The Enlightenment, the Age of Reason, is seen as the beginning of modern depravity.
Umberto EcoRead
For, I must tell you, in this world where today all lose their minds over many & wondrous Machines - some of which, alas, you can see also in this Siege - I construct Aristotelian Machines, that allow anyone to see with Words.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Umberto Eco highlights the importance of words in understanding and interpreting the complexities of the modern world dominated by technology.
In this quote, Umberto Eco reflects on the overwhelming presence of technology and machines in contemporary society. He emphasizes his aim to create 'Aristotelian Machines'—works that articulate thoughts and ideas through language, enabling individuals to perceive and make sense of the chaotic environment around them. Eco suggests that while machines can captivate and distract, true understanding is achieved through the power of words and thoughtful discourse.
Themes
WordsMachinesUnderstandingTechnologyArt
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture about the impact of technology on communication, this quote can be used to stress the significance of preserving the art of language.
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
Poetry and progress are like two ambitious men who hate one another with an instinctive hatred, and when they meet upon the same road, one of them has to give place.
Charles BaudelaireRead
I had two major activities as a child. I was trying to put on shows with kids in my street, or I was drawing. Actually, what I'm doing now is exactly what I was doing then. Either I'm drawing, or I'm gathering people for a common project. The only difference is that now they are paying me for that.
Marjane SatrapiRead
What makes me write is the rhythm of the world around me - the rhythms of the language, of course, but also of the land, the wind, the sky, other lives. Before the words comes the rhythm - that seems to me to be of the essence.
John BurnsideRead
Movies and television have a way of using a soundtrack not just to create a mood but to literalize it. You could always count on a master class in splitting the difference between artistry and obviousness during the so-called Blaxploitation era.
Wesley MorrisRead
Dont call me a rapper, I’m an artist. Update your minds. I ‘INCORPORATE’ hip hop elements because I am part MC, but I am all things musical. All things melodically beautiful.
Kid CudiRead
We're told that independent film lovers... folks that are used to watching art house films, won't come out and see a film with black people in it - I've been told that in rooms, big rooms, studio rooms, and I know that's not true.
Ava DuvernayRead