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Of all the intellectual faculties, judgment is the last to mature. A child under the age of fifteen should confine its attention either to subjects like mathematics, in which errors of judgment are impossible, or to subjects in which they are not very dangerous, like languages, natural science, history, etc.
Arthur Schopenhauer
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Judgment develops slowly, so young minds should focus on less risky subjects.

Arthur Schopenhauer emphasizes that the ability to make sound judgments is a gradual process that matures over time. He suggests that for children under fifteen, it is better to engage in subjects where mistakes are either negligible or highly structured, like mathematics or languages, rather than those that require advanced judgment capabilities.

Themes

JudgmentEducationChildrenWisdomMathematicsLanguages

In practice

Example use cases

A teacher might refer to this quote when discussing educational approaches for young students.

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We can come to look upon the deaths of our enemies with as much regret as we feel for those of our friends, namely, when we miss their existence as witnesses to our success.
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We will gradually become indifferent to what goes on in the minds of other people when we acquire a knowledge of the superficial nature of their thoughts, the narrowness of their views and of the number of their errors. Whoever attaches a lot of value to the opinions of others pays them too much honor.
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