Secrecy involves a tension which, at the moment of revelation, finds its release.
Georg SimmelRead
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the duality of human perception and action in both tangible and abstract realms.
Georg Simmel's quote emphasizes the dynamic nature of human experience, where we constantly navigate between connecting disparate elements and separating those that are inherently linked. This interplay occurs on both physical and intellectual levels, suggesting that our understanding and interaction with the world are shaped by how we choose to categorize and perceive relationships between different entities.
Themes
PerceptionConnectionUnderstandingRelationshipsReality
In practice
Example use cases
In a philosophy class discussing human perception and reality.
More from Georg Simmel
All quotes →Secrecy 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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Discretion is nothing other than the sense of justice with respect to the sphere of the intimate contents of life.
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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.
Georg SimmelRead
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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