“ Reasonable and practical men refuse to be imposed upon by the possible, for the simple ground that it is possible only. ”
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Science of Logic (1816). copy citation
| Author | Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel |
|---|---|
| Source | Science of Logic |
| Topic | |
| Date | 1816 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by William Wallace |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/55108/55108-h/55108-h.htm |
Context
“In practical life too it is no uncommon thing to see ill-will and indolence slink behind the category of possibility, in order to escape definite obligations. To such conduct the same remarks apply as were made in connexion with the law [Pg 262] of sufficient ground. Reasonable and practical men refuse to be imposed upon by the possible, for the simple ground that it is possible only. They stick to the actual (not meaning by that word merely whatever immediately is now and here) . Many of the proverbs of common life express the same contempt for what is abstractly possible. 'A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.'”
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