“ A stupid man does not observe that persons, who apparently act independently of each other, are really in collusion; he is therefore easily mystified, and outwitted; he does not discern the hidden motives of proffered advice or expressions of opinion, &c. ”
Arthur Schopenhauer, The World as Will and Representation (1819). copy citation
Author | Arthur Schopenhauer |
---|---|
Source | The World as Will and Representation |
Topic | advice expression |
Date | 1819 |
Language | English |
Reference | |
Note | Translated by R. B. Haldane and J. Kemp |
Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/38427/38427-h/38427-h.html |
Context
“A stupid person has no insight into the connection of natural phenomena, either when they follow their own course, or when they are intentionally combined, i.e. , are applied to machinery. Such a man readily believes in magic and miracles. A stupid man does not observe that persons, who apparently act independently of each other, are really in collusion; he is therefore easily mystified, and outwitted; he does not discern the hidden motives of proffered advice or expressions of opinion, &c. But it is always just one thing that he lacks—keenness, rapidity, ease in applying the law of causality, i.e. , power of understanding. The greatest, and, in this reference, the most instructive example of stupidity I ever met with, was the case of a totally imbecile boy of about eleven years of age, in an asylum.”
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