Millions of books written on every conceivable subject by all these great minds and in the end, none of them knows anything more about the big questions of life than I do ... I read Socrates. This guy knocked off little Greek boys. What the Hell's he got to teach me? And Nietzsche, with his theory of eternal recurrence. He said that the life we lived we're gonna live over again the exact same way for eternity. Great. That means I'll have to sit through the Ice Capades again. It's not worth it. And Freud, another great pessimist. I was in analysis for years and nothing happened. My poor analyst got so frustrated, the guy finally put in a salad bar. Maybe the poets are right. Maybe love is the only answer.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The speaker mocks great thinkers for failing to answer life’s big questions, favoring poetry’s simpler answer.
- In plain terms
- Philosophers haven’t solved life’s mysteries, maybe love is the answer.
- What can you take from it?
- Intellectual answers may not satisfy existential curiosity.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Who do you trust for life’s answers?
- Is love the only answer?
Another view
It dismisses philosophy without engaging its actual value.
More from Woody Allen
Sex alleviates tension. Love causes it.
Permalink to quote #5 What a world. It could be so wonderful if it wasn't for certain people.
Permalink to quote #7 To you I'm an atheist; to God, I'm the Loyal Opposition.
Permalink to quote #4
Related quotes
What is the world at its best but a little round field of the moving pictures with two walking together in it?
O. HenryO. Henry quote #1 Man was formed for society.
William BlackstoneWilliam Blackstone quote #2 Ah, when to the heart of man Was it ever less than a treason To go with the drift of things, To yield with a grace to reason, And bow and accept the end Of a l…
Robert FrostRobert Frost quote #2