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World is supposed to mean something that's self-contained. but nothing is self-contained.
Don Delillo
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote reflects on the concept that nothing exists in isolation; everything is connected and interdependent.

Don Delillo's quote suggests that the idea of a 'world' as a self-contained entity is a misconception. It implies that all things, experiences, and ideas are intricately linked and that recognizing these connections is essential to understanding our existence. In a broader sense, it challenges the notion of separateness, urging a perspective that acknowledges the complexity and interrelatedness of life.

Themes

InterdependenceConnectionPhilosophyExistenceWorld

In practice

Example use cases

In a philosophical discussion about the nature of existence, this quote could illustrate the idea of interconnectedness.

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[I]n the American soul there is a lonely individual standing in a vast landscape. 
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