The form of observation , which underlines all speech and language development, always expresses a peculiar spiritual character , a special way of conceiving and apprehending. The difference between the several languages, therefore, is not a matter of different sounds and marks, but of different world conceptions.

Ernst Cassirer
About This Quote

This quote is a great reminder that words can take on a different meaning when they are used in a different culture. For example, the word “love” can mean many different things to people from different cultures. The way each person uses the word to describe their emotions, thoughts and feelings will be different. One might say “I love you” in a romantic context while another says it in a more friendly manner.

In fact, this idea of how words have different meanings is also called Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis or Linguistic Relativity . This hypothesis states that the language we speak affects how we think and how we see the world around us.

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  1. The form of observation , which underlines all speech and language development, always expresses a peculiar spiritual character , a special way of conceiving and apprehending. The difference between the several languages, therefore, is not a matter of different sounds and marks, but of different...
  2. ..it would be a very naive sort of dogmatism to assume that there exists an absolute reality of things which is the same for all living beings. Reality is not a unique and homogeneous thing; it is immensely diversified, having as many different schemes and...
  3. Absolute trust in the reality of things begins to be shaken as the problem of truth enters upon the scene. The moment man ceases merely to live in and with reality and demands a knowledge of this reality, he moves into a new and fundamentally...
  4. Such is the strange situation in which modern philosophy finds itself. No former age was ever in such a favourable position with regard to the sources of our knowledge of human nature. Psychology, ethnology, anthropology, and history have amassed an astoundingly rich and constantly increasing...
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