The Enlightenment, the Age of Reason, is seen as the beginning of modern depravity.
Umberto EcoRead
Every great thinker is someone else's moron.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Great thinkers are often misunderstood or dismissed by others who don't appreciate their ideas.
This quote by Umberto Eco suggests that the brilliance of great thinkers is frequently overshadowed by the ignorance or lack of understanding of others. It highlights the notion that innovative ideas and profound insights may seem foolish or irrelevant to those who lack the ability to appreciate their depth or significance, thereby undermining the thinkers' contributions. In essence, the quote invites us to reconsider our judgments and acknowledges the complexity and sometimes contentious nature of intellectual discourse.
Themes
ThinkerMoronUnderstandingPhilosophyIdeas
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about innovation, one could cite this quote to emphasize the importance of embracing unconventional ideas.
More from Umberto Eco
All quotes →I 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 idée 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
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It is in the union of the Ascending and the Descending currents that harmony is found, and not in any war between the two. It seems that only when the Ascending and the Descending are united can both be saved. And if we - if you and I - do not contribute to this union, then it is very possible that not only will we destroy the only Earth we have, we will forfeit the only heaven we might otherwise embrace.
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Nothing will make me change my principles. Even with the knife at my neck I shall still declare, up to this day, the poor have done everything; it is time for the rich to take their turn... The selfish people, the young idlers, must be made useful, whether they like it or not, and some respite be procured for the useful and respectable worker.
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There's a way of life, there's a way of death. Which way are you on?
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She’s the kind of person who either dies tragically at twenty-seven, like Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, or else grows up to win, like, the first-ever Nobel Prize for Awesome.
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