An aphorism can never be the whole truth; it is either a half-truth or a truth-and-a-half.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Aphorisms capture partial truths rather than complete ones.
- In plain terms
- Short sayings are never the whole truth.
- What can you take from it?
- Seek full context before accepting a maxim.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- When has a quote misled you?
- How do you test a claim?
Another view
Some aphorisms do capture essential truths effectively.
More from Karl Kraus
Love and art do not embrace what is beautiful but what is made beautiful by this embrace.
Permalink to quote #3 Sexuality poorly repressed unsettles some families; well repressed, it unsettles the whole world.
Permalink to quote #5 What is the Ninth Symphony compared to a Tin Pan Alley hit played on a hurdy-gurdy and a memory?
Permalink to quote #2
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