that-series-of-inventions-by-which-man-from-age-to-age-has-remade-his/) [Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/) > [We started off with physical evolution and got our form. Then we somehow developed language, which meant cultural evolution could race so we could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/we-started-off-with-physical-evolution-and-got-our-form-then-we/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) ## More by Marvin Harris > [There are very important and practical issues raised by following this alternative route which says, let's look to material conditions, to the systems of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-harris/there-are-very-important-and-practical-issues-raised-by-following/) [Marvin Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-harris/) > [I think that by following the route that I have tried to outline, one gets into a much more interesting and productive series of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-harris/i-think-that-by-following-the-route-that-i-have-tried-to-outline-one/) [Marvin Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-harris/) > [Ethnography literally means 'a portrait of a people.' An ethnography is a written description of a particular culture - the customs, beliefs, and behavior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-harris/ethnography-literally-means-a-portrait-of-a-people-an-ethnography-is/) [Marvin Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-harris/) > [When a woman gives birth to a child, the child needs to be able to digest the mother's milk; but when this child is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-harris/when-a-woman-gives-birth-to-a-child-the-child-needs-to-be-able-to/) [Marvin Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-harris/) > [Unfortunately, the food industry has not yet faced this situation and begun taking measures to avoid exploiting our weakness for not knowing when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-harris/unfortunately-the-food-industry-has-not-yet-faced-this-situation-and/) [Marvin Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-harris/) > [“The availability of domesticated animal species played an important role in the prohibition of cannibalism and the development of religions of love and mercy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-harris/the-availability-of-domesticated-animal-species-played-an-important/) [Marvin Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-harris/) > [The commandment 'Thou shalt not kill' does not say it's O.K. to kill some people and not others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-harris/the-commandment-thou-shalt-not-kill-does-not-say-it-s-o-k-to-kill/) [Marvin Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-harris/) > [Pigs prefer to wallow in clean mud, but if nothing else is available, they will frequently wallow in their own urine, giving rise to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-harris/pigs-prefer-to-wallow-in-clean-mud-but-if-nothing-else-is-available/) [Marvin Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-harris/) > [The general proposition is that the resources that will be utilized are the ones that contribute most to the overall efficiency of the production…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-harris/the-general-proposition-is-that-the-resources-that-will-be-utilized/) [Marvin Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-harris/) > [But with the Industrial Revolution and introduction of various industrial techniques for purifying sugar, we have a situation in which what we are consuming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-harris/but-with-the-industrial-revolution-and-introduction-of-various/) [Marvin Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-harris/) > [In many ways the rise of the state was the descent of the world from freedom to slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-harris/in-many-ways-the-rise-of-the-state-was-the-descent-of-the-world-from/) [Marvin Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-harris/) > [Here you do have forests, where pigs could be raised by letting them root about in the forests for a good part of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-harris/here-you-do-have-forests-where-pigs-could-be-raised-by-letting-them/) [Marvin Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-harris/) > [If I can bring some light to bear on problems like that, I feel that people will be enlightened not only on the question…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-harris/if-i-can-bring-some-light-to-bear-on-problems-like-that-i-feel-that/) [Marvin Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-harris/) > [“I hold it perniciously false to teach that all cultural forms are equally probable and that by mere force of will an inspired individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-harris/i-hold-it-perniciously-false-to-teach-that-all-cultural-forms-are/) [Marvin Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-harris/) > [I don't see how you can write anything of value if you don't offend someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-harris/i-don-t-see-how-you-can-write-anything-of-value-if-you-don-t-offend/) [Marvin Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-harris/) [Explore all 28 Marvin Harris quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-harris/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Many humanists and artists recoil from the proposition that cultural evolution has hitherto been shaped by unconscious impersonal forces. The determined nature of the past fills them with apprehension as to the possibility of an equally determined future. But their fears are misplaced. It is only through an awareness of the determined nature of the past that we can hope to make the future less dependent on unconscious and impersonal forces. In the birth of a science of culture others profess to see the death of moral initiative. For my part, I cannot see how a lack of intelligence concerning the lawful processes that have operated so far can be the platform on which to rear a civilized future. And so in the birth of a science of culture I find the beginning not the end of moral initiative. 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