The creature that wins against its environment destroys itself.
Gregory BatesonRead
In the transmission of human culture, people always attempt to replicate, to pass on to the next generation the skills and values of the parents, but the attempt always fails because cultural transmission is geared to learning, not DNA.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Cultural transmission relies on learning rather than hereditary factors, highlighting the challenges in passing down values and skills.
Gregory Bateson's quote reflects on the complexities of how culture is passed down through generations. While parents strive to instill their skills and values in their children, the process is not straightforward; it is rooted in learning and adaptation rather than simple genetic inheritance. This emphasizes the uniqueness of each individual's experience in absorbing and replicating culture, suggesting that cultural understanding is dynamic and personal rather than predetermined.
Themes
CultureTransmissionLearningValuesSkillsGenerations
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on cultural anthropology, this quote can be used to illustrate the complexity of teaching traditions.
More from Gregory Bateson
All quotes →It is impossible, in principle, to explain any pattern by invoking a single quantity.
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Language commonly stresses only one side of any interaction.
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What is the pattern that connects the crab to the lobster and the primrose to the orchid, and all of them to me, and me to you?
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Science, like art, religion, commerce, warfare, and even sleep, is based on presuppositions.
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