At the very best, a mind enclosed in language is in prison. It is limited to the number of relations which words can make simultaneously present to it; and remains in ignorance of thoughts which involve the combination of a greater number. These thoughts are outside language, they are unformulable, although they are perfectly rigorous and clear and although every one of the relations they involve is capable of precise expression in words. So the mind moves in a closed space of partial truth, which may be larger or smaller, without ever being able so much as to glance at what is outside. .Simone Weil
About This Quote
In a closed space of partial truth, language is our prison. We are limited to the number of relations which words can make simultaneously present to it. In this quote, Rene Descartes is referring to concepts, but it also applies to the ideas we use to construct those concepts. Language thus acts as a wall around our mind, preventing us from understanding a greater number of truths that cannot be expressed in language.
In other words, our minds are not capable of seeing the whole picture. We see only what is directly in front of us and we tend to ignore what lies beyond that. For example, we do not know how many planets there are in the universe, even though there are thousands of them.
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