Ruth BenedictDied 17 Sep 1948 at age 61 (born 5 Jun 1887). Ruth Fulton Benedict was an American anthropologist whose theories had a profound influence on cultural anthropology, especially in the area of culture and personality. Her major contribution to anthropology, compares Zuñi, Dobu, and Kwakiutl cultures in order to demonstrate how small a portion of the possible range of human behaviour is incorporated into any one culture; she argues that it is the “personality,” the particular complex of traits and attitudes, of a culture that defines the individuals within it as successes, misfits, or outcasts. |
