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Cultural Patterns and Technical Change
This survey is directed toward the implications for the mental health of the people of the world who are effected by the introduction of technical change. It deals with the ways in which changing agricultural or industrial practices, new public health procedures, new methods of child and maternal health care, and fundamental education, can be introduced so that the culture will be disrupted as little as possible, and so that whatever disruption does occur can either by compensated for, or channelled into constructive developments for the future. It stresses a broad epidemiological approach in which the individual is seen within the society.
- GenresAnthropologyPhilosophy
Mass Market Paperback
First published September 1, 1968
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About the author
Margaret Mead
173 books489 followersMargaret Mead was an American cultural anthropologist who was frequently a featured writer and speaker in the mass media throughout the '60s and '70s as a popularizer of the insights of anthropology into modern American and western life but also a respected, if controversial, academic anthropologist.
Her reports as to the purportedly healthy attitude towards sex in South Pacific and Southeast Asian traditional cultures amply informed the '60s "sexual revolution" and it was only at the end of her life and career that her propositions were – albeit controversially – challenged by a maverick fellow anthropologist and literate members of societies she had long before studied and reported on. Mead was a champion of broadened sexual mores within a context of traditional western religious life.
Excerpted from Wikipedia.
Her reports as to the purportedly healthy attitude towards sex in South Pacific and Southeast Asian traditional cultures amply informed the '60s "sexual revolution" and it was only at the end of her life and career that her propositions were – albeit controversially – challenged by a maverick fellow anthropologist and literate members of societies she had long before studied and reported on. Mead was a champion of broadened sexual mores within a context of traditional western religious life.
Excerpted from Wikipedia.
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October 31, 2014
This book was an effort by UNESCO to write a guide for Western workers who went to third world countries in the early 1950s in the wake of the de-colonization of Africa and Asia. Margaret Mead, the famous anthropologist, was a contributor to this book, but there is no mention of any of the other authors or what parts, if any, Mead actually wrote. The book covers an anthropological analysis of five very different cultures; Burma, Greece, Palau in the South Pacific, the Lev people of Nigeria and the Hispanic culture of the US Southwest. After that, the book covers things to know about third world cultures for agronomists, engineers, health care professionals and others who travel to the 3rd world for development work. The last chapter of the book is written for mental health professionals.
Despite the dry and uninspired writing in this book, it is fascinating to read about how different cultures deal with common issues like childbirth, nursing, education, marriage and other everyday things. I would have liked it better if the book covered the same topics regarding all of these cultures, because this would allow the reader to make an apples to apples comparison of the cultures. Instead, the book covered seemingly random aspects of each culture, as though the authors were really focused on pointing out the idiosyncracies of the cultures rather than making valid comparisons. Still, this part of the book was interesting.
One thing that bothered me about this book is the same thing that bothers me about all of the works of the early anthropologists, and that is how much contempt these anthropologists had for the cultures that they studied. The attitude of the writers was arrogant and condescending toward all of the cultures covered, and especially in the analysis of how Western professionals should interact with these cultures. It's almost as though the writers felt that the members of these cultures were children who should be handled with kid gloves. The authors were completely dumbfounded by the refusal of members of these cultures to recognize contraceptives as the all-powerful elixirs that the anthropologists seem to think that they are. At one point the authors decry the refusal of people in Islamic cultures to raise pigs for food when the people in these cultures lack protein in their diets. Well, OK, but did the authors consider the possibility of introducing chickens rather than pigs into the culture? Chickens are culturally acceptable in practically all cultures, and it is actually quicker and less expensive to raise chickens than pigs. It almost seemed like the authors were concerned as much about destroying the cultural and religious beliefs of the cultures they studied as they were about inproving the lives of the poor in these areas. One particularly disturbing aspect of the analysis is the repetitive mention of "overpopulation" in third world areas. One reads often about how West Africa is "overpopulated", yet New York City has a much higher population density than any part of West Africa, and I never read about how New York City is "overpopulated." I suspect that many scholars consider "overpopulation" to be a function of race rather than population numbers. They seem to think that certain races should not be allowed to increase and multiply, and if they do then the area has a problem with "overpopulation" that must be addressed. I hope that I'm wrong about this suspicion. If not, then this is truly a distressing and disgusting attitude.
The last part of the book is particularly confusing. The authors warn Western psychologists and therapists not to diagnose the locals as insane just because they don't have Western ways. They give the reader a long list of seemingly distressing characteristics of third world cultures but warn the readers that these people can't help themselves, and the therapist should not try to "fix" them. Really, if a psychologist were to go to a third world area to do therapy, one would assume that the psychologist would understand that he or she should study the culture and understand it before they go about diagnosing mental illnesses. Apparently the authors feel that this is not obvious and needs to be addressed explicitly. My feeling here is that the authors saw insanity in every place that they visited, and felt that this extensive warning to psychologists was necessary.
Despite these flaws, which are really quite common flaws of anthropological works written between 1930 and 1970, this book is interesting. It's not very long and the reader can complete it relatively quickly. If you are interested in visiting the third world in some sort of assistance capacity, this book may be of interest to you.
