It takes a wonderful brain and exquisite senses to produce a few stupid ideas.
George SantayanaRead
It is a great advantage for a system of philosophy to be substantially true.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A philosophy is valuable when it aligns closely with reality and truth.
George Santayana emphasizes the importance of a philosophy being fundamentally true. A philosophy that accurately reflects the nature of reality not only provides a strong foundation for understanding the world but also serves as a guiding principle for life, offering clarity and insight into human existence.
Themes
PhilosophyTruthRealityUnderstandingAdvantage
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about ethical theories, this quote can illustrate the importance of grounding philosophy in truth.
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.
George SantayanaRead
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.
George SantayanaRead
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.
George SantayanaRead
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
Similar quotes
Especially now when views are becoming more polarized, we must work to understand each other across political, religious and national boundaries.
Jane GoodallRead
Christian optimism is not a sugary optimism, nor is it a mere human confidence that everything will turn out all right. It is an optimism that sinks its roots into an awareness of our freedom, and the sure knowledge of the power of grace. It is an optimism that leads us to make demands on ourselves, to struggle to respond at every moment to God's call.
Josemaria EscrivaRead
Man is above all else mind, consciousness -- that is, he is a product of history, not of nature.
Antonio GramsciRead
Each one of us is responsible for the whole of humankind. We need to think of each other really as brothers and sisters and to be concerned for each otherβs welfare. Rather than working solely to acquire wealth, we need to do something meaningful, something directed seriously towards the welfare of humanity as a whole.
Dalai LamaRead
Often, warriors find their lives meaningless.
Paulo CoelhoRead
That is the nature of endings, it seems. They never end. When all the missing pieces of your life are found, put together with glue of memory and reason, there are more pieces to be found.
Amy TanRead