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Prejudice and self-sufficiency naturally proceed from inexperience of the world, and ignorance of mankind.
Joseph Addison
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Prejudice and a reliance on oneself arise from a lack of worldly experience and understanding of others.

In this quote, Joseph Addison highlights how a limited understanding of the world and human nature can lead to biases and an overestimation of one's self-reliance. By emphasizing the importance of experience and knowledge, he suggests that true wisdom comes from exposure to diverse perspectives and a deeper understanding of humanity, which can help to mitigate prejudice and cultivate a more collaborative approach to life.

Themes

PrejudiceSelf-SufficiencyExperienceUnderstandingWisdom

In practice

Example use cases

During a seminar on diversity, one could use this quote to highlight the importance of understanding different backgrounds.

More from Joseph Addison

Unbounded courage and compassion join'd, Tempering each other in the victor's mind, Alternately proclaim him good and great, And make the hero and the man complete.
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Good nature is more agreeable in conversation than wit and gives a certain air to the countenance which is more amiable than beauty.
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Ridicule is generally made use of to laugh men out of virtue and good sense, by attacking everything praiseworthy in human life.
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Admiration is a very short lived passion that immediately decays upon growing familiar with its object, unless it still be fed with fresh discoveries, and kept alive by a new perpetual succession of miracles rising up to its view.
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It is impossible for us, who live in the latter ages of the world, to make observations in criticism, morality, or in any art or science, which have not been touched upon by others. We have little else left us but to represent the common sense of mankind in more strong, more beautiful, or more uncommon lights.
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An ostentatious man will rather relate a blunder or an absurdity he has committed, than be debarred from talking of his own dear person.
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A little wisdom, now and then

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