. . . money . . . is really the difference between men and animals, most of the things men feel, animals feel, and vice versa, but animals do not know about money.
Gertrude SteinRead
What is the answer? In that case, what is the question?
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that understanding the question is critical to finding the answer.
Gertrude Stein's quote emphasizes the relationship between questions and answers, indicating that without a clear understanding of what is being asked, any response may be irrelevant or meaningless. This thought provokes us to consider the depth of inquiry and the importance of framing our questions accurately to seek meaningful answers in any situation.
Themes
QuestionAnswerPhilosophyInquiryUnderstanding
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion on critical thinking, one might use this quote to highlight the importance of question formation.
More from Gertrude Stein
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If the communication is perfect, the words have life, and that is all there is to good writing, putting down on the paper words which dance and weep and make love and fight and kiss and perform miracles.
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The United States is just now the oldest country in the world, there always is an oldest country and she is it, it is she who is the mother of the twentieth century civilization. She began to feel herself as it just after the Civil War. And so it is a country the right age to have been born in and the wrong age to live in.
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I simply contend that the middle-class ideal which demands that people be affectionate, respectable, honest and content, that they avoid excitements and cultivate serenity is the ideal that appeals to me, it is in short the ideal of affectionate family life, of honorable business methods.
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It is natural to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes to that siren until she allures us to our death.
Gertrude SteinRead
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