It takes a wonderful brain and exquisite senses to produce a few stupid ideas.
George SantayanaRead
Facts are all accidents. They all might have been different. They all may become different. They all may collapse altogether.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Facts are not fixed and can change over time, indicating that our understanding of reality is subjective.
George Santayana's quote emphasizes the idea that what we consider to be 'facts' are not immutable truths but rather contingent upon circumstances and perspectives. The assertion that facts could have been different, may change, or even cease to exist challenges the notion of objective reality and invites a reflection on the fluidity of knowledge, urging us to consider the limitations of our understanding and the potential for different interpretations of the world around us.
Themes
FactsRealitySubjectivityKnowledgeChange
In practice
Example use cases
In a philosophy class discussion about the nature of truth and reality.
More from George Santayana
All quotes βThe working of great institutions is mainly the result of a vast mass of routine, petty malice, self interest, carelessness and sheer mistake. Only a residual fraction is thought.
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There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval. The dark background which death supplies brings out the tender colours of life in all their purity.
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Not to believe in love is a great sign of dullness. There are some people so indirect and lumbering that they think all real affection rests on circumstantial evidence.
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To feel beauty is a better thing than to understand how we come to feel it. To have imagination and taste, to love the best, to be carried by the contemplation of nature to a vivid faith in the ideal, all this is more, a great deal more, than any science can hope to be.
George SantayanaRead
The vital straining towards an ideal, definite but latent, when it dominates a whole life, may express that ideal more fully than could the best chosen words.
George SantayanaRead
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