It takes a wonderful brain and exquisite senses to produce a few stupid ideas.
George SantayanaRead
Philosophers are very severe towards other philosophers because they expect too much.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Philosophers critique each other harshly due to their high expectations of one another's reasoning and insights.
In this quote, George Santayana highlights the rigorous nature of philosophical discourse, suggesting that philosophers hold one another to incredibly high standards. This expectation can lead to severe judgments, as each philosopher strives for intellectual rigor and clarity, often becoming overly critical of peers when those standards are not met.
Themes
PhilosophyCritiqueExpectationUnderstandingDiscourse
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the nature of philosophical inquiry, one could reference this quote to illustrate the challenges philosophers face in their dialogues.
More from George Santayana
All quotes βThe working of great institutions is mainly the result of a vast mass of routine, petty malice, self interest, carelessness and sheer mistake. Only a residual fraction is thought.
George SantayanaRead
There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval. The dark background which death supplies brings out the tender colours of life in all their purity.
George SantayanaRead
Not to believe in love is a great sign of dullness. There are some people so indirect and lumbering that they think all real affection rests on circumstantial evidence.
George SantayanaRead
To feel beauty is a better thing than to understand how we come to feel it. To have imagination and taste, to love the best, to be carried by the contemplation of nature to a vivid faith in the ideal, all this is more, a great deal more, than any science can hope to be.
George SantayanaRead
The vital straining towards an ideal, definite but latent, when it dominates a whole life, may express that ideal more fully than could the best chosen words.
George SantayanaRead
Similar quotes
Do something for somebody everyday for which you do not get paid.
Albert SchweitzerRead
As soon as man does not take his existence for granted, but beholds it as something unfathomably mysterious, thought begins.
Albert SchweitzerRead
No matter how many toys we amass we leave them behind when we die, just as we leave a broken environment, an economy that only benefits the richest, and a legacy of empowering greed over goodness. It is now time to commit to following a new path.
John PerkinsRead
It is through the tender austerity of our troubles that the Son of Man comes knocking. In every event He seeks an entrance to my heart, yes, even in my most helpless, futile, fruitless moments. The very cracks and empty crannies of my life, my perplexities and hurts and botched-up jobs, He wants to fill with Himself, His joy, His life...He urges me to learn of Him: 'I am gentle and humble in heart.
Elisabeth ElliotRead
Memories and thoughts age, just as people do. But certain thoughts can never age, and certain memories can never fade.
Haruki MurakamiRead
The Vedas give information on various subjects. They have come together and form one book. And in later times, when other subjects were separated from religion - when astronomy and astrology were taken out of religion - these subjects, being connected with the Vedas and being ancient, were considered very holy.
Swami VivekanandaRead