Transcript for Speaker Donald Brown

[Music]

Greetings. Here's my story:

As a young anthropologist

Donald Brown. Anthropologist

I conduted doctoral research in

the South-East Asian state of Brunei.

One day there, three young men and I were seated and conversing

on a river front. We were alone.

Tiring of my seat, I slipped down to sit on the walkway.

The young men quickly dropped to the walkway too.

I realized at once that they did it not because

they too were uncomfortable, but because in Brunei culture

it is not polite to sit higher than another person

unless you considerably outrank him.

Now it was not my custom to be worried about seating levels

and it was informal anyway, so I protested

urging them to resume their seats.

They said it wouldn't look nice

I said there was no one around to notice

One of them closed the matter by pointing a quarter-mile across the river

to where people just might see us.

For years, I related this story to illustrate difference

to show the extremetiy of Brunei concern with rank.

But in later years, I began to think about human universals

the features common to all humans.

I then realized that the story I told is prevaded with universals

The young men, like people everywhere

were concerned with what other people thought about them.

With politeness, and with rules.

Furthermore, the exchange between them and me

involved the universals of language, gesture, tone of voice

body language, facial expressions, conversational turn-taking

memory, assessment of context, explanation, and more.

In my lectures, I had ignored those entirely common

and largely unconcious features of human life.

Instead, I had focused on a mere quantitative difference

between the young men and me.

After all, high and low symbolize rank in the west too.

There's a lesson to be learned from my story

but first, let us begin to see

some of the hundreds of Human universals that I have documented.

[Music]

[Numerous universals flash on the screen, including:

Romantic love, baby talk, affection, conflict, cooperation

folklore, gossip, disgust, surprise. insulting, jokes

magic, medecine, possessiveness, promises, shelter

tools, territorality, prohibition of rape, hope]

Here's the lesson:

Humans are, and must be sensitive to difference

but too much focus on difference lurks behind

way too much human conflict.

Today, celebrating what we all have in common

you should find hope in realizing how rich and numerous

those commonalitites are.

[Applause]