If the composer withholds more than we anticipate, we experience a delicious falling sensation; we feel we have been torn from a stable point on the musical ladder and thrust into the void.
Levi StraussRead
In the old days, people used to risk their lives in India or in the Americas in order to bring back products which now seem to us to have been of comically little worth.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the human tendency to value material possessions differently over time and in different contexts.
Levi Strauss highlights how historical perceptions of value can change dramatically, illustrating that items once deemed valuable enough to risk one’s life for may now seem trivial or humorous. This observation serves as a reminder of the subjective nature of value and how societal and cultural shifts can reshape our understanding of worth.
Themes
ValueWorthHistoryPerceptionSociety
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about consumerism at a philosophy club.
More from Levi Strauss
All quotes →We can understand, too, that natural species are chosen not because they are 'good to eat' but because they are 'good to think.'
Levi StraussRead
Similar quotes
Some people would claim that things like love, joy and beauty belong to a different category from science and can't be described in scientific terms, but I think they can now be explained by the theory of evolution.
Stephen HawkingRead
Things happen, people change,' is what Amanda said. For her that covered it. You wanted an explanation, and ending that would assign blame and dish up justice. You considered violence and you considered reconciliation . But what you are left with is a premonition of the way your life will fade behind you, like a book you have read too quickly, leaving a dwindling trail of images and emotions, until all you can remember is a name.
Jay McinerneyRead
For neither good nor evil can last for ever; and so it follows that as evil has lasted a long time, good must now be close at hand.
Miguel De CervantesRead
You see, the outcome of the battle is unimportant. What matters is the chaos, and the slaughter.
Neil GaimanRead
Conscience is but a word that cowards use, devised at first to keep the strong in awe
William ShakespeareRead
The most dangerous of devotions, in my opinion, is the one endemic to Christianity: I was not born to be of this world. With a second life waiting, suffering can be endured - especially in other people. The natural environment can be used up. Enemies of the faith can be savaged and suicidal martyrdom praised.
E. O. WilsonRead