Civilization consists in giving something an unfitting name, then dream about the result. And indeed the false name and the real dream create a new reality. The object really becomes another, because we turned it into another one. We manufacture realities.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Civilization is creating fake names for things to dream about them. It argues that language and dreams construct our reality.
- In plain terms
- We create reality by renaming things and dreaming about them.
- What can you take from it?
- Language and belief build the world we see.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What is real?
- How much is made up?
Another view
It risks denying objective reality entirely.
More from Fernando Pessoa
I reread? I lied! I don't dare to reread. I cannot reread. What's the point, for me, in rereading?
Permalink to quote #57 The consciousness of life's unconsciousness is intelligence's oldest tax.
Permalink to quote #59 Everyone has his vanity, and each one's vanity is his forgetting that there are others with an equal soul.
Permalink to quote #56
Related quotes
'Every child is special.' Boy, they said it over and over, as if to convince themselves, 'every child is special', and I kept saying, 'fuuuck you!' Every child…
George CarlinGeorge Carlin quote #59 Cloud cuckoo land
AristophanesAristophanes quote #1 The whole concept of this band is to present the ugly truth about society - warts and all, and let the chips fall where they may.
Marilyn MansonMarilyn Manson quote #3