--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If engineering cannot tell us what our…" description: "\"“If engineering cannot tell us what our houses should look like, nor in a pluralistic and non-deferential world can precedent or tradition, we must be ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f6/alain-de-botton-221_engineering_if-engineering-cannot-tell-us-what-our-h_112300.jpg" --- # If engineering cannot tell us what our houses should look… ![“If engineering cannot tell us what our houses should look like, nor in a pluralistic and non-deferential world can precedent or tradition, we must be free to pursue all stylistic options. We should acknowledge that the question of what is beautiful is both impossible to elucidate and shameful and…” quote by Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f6/alain-de-botton-221_engineering_if-engineering-cannot-tell-us-what-our-h_112300.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f6/alain-de-botton-221_engineering_if-engineering-cannot-tell-us-what-our-h_112300.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f6/alain-de-botton-221_engineering_if-engineering-cannot-tell-us-what-our-h_112300.jpg) > ““If engineering cannot tell us what our houses should look like, nor in a pluralistic and non-deferential world can precedent or tradition, we must be free to pursue all stylistic options. We should acknowledge that the question of what is beautiful is both impossible to elucidate and shameful and even undemocratic to mention.”” [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker claims that engineering cannot dictate aesthetics, and that beauty is an elusive, undemocratic concept, urging freedom to explore all styles. **In simple terms:** Beauty is undefinable; explore any style. Key Takeaway Aesthetic judgment is subjective and politically charged. Themes aesthetics subjectivity design freedom philosophy Mood thoughtful provocative Type philosophical design When to use this quote - architectural design meetings - artistic collaborations - public space planning Key Concepts aesthetic relativism democratic discourse Practical Applications - Encourage inclusive design workshops - Question traditional beauty standards Questions to Reflect On - How does the notion of 'beauty' shape public spaces? - Can a society agree on any aesthetic principles? A Different Perspective Dismisses the value of shared aesthetic criteria that can foster communal identity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Engineering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engineering/) [Houses Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/houses-look-1025564/) [Pluralistic Non](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pluralistic-non-1329580/) [Question Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/question-beautiful-500114/) [Stylistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stylistic/) [Undemocratic Mention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/undemocratic-mention-1329579/) ## Related quotes > [“Q What makes a question “beautiful”? A beautiful question reframes an issue and forces you to look at it in a different way. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/q-what-makes-a-question-beautiful-a-beautiful-question-reframes-an/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In the word question, there is a beautiful word - quest. I love that word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/in-the-word-question-there-is-a-beautiful-word-quest-i-love-that-word-2/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“I found myself whispering, "Do you think we'll ever discover all the secrets of the universe?" I was surprised to hear Susie's voice answering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/i-found-myself-whispering-do-you-think-we-ll-ever-discover-all-the/) [Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) > [“No; we have been as usual asking the wrong question. It does not matter a hoot what the mockingbird on the chimney is singing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/no-we-have-been-as-usual-asking-the-wrong-question-it-does-not-matter-2/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [ \[If you want to\] ask the question what is beautiful? It's the life that you lead. It's the life that all women lead. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlize-theron/if-you-want-to-ask-the-question-what-is-beautiful-it-s-the-life-that/) [Charlize Theron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlize-theron/) > [The real and proper question is: why is it beautiful?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-real-and-proper-question-is-why-is-it-beautiful/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [No; we have been as usual asking the wrong question. It does not matter a hoot what the mockingbird on the chimney is singing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/no-we-have-been-as-usual-asking-the-wrong-question-it-does-not-matter/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [When I go to another country, I try to be a big sponge and look at what the houses may look like and what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-brett/when-i-go-to-another-country-i-try-to-be-a-big-sponge-and-look-at/) [Jan Brett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-brett/) > [I like Prague, it's strange. All the houses you see look like Disney sets, with their bright colours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/udo-kier/i-like-prague-it-s-strange-all-the-houses-you-see-look-like-disney/) [Udo Kier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/udo-kier/) > [“The weird thing about houses is that they almost look like nothing is happening inside of them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/the-weird-thing-about-houses-is-that-they-almost-look-like-nothing-is/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [The weird thing about houses is that they almost always look like nothing is happening inside of them, even though they contain most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/the-weird-thing-about-houses-is-that-they-almost-always-look-like-2/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“She has a soft spot for houses that look sensible until you get inside.