The greatest pride, or the greatest despondency, is the greatest ignorance of one's self.
Baruch SpinozaRead
No one doubts but that we imagine time from the very fact that we imagine other bodies to be moved slower or faster or equally fast. We are accustomed to determine duration by the aid of some measure of motion.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Time is understood through our perception of motion and the movement of objects.
In this quote, Baruch Spinoza suggests that our concept of time is inherently tied to our observations of motion. We perceive time as a duration based on how we see objects moving, whether they are moving quickly, slowly, or at a constant pace. Thus, time is not an abstract idea but rather something grounded in the physical world and our experiences with it.
Themes
TimeMotionPerceptionPhilosophyDuration
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the nature of time during a philosophy class.
More from Baruch Spinoza
All quotes →A man is as much affected pleasurably or painfully by the image of a thing past or future as by the image of a thing present.
Baruch SpinozaRead
He who seeks to regulate everything by law is more likely to arouse vices than to reform them. It is best to grant what cannot be abolished, even though it be in itself harmful. How many evils spring from luxury, envy, avarice, drunkenness and the like, yet these are tolerated because they cannot be prevented by legal enactments.
Baruch SpinozaRead
Fear cannot be without hope nor hope without fear. [They are the two sides of a coin, so learning how to manage fear through learning, understanding, rationality, controlled imagination, preparation, mental focus (including distraction) and a gratitude attitude is very helpful.]
Baruch SpinozaRead
He who wishes to revenge injuries by reciprocal hatred will live in misery. But he who endeavors to drive away hatred by means of love, fights with pleasure and confidence; he resists equally one or many men, and scarcely needs at all the help of fortune. Those whom he conquers yield joyfully
Baruch SpinozaRead
To give aid to every poor man is far beyond the reach and power of every man. Care of the poor is incumbent on society as a whole.
Baruch SpinozaRead
Similar quotes
You cannot see what I see because you see what you see. You cannot know what I know because you know what you know. What I see and what I know cannot be added to what you see and what you know because they are not of the same kind. Neither can it replace what you see and what you know, because that would be to replace you yourself." "Hang on, can I write this down?" said Arthur, excitedly fumbling in his pocket for a pencil.
Douglas AdamsRead
I have always thought the actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts.
John LockeRead
Only the shallow know themselves.
Oscar WildeRead
There are two stories for every life; the one you live & the one others tell
Mitch AlbomRead
Let us not ignore the truth among ourselves ... politically we are the aggressors and they defend themselves... The country is theirs, because they inhabit it, whereas we want to come here and settle down, and in their view we want to take away from them their country.
David Ben-GurionRead
If we look at the world with a deluded body and mind, we will think that our self is permanent. But if we practice correctly and return to our true self, we will realize that nothing is permanent
DogenRead