The lore of our fathers is a fabric of sentences. In our…
“The lore of our fathers is a fabric of sentences. In our hands it develops and changes, through more or less arbitrary and deliberate revisions and additions of our own, more or less directly occasioned by the continuing stimulation of our sense organs. It is a pale gray lore, black with fact and white with convention. But I have found no substantial reasons for concluding that there are any quite black threads in it, or any white ones.”
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
Our inherited knowledge is a mutable tapestry shaped by perception and revision, lacking clear boundaries between fact and convention.
In simple terms: Knowledge changes with perception and revision.
Key Takeaway
Question assumptions about factual versus conventional knowledge.
Themes
philosophy
epistemology
language
culture
truth
Mood
reflective
inquisitive
Type
analytical
philosophical
When to use this quote
- academic research
- teaching
- media analysis
- personal reflection
- public discourse
Key Concepts
constructivism
semantic holism
relativism
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you differentiate fact from convention?
- What role do senses play in shaping knowledge?
A Different Perspective
It may overlook the stability of some core facts.