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-oyeyemi/she-has-a-soft-spot-for-houses-that-look-sensible-until-you-get-inside/) [Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/) > [Women view men like houses. They look for fixer-uppers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-schlessinger/women-view-men-like-houses-they-look-for-fixer-uppers/) [Laura Schlessinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-schlessinger/) > [“The weird thing about houses is that they almost always look like nothing is happening inside of them, even though they contain most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/the-weird-thing-about-houses-is-that-they-almost-always-look-like/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“We stared at the house for a while. The weird thing about houses is that they almost look like nothing is happening inside of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/we-stared-at-the-house-for-a-while-the-weird-thing-about-houses-is/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More by Alain de Botton > [“To be mature is, we're told, to move beyond possessiveness. Jealousy is for babies. The mature person knows that no one owns anyone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/to-be-mature-is-we-re-told-to-move-beyond-possessiveness-jealousy-is/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“He feared that by leaving her he would ruin her life - so he stayed, and did just that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/he-feared-that-by-leaving-her-he-would-ruin-her-life-so-he-stayed-and/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [You have to be quite heavily invested in someone to do them the honour of telling them you're annoyed with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/you-have-to-be-quite-heavily-invested-in-someone-to-do-them-the/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“The Anxiety of Sunday afternoon: your unlived lives and infinite possibility pressing upon the constraints of reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-anxiety-of-sunday-afternoon-your-unlived-lives-and-infinite/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Those who divorce aren't necessarily the most unhappy, just those neatly able to believe their misery is caused by one other person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/those-who-divorce-aren-t-necessarily-the-most-unhappy-just-those/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“We could not be fulfilled if we weren't inauthentic some of the time—inauthentic, that is, in relation to such things as our passing desires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/we-could-not-be-fulfilled-if-we-weren-t-inauthentic-some-of-the-time/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Insofar as we appreciate order, it is when we perceive it as being accompanied by complexity, when we feel that a variety of elements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/insofar-as-we-appreciate-order-it-is-when-we-perceive-it-as-being/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [I like the values associated with a medical family - common sense, being practical but also thoughtful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/i-like-the-values-associated-with-a-medical-family-common-sense-being/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Anyone who urgently needs us deserves, in the true book of love, to be our friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/anyone-who-urgently-needs-us-deserves-in-the-true-book-of-love-to-be/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“We can then recognize that we invented religions to serve two central needs which continue to this day and which secular society has not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/we-can-then-recognize-that-we-invented-religions-to-serve-two-central/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Half the ingratitude and complacency in the world down to how slowly and imperceptibly most good and bad things unfold.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/half-the-ingratitude-and-complacency-in-the-world-down-to-how-slowly/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [It is perhaps when our lives are at their most problematic that we are likely to be most receptive to beautiful things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/it-is-perhaps-when-our-lives-are-at-their-most-problematic-that-we/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Does what is praised becomes better? Does an emerald become worse if it isn't praised? And what a gold, ivory, a flower or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/does-what-is-praised-becomes-better-does-an-emerald-become-worse-if/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [The bourgeois thinkers of the eighteenth century thus turned Aristotle's formula on its head: satisfactions which the Greek philosopher had identified with leisure were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-bourgeois-thinkers-of-the-eighteenth-century-thus-turned/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Reputation matters so much only because people so seldom think for themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/reputation-matters-so-much-only-because-people-so-seldom-think-for/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) [Explore all 850 Alain de Botton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) ## More Engineering quotes > [The bones of my architecture are very much related to the structure, to the physical fact of how a building can stand up; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/the-bones-of-my-architecture-are-very-much-related-to-the-structure/) [Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/) > [“Nothing is easier than yesterday's