My principal motive is the belief that we can still make admirable sense of our lives even if we cease to have... an ambition of transcendence.
Richard RortyRead
There is nothing deep down inside us except what we have put there ourselves.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Our inner selves are shaped by our own actions and choices.
Richard Rorty's quote suggests that our true essence and identity are not inherent or given, but rather constructed by our experiences, beliefs, and choices. It emphasizes personal responsibility in creating oneβs own meaning and understanding of the self, revealing that the depths of our being are formed through the contributions we consciously decide to place within ourselves.
Themes
IdentitySelfPhilosophyResponsibilityChoices
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about self-discovery.
More from Richard Rorty
All quotes βTo say that truth is not out there is simply to say that where there are no sentences there is no truth, that sentences are elements of human languages, and that languages are human creations.~ The suggestion that truth~ is out there is a legacy of an age in which the world was seen as the creation of a being who had a language his own.
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The world does not speak. Only we do. The world can, once we have programmed ourselves with a language, cause us to hold beliefs. But it cannot propose a language for us to speak. Only other human beings can do that.
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Philosophy makes progress not by becoming more rigorous but by becoming more imaginative.
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National pride is to countries what self-respect is to individuals: a necessary condition for self-improvement.
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A talent for speaking differently, rather than for arguing well is the chief instrument of cultural change.
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