QuoteProject
Am I alive and a reality, or am I but a dream?
Edgar Rice Burroughs
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote questions the nature of existence and reality, considering whether life is tangible or merely an illusion.

In this quote, Edgar Rice Burroughs explores the complex and often philosophical distinction between reality and perception. He prompts the reader to ponder the essence of existence, encouraging a contemplation of whether our experiences and consciousness are truly authentic or simply figments of imaginationβ€”a common theme in philosophy that invites deeper reflection on what it means to 'be' in the world.

Themes

RealityExistenceDreamPhilosophySelf-Awareness

In practice

Example use cases

During a philosophical discussion about consciousness at a gathering.

More from Edgar Rice Burroughs

It must be that I am dreaming, and that I shall awaken in a moment to see that awful knife descending toward my heart- kiss me, dear, just once before I lose my dream forever." -Jane-
Edgar Rice BurroughsRead
Yes, I was a fool, but I was in love, and though I was suffering the greatest misery I had ever known I would not have had it otherwise for all the riches of Barsoom. Such is love, and such are lovers wherever love is known.
Edgar Rice BurroughsRead
It never seems to occur to some people, that, like beauty, a sense of humor may sometimes be fatal.
Edgar Rice BurroughsRead
No fiction is worth reading except for entertainment. If it entertains and is clean, it is good literature, or its kind. If it forms the habit of reading, in people who might not read otherwise, it is the best literature.
Edgar Rice BurroughsRead
This was life! Ah, how he loved it! Civilization held nothing like this in its narrow and circumscribed sphere, hemmed in by restrictions and conventionalities. Even clothes were a hindrance and a nuisance. At last he was free. He had not realized what a prisoner he had been.
Edgar Rice BurroughsRead
I shall have to believe even though I cannot understand.
Edgar Rice BurroughsRead

Similar quotes

What? Was man made a wheel-work to wind up, And be discharged, and straight wound up anew? No! grown, his growth lasts; taught, he ne'er forgets: May learn a thousand things, not twice the same.
Robert BrowningRead
This uneasiness comes over me from time to time, and I feel as if I've somehow been pieced together from two different puzzles.
Haruki MurakamiRead
You can truly grieve for every officer who's been lost in the line of duty in this country, and still be troubled by cases of police overreach.
Jon StewartRead
No rock so hard but that a little wave may beat admission in a thousand years.
Alfred Lord TennysonRead
I suspect that religion is a necessary evil in the childhood of our particular species. And that's one of the interesting things about contact with other intelligences: we could see what role, if any, religion plays in their development. I think that religion may be some random by-product of mammalian reproduction. If that's true, would non-mammalian aliens have a religion?
Arthur C. ClarkeRead
It is a ridiculous thing for a man not to fly from his own badness, which is indeed possible, but to fly from other men's badness, which is impossible.
Marcus AureliusRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.