Every society needs educated people, but the primary responsibility of educated people is to bring wisdom back into the community and make it available to others so that the lives they are leading make sense.
Vine Deloria Jr.Read
Like almost everyone else in America, I grew up believing the myth of the objective scientist. Fortunately I was raised on the edges of two very distinct cultures, western European and American Indian.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote challenges the notion of objectivity in science, highlighting cultural influences on knowledge.
Vine Deloria Jr. reflects on the prevalent belief in America regarding the 'objective scientist,' a myth that suggests scientists are unbiased and purely rational. He argues that his upbringing, influenced by both Western European and American Indian cultures, has given him a unique perspective that recognizes how cultural backgrounds shape our understanding of science and reality, thus questioning the idea of objectivity as an absolute truth.
Themes
ObjectivityScienceCultureSubjectivityKnowledge
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture about the influence of culture on scientific research, this quote can illustrate the importance of diverse perspectives.
More from Vine Deloria Jr.
All quotes →If the tribal peoples actually represented Western origins at a much earlier time, it was exceedingly valuable that they should be studied intensely for clues about the nature and origin of human society. Consequently it was an injury to science and human knowledge to allow the military to simply exterminate them.
Vine Deloria Jr.Read
The bottom line about the information possessed by non-Western peoples is that the information becomes valid only when offered by a white scholar recognized by the academic establishment; in effect, the color of the skin guarantees scientific objectivity.
Vine Deloria Jr.Read
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