--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Presented with the claims of…" description: "\"Presented with the claims of nineteenth-century racist anthropology, a rational person will ask two sorts of questions: 'What is the scientific status ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/917/noam-chomsky-42_anthropology_presented-with-the-claims-of-nineteenth_2676746.jpg" --- # Presented with the claims of nineteenth-century racist… ![“Presented with the claims of nineteenth-century racist anthropology, a rational person will ask two sorts of questions: 'What is the scientific status of the claims?' 'What social or ideological needs do they serve?'” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/917/noam-chomsky-42_anthropology_presented-with-the-claims-of-nineteenth_2676746.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/917/noam-chomsky-42_anthropology_presented-with-the-claims-of-nineteenth_2676746.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/917/noam-chomsky-42_anthropology_presented-with-the-claims-of-nineteenth_2676746.jpg) > “Presented with the claims of nineteenth-century racist anthropology, a rational person will ask two sorts of questions: 'What is the scientific status of the claims?' 'What social or ideological needs do they serve?'” [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When confronting racist anthropology, a rational thinker should evaluate its scientific credibility and the social or ideological motives behind it. **In simple terms:** Question scientific basis and motives of racist claims. Key Takeaway Critically assess claims for bias and purpose. Themes critical thinking science racism ideology Mood skeptical inquisitive Type analytical ethical When to use this quote - academic research - policy development - education - public discourse Key Concepts scientific validation social impact ethical analysis Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports these claims? - What interests benefit from such narratives? A Different Perspective Racist anthropology often lacks rigorous evidence and serves power structures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anthropology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthropology/) [Nineteenth century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nineteenth-century/) [Questions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/questions/) [Racist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racist/) [Scientific](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientific/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Status](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/status/) [Truth Seeking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-seeking/) ## Related quotes > [Debt is a social and ideological construct, not a simple economic fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/debt-is-a-social-and-ideological-construct-not-a-simple-economic-fact/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [For a privileged minority, Western democracy provides the leisure, the facilities, and the training to seek the truth lying hidden behind the veil of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/for-a-privileged-minority-western-democracy-provides-the-leisure-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I am well aware of the facts presented by numerous security experts on the many ways in which the United States' digital networks have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/i-am-well-aware-of-the-facts-presented-by-numerous-security-experts/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) > [The smorgasbord of images now presented to us is getting bloodier. They're becoming more frequent - almost hourly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-gilroy/the-smorgasbord-of-images-now-presented-to-us-is-getting-bloodier/) [Dan Gilroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-gilroy/) > [“I often wonder if the bill is yet to be presented during our lifetime. If not, I must present it to myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-wolf/i-often-wonder-if-the-bill-is-yet-to-be-presented-during-our-lifetime/) [Christa Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-wolf/) > [It's not ideological to ask someone to stick to the question presented.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-lemon/it-s-not-ideological-to-ask-someone-to-stick-to-the-question-presented/) [Don Lemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-lemon/) > [A good model of how to 'work with the enemy' internally is presented by the Dalai Lama, in his endless caretaking of his soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/a-good-model-of-how-to-work-with-the-enemy-internally-is-presented-by/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [There's a relationship in the reality with how theater is presented - you can't experience that anywhere else. When you mess up, you mess…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-mack/there-s-a-relationship-in-the-reality-with-how-theater-is-presented/) [Allison Mack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-mack/) > [In South Africa, success never presented the problems that it presents in New York. In New York, if you happen to be the flavor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/athol-fugard/in-south-africa-success-never-presented-the-problems-that-it-presents/) [Athol Fugard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/athol-fugard/) > [Reading should not be presented to children as a chore, a duty. It should be offered as a gift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-dicamillo/reading-should-not-be-presented-to-children-as-a-chore-a-duty-it/) [Kate DiCamillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-dicamillo/) > [The food being presented at the most expensive restaurants, by the most sophisticated chefs, was not always recognizable as food to the diner -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-goodyear/the-food-being-presented-at-the-most-expensive-restaurants-by-the/) [Dana Goodyear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-goodyear/) > [While technology efficiently delivers news stories to our desktops, laptops and mobile devices, magazines are all about context - how ideas and images are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefano-tonchi/while-technology-efficiently-delivers-news-stories-to-our-desktops/) Stefano Tonchi > [If the opportunities are not being presented to me, I'm going to take the reins and do it. Brit Marling was not waiting for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-aselton/if-the-opportunities-are-not-being-presented-to-me-i-m-going-to-take/) [Katie