Secrecy involves a tension which, at the moment of revelation, finds its release.
Georg SimmelRead
Discretion is nothing other than the sense of justice with respect to the sphere of the intimate contents of life.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Discretion involves understanding and respecting the personal aspects of life that require justice.
In this quote, Georg Simmel emphasizes the importance of discretion as a moral and ethical consideration in handling private matters. He suggests that true discretion is not merely a matter of withholding information, but rather a deep understanding of justice that pertains to the personal and intimate dimensions of life, reflecting a balance between respect for privacy and moral responsibility.
Themes
DiscretionJusticeIntimacyEthicsPrivacy
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about maintaining confidentiality in relationships, this quote could illustrate the importance of discretion.
More from Georg Simmel
All quotes βSecrecy is thus, so to speak, a transition stadium between being and not-being.
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Music and love are the only accomplishments of humanity which do not, in an absolute sense, have to be called attempts with unsuitable means.
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In the immediate as well as the symbolic sense, in the physical as well as the intellectual sense, we are at any moment those who separate the connected, or connect the separate.
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For the division of labor demands from the individual an ever more one-sided accomplishment, and the greatest advance in a one-sided pursuit only too frequently means dearth to the personality of the individual.
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By my existence I am nothing more than an empty place, an outline,that is reserved within being in general. Given with it, though, is the duty to fill in this empty place. That is my life.
Georg SimmelRead
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