Despite the dry and uninspired writing in this book, it is fascinating to read about how different cultures deal with common issues like childbirth, nursing, education, marriage and other everyday things. I would have liked it better if the book covered the same topics regarding all of these cultures, because this would allow the reader to make an apples to apples comparison of the cultures. Instead, the book covered seemingly random aspects of each culture, as though the authors were really focused on pointing out the idiosyncracies of the cultures rather than making valid comparisons. Still, this part of the book was interesting.
One thing that bothered me about this book is the same thing that bothers me about all of the works of the early anthropologists, and that is how much contempt these anthropologists had for the cultures that they studied. The attitude of the writers was arrogant and condescending toward all of the cultures covered, and especially in the analysis of how Western professionals should interact with these cultures. It's almost as though the writers felt that the members of these cultures were children who should be handled with kid gloves. The authors were completely dumbfounded by the refusal of members of these cultures to recognize contraceptives as the all-powerful elixirs that the anthropologists seem to think that they are. At one point the authors decry the refusal of people in Islamic cultures to raise pigs for food when the people in these cultures lack protein in their diets. Well, OK, but did the authors consider the possibility of introducing chickens rather than pigs into the culture? Chickens are culturally acceptable in practically all cultures, and it is actually quicker and less expensive to raise chickens than pigs. It almost seemed like the authors were concerned as much about destroying the cultural and religious beliefs of the cultures they studied as they were about inproving the lives of the poor in these areas. One particularly disturbing aspect of the analysis is the repetitive mention of "overpopulation" in third world areas. One reads often about how West Africa is "overpopulated", yet New York City has a much higher population density than any part of West Africa, and I never read about how New York City is "overpopulated." I suspect that many scholars consider "overpopulation" to be a function of race rather than population numbers. They seem to think that certain races should not be allowed to increase and multiply, and if they do then the area has a problem with "overpopulation" that must be addressed. I hope that I'm wrong about this suspicion. If not, then this is truly a distressing and disgusting attitude.
The last part of the book is particularly confusing. The authors warn Western psychologists and therapists not to diagnose the locals as insane just because they don't have Western ways. They give the reader a long list of seemingly distressing characteristics of third world cultures but warn the readers that these people can't help themselves, and the therapist should not try to "fix" them. Really, if a psychologist were to go to a third world area to do therapy, one would assume that the psychologist would understand that he or she should study the culture and understand it before they go about diagnosing mental illnesses. Apparently the authors feel that this is not obvious and needs to be addressed explicitly. My feeling here is that the authors saw insanity in every place that they visited, and felt that this extensive warning to psychologists was necessary.
Despite these flaws, which are really quite common flaws of anthropological works written between 1930 and 1970, this book is interesting. It's not very long and the reader can complete it relatively quickly. If you are interested in visiting the third world in some sort of assistance capacity, this book may be of interest to you.
May 30, 2024
A UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATION ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF DEVELOPMENT
Editor Margaret Mead wrote in the Preface to this 1955 publication of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, “The words ‘technical change’ have come to symbolize for people all over the world a hope that is new to mankind… But with the hope that misery can be prevented has come a new fear, a fear which is strongest perhaps in the small proportion of the human race who… have been the custodians of the fine flower of human civilization, acutely aware of the patterns of culture…which they have guarded. If the abolition of hunger and want were to be brought only by industrialization, by secularization, by mass production, would not the cost be too great?... For the first time in history there is a possibility that no man need go well-fed to his rest, knowing that his neighbor is hungry … But then… people ask the second question: ‘How is it to be done---in human terms?’ … what will be the cost in terms of the human spirit? How much destruction of old values… of the spirit of man from the faith and style of his traditional culture must there be? How slow must we go? How fast can we go?... To think about the question, ‘How can technical change be introduced with such regard for the culture pattern that human values are preserved?’ it is necessary to think about these patterns, these changes, and these considered attempts to protect the mental health of a world population in transition.”
The back cover states, “This provocative and authoritative study of the impact of modern technical advances on the traditional life in five representative old societies was prepared by an outstanding group of international social scientists under the direction of the renowned anthropologist, Margaret Mead.”
