To learn a new language is, therefore, always a sort of spiritual adventure; it is like a journey of discovery in which we find a new world.
Ernst CassirerRead
Man is always inclined to regard the small circle in which he lives as the center of the world and to make his particular, private life the standard of the universe and to make his particular, private life the standard of the universe. But he must give up this vain pretense, this petty provincial way of thinking and judging.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Humans often see their personal experiences as the most significant, but should strive for a broader perspective.
This quote by Ernst Cassirer highlights the tendency of individuals to view their immediate surroundings and personal lives as the most important aspects of existence. It warns against the narrow-mindedness of equating one's limited experiences to universal truths, encouraging a more expansive viewpoint that acknowledges the richness and diversity of human experience beyond one's own life.
Themes
PerspectiveUnderstandingLifeExperienceUniverse
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about empathy, one might quote this to illustrate the importance of understanding different life experiences.
More from Ernst Cassirer
All quotes →Knowledge of the name gives him who knows it mastery even over the being and will of the god.
Ernst CassirerRead
Similar quotes
For there are two possible reactions to social ostracism - either a man emerges determined to be better, purer, and kindlier or he goes bad, challenges the world and does even worse things. The last is by far the commonest reaction to stigma.
John SteinbeckRead
For what are myths if not the imposing of order on phenomena that do not possess order in themselves? And all myths, however they differ from philosophical systems and scientific theories, share this with them, that they negate the principle of randomness in the world.
Stanislaw LemRead
I believe in an individual soul which travels through eternity. This life is far from all there is--in fact, it is a minute part, simply an antechamber, a deciding place where we choose the light from the dark, where we come to know what we truly value.
Anne PerryRead
If the mind, that rules the body, ever so far forgets itself as to trample on its slave, the slave is never generous enough to forgive the injury, but will rise and smite the oppressor.
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowRead
Man lives in only one small room of the enormous house of his consciousness.
William JamesRead
Let the Palestinians run their affairs: create a situation in which no Israeli soldier will have to maintain public order, whether in Gaza or the West Bank. Let's give it to the Palestinians, as long as there is security for us. No more occupying another people.
Yitzhak RabinRead