The cup of tea and babies: reflections on the limits of what we are capable of saying from the experience of parenthood

Abstract

Starting from Boas’ text “Instability of Human Types,” published in this dossier, the text asks what contributions that author can suggest for anthropology focused on babies. The article then suggests adding two other propositions to Boas’ criticism of the relationship between heredity and mental capabilities. The first is to change the focus of the discussion and examine the limits of what we can say. This would imply admitting the possibility of the miraculous. The second is to investigate ethnographic work from the idea of the encounter. Finally, the text examines the two questions based on the Author’s experience with fatherhood.