solutions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-sperry/nothing-is-easier-than-yesterday-s-solutions/) [Roger Sperry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-sperry/) > [Design is not making beauty, beauty emerges from selection, affinities, integration, love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-kahn/design-is-not-making-beauty-beauty-emerges-from-selection-affinities/) [Louis Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-kahn/) > [Batley and Spen has a high proportion of people working in manufacturing, and we can boast the full range of industries, including high-skilled, precision…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-cox/batley-and-spen-has-a-high-proportion-of-people-working-in/) [Jo Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-cox/) > [I design some of my own clothes now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiernan-shipka/i-design-some-of-my-own-clothes-now/) [Kiernan Shipka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiernan-shipka/) > [Design is a very personal thing. It's like art. Your personal choice plays a big role.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gauri-khan/design-is-a-very-personal-thing-it-s-like-art-your-personal-choice/) [Gauri Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gauri-khan/) > [Worship isn't destructive, Martin. I know that. I don't. I only know it's the core of his life. What else has he got? He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-shaffer/worship-isn-t-destructive-martin-i-know-that-i-don-t-i-only-know-it-s/) [Peter Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-shaffer/) > [ Leave a cavity behind the \[wall\] facings, and on the inside build walls two feet thick, made of red dimension stone or burnt brick… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/leave-a-cavity-behind-the-wall-facings-and-on-the-inside-build-walls/) [Marcus Vitruvius Pollio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/) > [Our guiding principle was that design is neither an intellectual nor a material affair, but simply an integral part of the stuff of life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-gropius/our-guiding-principle-was-that-design-is-neither-an-intellectual-nor/) [Walter Gropius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-gropius/) > [Design certainly has a cosmetic, aesthetic aim. It always aims at making things beautiful. But relevance is just as important. I often say, 'If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yves-behar/design-certainly-has-a-cosmetic-aesthetic-aim-it-always-aims-at/) [Yves Behar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yves-behar/) > [I think the ethics and morals of genetic engineering are very complicated. It intrigues me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-spottiswoode/i-think-the-ethics-and-morals-of-genetic-engineering-are-very/) [Roger Spottiswoode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-spottiswoode/) > [Some architects have a preconceived notion of what a building should be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-w-fentress/some-architects-have-a-preconceived-notion-of-what-a-building-should/) [Curtis W. Fentress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-w-fentress/) > [My objective is to design a space that nobody else can come up with while using the material that anyone can use.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tadao-ando/my-objective-is-to-design-a-space-that-nobody-else-can-come-up-with/) [Tadao Ando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tadao-ando/) > [Man's endeavour to cross even the most difficult terrain with railway lines has produced some of the most stunning marvels of engineering of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prashant-bhushan/man-s-endeavour-to-cross-even-the-most-difficult-terrain-with-railway/) [Prashant Bhushan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prashant-bhushan/) > [Of course design is about problem solving, but I cannot resist adding something personal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wim-crouwel/of-course-design-is-about-problem-solving-but-i-cannot-resist-adding/) [Wim Crouwel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wim-crouwel/) [Browse all 3,003 Engineering quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engineering/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If engineering cannot tell us what our houses should look like, nor in a pluralistic and non-deferential world can precedent or tradition, we must be free to pursue all stylistic options. We should acknowledge that the question of what is beautiful is both impossible to elucidate and shameful and even undemocratic to mention.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alain de Botton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/if-engineering-cannot-tell-us-what-our-houses-should-look-like-nor-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Engineering" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/if-engineering-cannot-tell-us-what-our-houses-should-look-like-nor-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f6/alain-de-botton-221_engineering_if-engineering-cannot-tell-us-what-our-h_112300.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f6/alain-de-botton-221_engineering_if-engineering-cannot-tell-us-what-our-h_112300.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f6/alain-de-botton-221_engineering_if-engineering-cannot-tell-us-what-our-h_112300.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If engineering cannot tell us what our houses should look like, nor in a pluralistic and non-deferential…” — Alain de Botton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alain de Botton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“If engineering cannot tell us what...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/if-engineering-cannot-tell-us-what-our-houses-should-look-like-nor-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/if-engineering-cannot-tell-us-what-our-houses-should-look-like-nor-in/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```