It is still not enough for language to have clarity and content... it must also have a goal and an imperative. Otherwise from language we descend to chatter, from chatter to babble and from babble to confusion.
Rene DaumalRead
Common experience is the gold reserve which confers an exchange value on the currency which words are; without this reserve of shared experiences, all our pronouncements are checks drawn on insufficient funds.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Shared experiences validate our words and thoughts; without them, our communications lack depth.
Rene Daumal's quote emphasizes the importance of common experience in giving meaning to our communication. It suggests that words, devoid of a foundation in shared understanding, become worthless, much like checks that cannot be cashed. The metaphor of a gold reserve highlights how essential it is for our expressions to be rooted in collective human experiences to carry true value.
Themes
CommunicationShared ExperienceMeaningWordsValue
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture about the importance of context in communication.
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In the mythic tradition, the Mountain is the bond between Earth and Sky. Its solitary summit reaches the sphere of eternity, and its base spreads out in manifold foothills into the world of mortals. It is the way by which man can raise himself to the divine and by which the divine can reveal itself to man.
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The door to the invisible must be visible.
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Art has a double face, of expression and illusion, just like science has a double face: the reality of error and the phantom of truth.
Rene DaumalRead
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