QuoteProject
There is no 'the truth','a truth' - truth is not one thing, or even a system. It is an increasing complexity. the pattern of the carpet is a surface. When we look closely, or when we become weavers, we learn of the tiny multiple threads unseen in the overall pattern, the knots on the underside of the carpet
Adrienne Rich
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Truth is complex and multi-faceted, not a singular concept.

Adrienne Rich's quote emphasizes that truth is not a simplistic or singular entity; rather, it is a multifaceted and intricate construct that reveals itself through deeper understanding and exploration. Just as a carpet has an intricate weave that is not visible from the surface, so too does truth require a thorough examination to uncover the underlying complexities and nuances.

Themes

TruthComplexityUnderstandingPerceptionWisdom

In practice

Example use cases

In a philosophical debate about the nature of reality, this quote can remind participants that there are multiple perspectives on what is considered true.

More from Adrienne Rich

My children cause me the most exquisite suffering of which I have any experience. It is the suffering of ambivalence: the murderous alternation between bitter resentment and raw-edged nerves, and blissful gratification and tenderness. Sometimes I seem to myself, in my feelings toward these tiny guiltless beings, a monster of selfishness and intolerance.
Adrienne RichRead
The word revolution itself has become not only a dead relic of Leftism, but a key to the deadendedness of male politics: the revolution of a wheel which returns in the end to the same place; the revolving door of a politics which has liberated women only to use them, and only within the limits of male tolerance.
Adrienne RichRead
A president cannot meaningfully honor certain token artists while the people at large are so dishonored.'”
Adrienne RichRead
It is the suffering of ambivalence: the murderous alternation between bitter resentment and raw-edged nerves, and blissful gratification and tenderness
Adrienne RichRead
It's as if, in the mother's eyes, her smile, her stroking touch, the child first reads the message:'You are there!'
Adrienne RichRead
Pride is a tricky, glorious, double-edged feeling.
Adrienne RichRead

Similar quotes

It is terrible to speak well and be wrong.
SophoclesRead
My optimism is grounded in two worlds, myself and what is about me. I demand that the world be good, and lo, it obeys. I proclaim the world good, and facts range themselves to prove my proclamation overwhelmingly true.
Helen KellerRead
Greater in battle_x000D_ than the man who would conquer_x000D_ a thousand-thousand men,_x000D_ is he who would conquer_x000D_ just one —_x000D_ himself._x000D_ Better to conquer yourself_x000D_ than others._x000D_ When you've trained yourself,_x000D_ living in constant self-control,_x000D_ neither a deva nor gandhabba,_x000D_ nor a Mara banded with Brahmas,_x000D_ could turn that triumph_x000D_ back into defeat.
Gautama BuddhaRead
Words should be used as tools of communication and not as a substitute for action
Mae WestRead
Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.
Vaclav HavelRead
This is a fact: Strength in the pursuit of peace is no vice; isolation in the pursuit of security is no virtue.
George H. W. BushRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.