Margaret Mead Professions : Cultural AnthropologistBorn : December 16, 1901Died : November 15, 1978 Browse All Authors Top 300 quotes by Margaret Mead Nobody has ever before asked the nuclear family to live all by itself in a box the way we do. With no relatives, no support, we've put it in an impossible situation. Margaret Mead impossible-situationssupportfamily We are living beyond our means. As a people we have developed a life-style that is draining the earth of its priceless and irreplaceable resources without regard for the future of our children and people all around the world. Margaret Mead futureinspirationalchildren 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 of the university and laboratory until one gets a better grasp of one's subject matter. Margaret Mead wallintelligentpeace If we are to achieve a richer culture, rich in contrasting values, we must recognize the whole gamut of human potentialities, and so weave a less arbitrary social fabric, one in which each diverse human gift will find a fitting place. Margaret Mead womendiversityhistory An ideal culture is one that makes a place for every human gift Margaret Mead idealshumansculture What the world needs is not romantic lovers who are sufficient unto themselves, but husbands and wives who live in communities, relate to other people, carry on useful work and willingly give time and attention to their children. Margaret Mead romantic-lovehusbandchildren We must have...a place where children can have a whole group of adults they can trust. Margaret Mead groupsadultschildren There is no more creative force in the world than the menopausal woman with zest. Margaret Mead zestcreativeworld A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Margaret Mead thoughtfulchangepeople Don't depend on governments or corporations to fix problems. Social revolutions are led by passionate individuals and that's what makes the difference. Margaret Mead passionatedifferencesgovernment Our treatment of both older people and children reflects the value we place on independence and autonomy. We do our best to make our children independent from birth. We leave them all alone in rooms with the lights out and tell them, 'Go to sleep by yourselves.' And the old people we respect most are the ones who will fight for their independence, who would sooner starve to death than ask for help. Margaret Mead independentsleepchildren My grandmother wanted me to get a good education, so she kept me as far away from schools as possible. Margaret Mead grandmotherlearningschool Injustice experienced in the flesh, in deeply wounded flesh, is the stuff out of which change explodes. Margaret Mead injusticefleshstuff Everybody's suffering is mine but not everybody's murdering ... I do not distinguish for one moment whether my child is in danger or a child in central Asia. But I will not accept responsibility for what other people do because I happen to belong to that nation or that race or that religion. I do not believe in guilt by association. Margaret Mead responsibilitybelievechildren I must admit that I personally measure success in terms of the contributions an individual makes to her or his fellow human beings. Margaret Mead congratulationssuccessmotivational Instead of being presented with stereotypes by age, sex, color, class, or religion, children must have the opportunity to learn that within each range, some people are loathsome and some are delightful. Margaret Mead acceptancechildrensex One of the oldest human needs is having someone to wonder where you are when you don't come home at night. Margaret Mead familyrelationshiplife For Immanuel Kant, the term anthropology embraced all the human sciences, and laid the foundation of familiar knowledge we need, to build solidly grounded ideas about the moral and political demands of human life. Margaret Mead saw mid-twentieth-century anthropology as engaged in a project no less ambitious than Kant's own, and her Terry Lectures on Continuities in Cultural Evolution provide an excellent point to enter into her reflections. Margaret Mead politicalreflectionideas I have been accused of having believed when I wrote Sex and Temperament that there are no sex differences... This, many readers felt, was too much. It was too pretty. I must have found what I was looking for. But this misconception comes from a lack of understanding of what anthropology means, of the open-mindedness with which one must look and listen, record in astonishment and wonder, that which one would not have been able to guess. Margaret Mead airlisteningscience The assumption that men were created equal, with an equal ability to make an effort and win an earthly reward, although denied every day by experience, is maintained every day by our folklore and our daydreams. Margaret Mead effortwinningmen
