The Enlightenment, the Age of Reason, is seen as the beginning of modern depravity.
Umberto EcoRead
When the writer (or the artist in general) says he has worked without giving any thought to the rules of the process, he simply means he was working without realizing he knew the rules.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that true creativity sometimes occurs unconsciously, even when the creator is familiar with the rules of their craft.
Umberto Eco highlights the idea that artists and writers often create without actively considering the established rules of their discipline. This implies that deep, intuitive knowledge can guide their work, leading to authentic expressions of creativity. When they claim to ignore the rules, it may be because their familiarity with them allows for a natural flow of creativity that transcends formal constraints.
Themes
CreativityArtIntuitionRulesExpression
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about artistic freedom, one might say, 'As Umberto Eco pointed out, true creativity can come from instinct rather than strict adherence to rules.'
More from Umberto Eco
All quotes →I think that at a certain age, say fifteen or sixteen, poetry is like masturbation. But later in life good poets burn their early poetry, and bad poets publish it. Thankfully I gave up rather quickly.
Umberto EcoRead
But why do some people support [the heretics]?" "Because it serves their purposes, which concern the faith rarely, and more often the conquest of power." "Is that why the church of Rome accuses all its adversaries of heresy?" "That is why, and that is also why it recognizes as orthodoxy any heresy it can bring back under its own control or must accept because the heresy has become too strong.
Umberto EcoRead
You die, but most of what you have accumulated will not be lost; you are leaving a message in a bottle.
Umberto EcoRead
"Then we are living in a place abandoned by God," I said, disheartened. "Have you found any places where God would have felt at home?" William asked me, looking down from his great height.
Umberto EcoRead
The lunatic is all idée fixe, and whatever he comes across confirms his lunacy. You can tell him by the liberties he takes with common sense, by his flashes of inspiration, and by the fact that sooner or later he brings up the Templars.
Umberto EcoRead
Similar quotes
O why do I ever let anyone read what I write! Every time I have to go through a breakfast with a letter of criticism I swear I will write for my own praise or blame in future. It is a misery.
Virginia WoolfRead
In my time since moving to the United States, I've found that there is a dearth of great writing for black people. There are stories that depict us in a way that isn't cliched or niche, and that a white person, a Chinese person, an Indian person can watch and relate to. Those are the stories I want to be a part of telling.
David OyelowoRead
If the world were clear, art would not exist.
Albert CamusRead
The object of art is not to make salable pictures. It is to save yourself.
Sherwood AndersonRead
It's a slight stretch of the imagination but most people are alike in most ways so I've never had any trouble identifying with the character that I'm playing.
Jack NicholsonRead
I live in a country where music has very little success, though, exclusive of those who have forsaken us, we have still admirable professors and, more particularly, composers of great solidity, knowledge, and taste.
Wolfgang Amadeus MozartRead