The wise man doesn't give the right answers, he poses the right questions.
Claude Levi-StraussRead
Objects are what matter. Only they carry the evidence that throughout the centuries something really happened among human beings.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Objects hold historical significance as they are tangible evidence of human experiences and events.
In this quote, Claude Levi-Strauss emphasizes the importance of physical objects as carriers of history and human experience. He suggests that these artifacts provide concrete proof of past interactions and events, underscoring the idea that material culture has a vital role in understanding our shared humanity and social evolution over time.
Themes
ObjectsHistoryEvidenceHumanityTangible
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture on anthropology, this quote can illustrate how material culture informs our understanding of past societies.
More from Claude Levi-Strauss
All quotes βCivilization has ceased to be that delicate flower which was preserved and painstakingly cultivated in one or two sheltered areas of a soil rich in wild species ... Mankind has opted for monoculture; it is in the process of creating a mass civilization, as beetroot is grown in the mass. Henceforth, man's daily bill of fare will consist only of this one item.
Claude Levi-StraussRead
The world began without man, and it will complete itself without him.
Claude Levi-StraussRead
Nor must we forget that in science there are no final truths.
Claude Levi-StraussRead
The scientist is not a person who gives the right answers, he is one who asks the right questions.
Claude Levi-StraussRead
Our system is the height of absurdity, since we treat the culprit both as a child, so as to have the right to punish him, and as an adult, in order to deny him consolation.
Claude Levi-StraussRead
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Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear.... Do not be frightened from this inquiry from any fear of its consequences. If it ends in the belief that there is no God, you will find incitements to virtue in the comfort and pleasantness you feel in its exercise.
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The destruction of the past is perhaps the greatest of all crimes.
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In any dispute, each side thinks it's in the right and the other side is demons.
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[God] is perfect not only insofar as He is absolute perfection, defining perfection in Himself and from His singular existence and total perfection, but also because He is far beyond being so. He sets a boundary to the boundless and in His total unity He rises above all limitation. He is neither contained nor comprehended by anything. He reaches out to everything and beyond everything and does so with unfailing generosity and unstinted activity.
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