Famous quote by Wilhelm Dilthey

Mobile Desktop
To attempt this would be like seeing without eyes or directing the gaze of knowledge behind ones own eye.
Like

"To attempt this would be like seeing without eyes or directing the gaze of knowledge behind one's own eye. Modern science can acknowledge no other than this epistemological stand-point"

- Wilhelm Dilthey

About this Quote

This quote by Wilhelm Dilthey is referring to the concept that understanding is limited to what we can observe and experience. He is suggesting that trying to gain understanding beyond what we can observe and experience is difficult, as it would be like trying to see without eyes or looking behind one's own eye. He is stressing that modern-day science can only accept understanding that is based on what we can observe and experience. This quote is a pointer that understanding is limited to what we can observe and experience, and that trying to get understanding beyond that is futile. Dilthey's quote is a reminder that we should know the constraints of our knowledge and aim to get more knowledge within those limits.

About the Author

Germany Flag This quote is written / told by Wilhelm Dilthey between November 19, 1833 and October 1, 1911. He/she was a famous Historian from Germany. The author also have 19 other quotes.

Go to author profile

Similar Quotes

Small: It is not possible to eat me without insisting that I sing praises of my devourer? - Fyodor Dostoevsky
Fyodor Dostoevsky
"It is not possible to eat me without insisting that I sing praises of my devourer?"
Fyodor Dostoevsky, Novelist
Small: We cannot hold a torch to light anothers path without brightening our own - Ben Sweetland
Ben Sweetland
"We cannot hold a torch to light another's path without brightening our own"
Ben Sweetland, Author
Small: Democracy is the art and science of running the circus from the monkey cage - H. L. Mencken
H. L. Mencken
"Democracy is the art and science of running the circus from the monkey cage"
H. L. Mencken, Writer
Small: Education is a private matter between the person and the world of knowledge and experience, and has little to
"Education is a private matter between the person and the world of knowledge and experience, and has little to do with school or college"
Lillian Smith, Novelist
Small: Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards - Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
"Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards"
Benjamin Franklin, Politician
Small: What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child - George B
George Bernard Shaw
"What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child"
George Bernard Shaw, Dramatist
Small: It is a useless life that is not consecrated to a great ideal. It is like a stone wasted on the field without
Jose Rizal
"It is a useless life that is not consecrated to a great ideal. It is like a stone wasted on the field without becoming a part of any edifice"
Jose Rizal, Writer
Small: America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between - Oscar Wild
Oscar Wilde
"America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between"
Oscar Wilde, Dramatist
Small: The eyes have one language everywhere - George Herbert
George Herbert
"The eyes have one language everywhere"
George Herbert, Poet
Small: Women, cant live with them, cant live without them - Desiderius Erasmus
"Women, can't live with them, can't live without them"
Desiderius Erasmus, Philosopher