The Enlightenment, the Age of Reason, is seen as the beginning of modern depravity.
Umberto EcoRead
A democratic civilization will save itself only if it makes the language of the image into a stimulus for critical reflection - not an invitation for hypnosis.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A democratic society must engage critically with images rather than passively absorbing them.
Umberto Eco suggests that in a democratic civilization, the way images are presented and consumed can significantly impact society's ability to think critically. Instead of letting images serve as mere distractions or tools for manipulation, they should challenge viewers to reflect and analyze, promoting a more engaged and thoughtful populace.
Themes
DemocracyImagesCritical ThinkingReflectionSociety
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech on media literacy, one might say, 'As Eco noted, we must ensure that images stimulate our critical reflection rather than serve as mere distractions.'
More from Umberto Eco
All quotes βI think that at a certain age, say fifteen or sixteen, poetry is like masturbation. But later in life good poets burn their early poetry, and bad poets publish it. Thankfully I gave up rather quickly.
Umberto EcoRead
But why do some people support [the heretics]?" "Because it serves their purposes, which concern the faith rarely, and more often the conquest of power." "Is that why the church of Rome accuses all its adversaries of heresy?" "That is why, and that is also why it recognizes as orthodoxy any heresy it can bring back under its own control or must accept because the heresy has become too strong.
Umberto EcoRead
You die, but most of what you have accumulated will not be lost; you are leaving a message in a bottle.
Umberto EcoRead
"Then we are living in a place abandoned by God," I said, disheartened. "Have you found any places where God would have felt at home?" William asked me, looking down from his great height.
Umberto EcoRead
The lunatic is all idΓ©e fixe, and whatever he comes across confirms his lunacy. You can tell him by the liberties he takes with common sense, by his flashes of inspiration, and by the fact that sooner or later he brings up the Templars.
Umberto EcoRead
Similar quotes
Man is made or unmade by himself. In the armory of thought he forges the weapons by which he destroys himself. He also fashions the tools with which he builds for himself heavenly mansions of joy and strength and peace.
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Liberty, taking the word in its concrete sense, consists in the ability to choose.
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We have been educated into believing someone else's concept of the deity, and someone else's standard of beauty. You have the right to practice any religion and politics in a way that best suits your freedom, your dignity, and your understanding. And once you do that, you don't apologize.
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It is not as in the Bible, that God created man in his own image. But, on the contrary, man created God in his own image.
Ludwig FeuerbachRead
Everything is determined, the beginning as well as the end, by forces over which we have no control. It is determined for the insect, as well as for the star. Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper.
Albert EinsteinRead
It is difficult to be sat on all day, every day, by some other creature, without forming an opinion on them. On the other hand, it is perfectly possible to sit all day, every day, on top of another creature and not have the slightest thought about them whatsoever.
Douglas AdamsRead