It takes a wonderful brain and exquisite senses to produce a few stupid ideas.
George SantayanaRead
Ideal society is a drama enacted exclusively in the imagination.
Interpretation
What this quote means
An ideal society exists only in our minds and not in reality.
This quote by George Santayana suggests that the concept of an ideal society is a construct of human imagination rather than a tangible reality. It implies that while we can envision a perfect social order, such a reality is unattainable, as societies are shaped by complex human behaviors and interactions fraught with imperfections.
Themes
IdealSocietyImaginationRealityPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about social structures, one might quote Santayana to emphasize the gap between our ideals and real-world societies.
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
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The fault with all religions like Christianity is that they have one set of rules for all. But Hindu religion is suited to all grades of religious aspiration and progress. It contains all the ideals in their perfect form. For example, the ideal of Shanta or blessedness is to be found in Vasishtha; that of love in Krishna; that of duty in Rama and Sita; and that of intellect in Shukadeva. Study the characters of these and of other ideal men. Adopt one which suits you best.
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