My principal motive is the belief that we can still make admirable sense of our lives even if we cease to have... an ambition of transcendence.
Richard RortyRead
Academic disciplines are subject to being overtaken by attacks of "knowingness"- a state of mind and soul that prevents shudders of awe and makes one immune to enthusiasm.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote warns against a mindset that dismisses wonder and enthusiasm in academic pursuits.
Richard Rorty's quote highlights how a sense of overconfidence in knowledge, referred to as 'knowingness,' can hinder true appreciation for learning and discovery. This mindset stifles curiosity and enthusiasm, which are essential for genuine engagement and awe in any academic discipline.
Themes
KnowledgeCuriosityEnthusiasmEducationWonder
In practice
Example use cases
During a workshop, to encourage students to embrace curiosity rather than just focusing on grades.
More from Richard Rorty
All quotes βTo say that truth is not out there is simply to say that where there are no sentences there is no truth, that sentences are elements of human languages, and that languages are human creations.~ The suggestion that truth~ is out there is a legacy of an age in which the world was seen as the creation of a being who had a language his own.
Richard RortyRead
The world does not speak. Only we do. The world can, once we have programmed ourselves with a language, cause us to hold beliefs. But it cannot propose a language for us to speak. Only other human beings can do that.
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Philosophy makes progress not by becoming more rigorous but by becoming more imaginative.
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National pride is to countries what self-respect is to individuals: a necessary condition for self-improvement.
Richard RortyRead
A talent for speaking differently, rather than for arguing well is the chief instrument of cultural change.
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