Daniel Everett
Daniel Everett
Daniel Leonard Everett born 1951 in Holtville, California, is an American author and academic best known for his study of the Amazon Basin's Pirahã people and their language...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionAuthor
CountryUnited States of America
life sleep years
I've learned so much from the Pirahas over the years. But this is perhaps my favorite lesson. Sure, life is hard and there is plenty of danger. And it might make us lose some sleep from time to time. But enjoy it. Life goes on.
beaten believe bible bring christians death god imprisoned job joy others
Christians who believe in the Bible believe that it is their job to bring others the joy of salvation. Even if they're murdered, beaten to death, imprisoned - that's what you do for God.
convert empirical evidence god people produce religion secure tribal wrong
It's wrong to try and convert tribal societies. What should the empirical evidence for religion be? It should produce peaceful, strong, secure people who are right with God and right with the world. I don't see that evidence very often.
impose outsiders people poor saddest seen themselves trying worries
One of the saddest things I've seen in Amazonian cultures is people who were self-sufficient and happy that now think of themselves as poor and become dissatisfied with their lives. What worries me is outsiders trying to impose their values and materialism on the Piraha.
few field places
There are very few places in the world where you have to learn a language with no language in common. It's called a monolingual field situation.
life views objectivity
As a scientist, objectivity is one of my most deeply held values. If we could just try harder, I once thought, surely we could each see the world as others see it and learn to respect one another's views more readily. But I learned from the Pirahas, our expectations, our culture, and our experiences can render even perceptions of the environment nearly incommensurable cross-culturally.
christian atheist missionary
I went from being a Christian missionary to an atheist.