Aselton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-aselton/) > [The counterculture has nothing to do with Dolce & Gabbana having a 'Hippy Summer' or something. Street kids, and kids who want to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-robinson/the-counterculture-has-nothing-to-do-with-dolce-gabbana-having-a/) [Chris Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-robinson/) > [If the world is presented as resources to be exploited, then, more than likely, you're going to exploit the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/if-the-world-is-presented-as-resources-to-be-exploited-then-more-than/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) ## More by Noam Chomsky > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [If you believe in democracy, why shouldn't you know what the government is doing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-you-believe-in-democracy-why-shouldn-t-you-know-what-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [It’s a shameful moment for U.S. media when it insists on being subservient to the grotesque propaganda agencies of a violent, aggressive state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-s-a-shameful-moment-for-u-s-media-when-it-insists-on-being/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are questions as to whether it should even exist. Who should corporations be responsive to, the management of a corporation? Theoretically they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-questions-as-to-whether-it-should-even-exist-who-should/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Governments regard their own citizens as their main enemy, and they have to be - protect themselves. That's why you have state secret laws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/governments-regard-their-own-citizens-as-their-main-enemy-and-they/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I don't join the New Atheists. So, for example, I wouldn't have the arrogance to lecture some mother who hopes to see her dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-don-t-join-the-new-atheists-so-for-example-i-wouldn-t-have-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The first thing you ought to do is verify what I present. Just because I say it doesn't make it true. So check it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-first-thing-you-ought-to-do-is-verify-what-i-present-just-because/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [ I wrote an article about the marine landing \[in Haiti\] right away, but barely mentioned the oil, because my article would come out two… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-wrote-an-article-about-the-marine-landing-in-haiti-right-away-but/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [American society is now remarkably atomized. Political organizations have collapsed. In fact, it seems like even bowling leagues are collapsing. The left has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/american-society-is-now-remarkably-atomized-political-organizations/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Discovery is the ability to be puzzled by simple things. Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/discovery-is-the-ability-to-be-puzzled-by-simple-things-noam-chomsky/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's an interesting book about that called The Third Reich and the Ivory Tower, written by Stephen H. Norwood. It has a long discussion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-an-interesting-book-about-that-called-the-third-reich-and-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [This is class war on an international scale, and power is in the hands of those who control the international economic system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/this-is-class-war-on-an-international-scale-and-power-is-in-the-hands/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are big, extremely irrational parts of the society, and they have now been mobilized politically by the Republican establishment, hoping that these people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-big-extremely-irrational-parts-of-the-society-and-they-have/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's plenty to criticize about the mass media, but they are the source of regular information about a wide range of topics. You can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-plenty-to-criticize-about-the-mass-media-but-they-are-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The 50,000 Korean mercenaries we had in Vietnam were professional killers and just massacred people outright. And the American army did plenty of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-50-000-korean-mercenaries-we-had-in-vietnam-were-professional/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Explore all 2,129 Noam Chomsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## 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 > [“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": "Presented with the claims of nineteenth-century racist anthropology, a rational person will ask two sorts of questions: 'What is the scientific status of the claims?' 'What social or ideological needs do they serve?'", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Noam Chomsky" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/presented-with-the-claims-of-nineteenth-century-racist-anthropology-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anthropology" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/presented-with-the-claims-of-nineteenth-century-racist-anthropology-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/917/noam-chomsky-42_anthropology_presented-with-the-claims-of-nineteenth_2676746.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/917/noam-chomsky-42_anthropology_presented-with-the-claims-of-nineteenth_2676746.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/917/noam-chomsky-42_anthropology_presented-with-the-claims-of-nineteenth_2676746.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Presented with the claims of nineteenth-century racist anthropology, a rational person will ask two sorts of…” — Noam Chomsky", "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": "Noam Chomsky", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Presented with the claims of nineteenth-century...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/presented-with-the-claims-of-nineteenth-century-racist-anthropology-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/presented-with-the-claims-of-nineteenth-century-racist-anthropology-a/#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 } } ] } ```