My principal motive is the belief that we can still make admirable sense of our lives even if we cease to have... an ambition of transcendence.
Richard RortyRead
To say that truth is not out there is simply to say that where there are no sentences there is no truth, that sentences are elements of human languages, and that languages are human creations.~ The suggestion that truth~ is out there is a legacy of an age in which the world was seen as the creation of a being who had a language his own.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Truth is a construct of human language, not something existing independently in the world.
This quote by Richard Rorty explores the idea that truth is intrinsically linked to human languages and communication. It suggests that the concept of an objective truth 'out there' is a remnant of a worldview that interpreted the universe as a creation of a divine language, highlighting the importance of our linguistic frameworks in shaping our understanding of reality.
Themes
TruthLanguagePhilosophyHuman CreationReality
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the nature of reality and perception, this quote could be used to illustrate how our understanding is shaped by language.
More from Richard Rorty
All quotes →The world does not speak. Only we do. The world can, once we have programmed ourselves with a language, cause us to hold beliefs. But it cannot propose a language for us to speak. Only other human beings can do that.
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Philosophy makes progress not by becoming more rigorous but by becoming more imaginative.
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National pride is to countries what self-respect is to individuals: a necessary condition for self-improvement.
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A talent for speaking differently, rather than for arguing well is the chief instrument of cultural change.
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There is nothing deep down inside us except what we have put there ourselves.
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