The book says of the Tiv of Nigeria, “Little technical change has been effected among the Tiv. However, a shattering social change was introduced through an edict forbidding exchange marriage. This, more than anything else, gave the younger generation the opportunity and the ability to question traditional ways, authority of the elders, the kinship interrelationships, and in general, the very foundations of the culture.” (Pg. 96)
It points out, “The foreigner is today viewed as the source of ultimate sanctions in the political order, as superordinate in the hierarchy of power, and as the primary force for social change. In the earlier period of cultural contact the foreigners were scolded for violating the local ways and, on occasion were cut off and killed. With the attenuation of traditional religious institutions, the figure of the foreigner replaced that of the indigenous religious functionaries and their supernatural spirits. This substitution of symbols was accomplished by transfer of some of the emotional effect surrounding ultimate authority and also by the utilization of traditional techniques in the new relationship.” (Pg. 131-132)
They note of Albert Schweitzer’s medical mission, “The fact that Dr. Schweitzer was ready to help a man, however near to death he might be, led the people to distrust him; their native medicine men knew enough to recognize approaching death, and refused to waste their skill on the dying, thus bolstering faith in their infallibility; and in addition, Dr. Schweitzer’s humaneness meant that people were confirmed in their belief that one went to the hospital not to get well but to die. These difficulties were not insurmountable, and when the doctor returned after some years of absence, his hospital was besieged by the sick…” (Pg. 208) They add, “Dr. Schweitzer found that the people were ready to accept surgery, even that involving amputation, and were impressed with the dramatic cure effected.” (Pg. 235)
They note, “School attendance is not enough for literacy; and literacy itself is a means to education… In some cultures, literacy seems to be an end in itself, because of past tradition, when it was the prerogative of an ‘elite’ group.” (Pg. 257)
The book suggests, “It is conceivable, then, that it is not harmful, from a mental-health point of view, to stimulate needs, desires, demands among peoples who now feel no such needs or desires, or who at least are not conscious of them or articulate about them. Such stimulation does, of course, create instability, disharmony, and tension.” (Pg. 273)
They note, “Those whose status is defined as a ‘have-not’ may come to repudiate the possibility of learning anything at all, or of sharing anything at all except ‘bread’ with those who have so denigrated their cherished ways of life. Phrases like ‘under-developed,’ ‘backward,’ ‘simple’---to the extent that they cover a whole culture---are equally defeating.” (Pg. 299)
This book will be of great interest to these concerned about the effects of modern technology upon indigenous cultures.
Editor Margaret Mead wrote in the Preface to this 1955 publication of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, “The words ‘technical change’ have come to symbolize for people all over the world a hope that is new to mankind… But with the hope that misery can be prevented has come a new fear, a fear which is strongest perhaps in the small proportion of the human race who… have been the custodians of the fine flower of human civilization, acutely aware of the patterns of culture…which they have guarded. If the abolition of hunger and want were to be brought only by industrialization, by secularization, by mass production, would not the cost be too great?... For the first time in history there is a possibility that no man need go well-fed to his rest, knowing that his neighbor is hungry … But then… people ask the second question: ‘How is it to be done---in human terms?’ … what will be the cost in terms of the human spirit? How much destruction of old values… of the spirit of man from the faith and style of his traditional culture must there be? How slow must we go? How fast can we go?... To think about the question, ‘How can technical change be introduced with such regard for the culture pattern that human values are preserved?’ it is necessary to think about these patterns, these changes, and these considered attempts to protect the mental health of a world population in transition.”
The back cover states, “This provocative and authoritative study of the impact of modern technical advances on the traditional life in five representative old societies was prepared by an outstanding group of international social scientists under the direction of the renowned anthropologist, Margaret Mead.”
The book says of the Tiv of Nigeria, “Little technical change has been effected among the Tiv. However, a shattering social change was introduced through an edict forbidding exchange marriage. This, more than anything else, gave the younger generation the opportunity and the ability to question traditional ways, authority of the elders, the kinship interrelationships, and in general, the very foundations of the culture.” (Pg. 96)
It points out, “The foreigner is today viewed as the source of ultimate sanctions in the political order, as superordinate in the hierarchy of power, and as the primary force for social change. In the earlier period of cultural contact the foreigners were scolded for violating the local ways and, on occasion were cut off and killed. With the attenuation of traditional religious institutions, the figure of the foreigner replaced that of the indigenous religious functionaries and their supernatural spirits. This substitution of symbols was accomplished by transfer of some of the emotional effect surrounding ultimate authority and also by the utilization of traditional techniques in the new relationship.” (Pg. 131-132)
They note of Albert Schweitzer’s medical mission, “The fact that Dr. Schweitzer was ready to help a man, however near to death he might be, led the people to distrust him; their native medicine men knew enough to recognize approaching death, and refused to waste their skill on the dying, thus bolstering faith in their infallibility; and in addition, Dr. Schweitzer’s humaneness meant that people were confirmed in their belief that one went to the hospital not to get well but to die. These difficulties were not insurmountable, and when the doctor returned after some years of absence, his hospital was besieged by the sick…” (Pg. 208) They add, “Dr. Schweitzer found that the people were ready to accept surgery, even that involving amputation, and were impressed with the dramatic cure effected.” (Pg. 235)
They note, “School attendance is not enough for literacy; and literacy itself is a means to education… In some cultures, literacy seems to be an end in itself, because of past tradition, when it was the prerogative of an ‘elite’ group.” (Pg. 257)
The book suggests, “It is conceivable, then, that it is not harmful, from a mental-health point of view, to stimulate needs, desires, demands among peoples who now feel no such needs or desires, or who at least are not conscious of them or articulate about them. Such stimulation does, of course, create instability, disharmony, and tension.” (Pg. 273)
They note, “Those whose status is defined as a ‘have-not’ may come to repudiate the possibility of learning anything at all, or of sharing anything at all except ‘bread’ with those who have so denigrated their cherished ways of life. Phrases like ‘under-developed,’ ‘backward,’ ‘simple’---to the extent that they cover a whole culture---are equally defeating.” (Pg. 299)
This book will be of great interest to these concerned about the effects of modern technology upon indigenous cultures.
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