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I'm a man for whom the outside world is an inner Reality.
Fernando Pessoa
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote suggests that one's perception of the world is shaped by internal experiences rather than external observations.

Fernando Pessoa's quote reflects a philosophical perspective that emphasizes the significance of inner thoughts and feelings in shaping an individual's understanding of reality. It implies that the way we interpret the outside world is deeply influenced by our inner state, suggesting that our perceptions and experiences are more subjective than objective, and that our internal reality defines how we engage with the world around us.

Themes

PerceptionRealityInnerPhilosophyThoughts

In practice

Example use cases

During a lecture on existentialism, this quote can be used to illustrate the importance of subjective experience.

More from Fernando Pessoa

I have at this moment so many fundamental thoughts, so many truly metaphysical things to say, that I suddenly get tired and decide not to write any more, not to think any more, but to allow the fever of speaking to make me sleepy, and with my eyes closed, like a cat, I play with everything I could have said.
Fernando PessoaRead
It's been months since I last wrote. I've lived in a state of mental slumber, leading the life of someone else. I've felt, very often, a vicarious happiness. I haven't existed. I've been someone else. I've lived without thinking.
Fernando PessoaRead
We all have two lives: The true, the one we dreamed of in childhood And go on dreaming of as adults in a substratum of mist; the false, the one we love when we live with others, the practical, the useful, the one we end up by being put in a coffin.
Fernando PessoaRead
My dreams are a stupid refuge, like an umbrella against a thunderbolt.
Fernando PessoaRead
The chill of what I won't feel gnaws at my present heart.
Fernando PessoaRead
Friends: not one. Just a few acquaintances who imagine they feel something for me and who might be sorry if a train ran over me and the funeral was on a rainy day.
Fernando PessoaRead

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