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What really fascinates me is this need that is so strong now that if you read a work of the imagination you instantly have to say, 'Oh, what this really is is so-and-so,' reducing it to a simple formula.
Doris Lessing
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote highlights our inclination to simplify complex ideas into basic concepts.

Doris Lessing's quote reflects on the human tendency to seek simplicity in the vastness of imagination and creativity. It suggests that when confronted with a work of art or imaginative writing, there is a powerful urge to categorize and reduce it to a formulaic understanding, perhaps as a way to make sense of it. This speaks to a broader theme in philosophy about the relationship between reality and our perceptions, showing how we often struggle to grasp the richness of creative expression and instead opt for superficial summaries that fail to capture its essence.

Themes

ImaginationSimplicityCreativityInterpretationPhilosophy

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used in a discussion about the complexities of artistic expression.

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The World War I, I'm a child of World War I. And I really know about the children of war. Because both my parents were both badly damaged by the war. My father, physically, and both mentally and emotionally. So, I know exactly what it's like to be brought up in an atmosphere of a continual harping on the war.
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You should write, first of all, to please yourself. You shouldn't care a damn about anybody else at all. But writing can't be a way of life - the important part of writing is living. You have to live in such a way that your writing emerges from it.
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