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For a long time it has been known that the first systems of representations with which men have pictured to themselves the world and themselves were of religious origin. There is no religion that is not a cosmology at the same time that it is a speculation upon divine things. If philosophy and the sciences were born of religion, it is because religion began by taking the place of the sciences and philosophy.
Emile Durkheim
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote emphasizes the foundational role of religion in the development of human understanding and knowledge systems.

Emile Durkheim suggests that the early systems of thought that helped humans understand their existence and the universe originated from religious beliefs. This statement posits that religion not only provides a framework for cosmological views but also predated and influenced both philosophy and the sciences as they emerged as distinct fields of knowledge.

Themes

ReligionPhilosophyScienceCosmologyUnderstanding

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used in a philosophy class when discussing the origins of human thought.

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A society whose members are united by the fact that they think in the same way in regard to the sacred world and its relations with the profane world, and by the fact that they translate these common ideas into common practices, is what is called a Church. In all history, we do not find a single religion without a Church.
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