--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I will tell you why I became a…" description: "\"“I will tell you why I became a philosopher. I became a philosopher because I wanted to be able to talk about many, many things, ideally with knowledge..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d4/alexander-nehamas-40423_knowledge_i-will-tell-you-why-i-became-a-philosoph_148422.png" --- # I will tell you why I became a philosopher. I became a… ![“I will tell you why I became a philosopher. I became a philosopher because I wanted to be able to talk about many, many things, ideally with knowledge, but sometimes not quite the amount of knowledge that I would need if I were to be a specialist in them. It allows you to be many different things…” quote by Alexander Nehamas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d4/alexander-nehamas-40423_knowledge_i-will-tell-you-why-i-became-a-philosoph_148422.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d4/alexander-nehamas-40423_knowledge_i-will-tell-you-why-i-became-a-philosoph_148422.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d4/alexander-nehamas-40423_knowledge_i-will-tell-you-why-i-became-a-philosoph_148422.png) > ““I will tell you why I became a philosopher. I became a philosopher because I wanted to be able to talk about many, many things, ideally with knowledge, but sometimes not quite the amount of knowledge that I would need if I were to be a specialist in them. It allows you to be many different things. And plurality and complexity are very, very important to me.”” [Alexander Nehamas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-nehamas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Philosophy offers breadth over depth, allowing exploration of many topics without full specialization. **In simple terms:** Philosophy lets you discuss many things without being an expert. Key Takeaway Embrace interdisciplinary curiosity. Themes learning breadth complexity plurality Mood inquisitive analytical open‑minded Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - academic study - career planning - personal growth Key Concepts philosophical inquiry intellectual humility Questions to Reflect On - Do you value depth or breadth more? - How can you balance both? A Different Perspective Depth may be sacrificed for breadth, limiting expertise. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Philosopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosopher/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) ## Related quotes > [Men are not philosophers, but are rather very foolish children, who, by reason of their partiality, see everything in the most absurd manner, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/men-are-not-philosophers-but-are-rather-very-foolish-children-who-by/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I have problems with the violence and the torture on '24.' What I'm trying to say is that that's not the only story, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-johnson/i-have-problems-with-the-violence-and-the-torture-on-24-what-i-m/) [Steven Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-johnson/) > [ The general problem with ambitious systems is complexity. \[...\] it is important to emphasize the value of simplicity and elegance, for complexity has a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-j-corbato/the-general-problem-with-ambitious-systems-is-complexity-it-is/) [Fernando J. Corbato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-j-corbato/) > [A philosopher must be more than a philosopher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-philosopher-must-be-more-than-a-philosopher/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Faced with a world of "modern ideas" which would like to banish everyone into a corner and a "specialty," a philosopher, if there could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/faced-with-a-world-of-modern-ideas-which-would-like-to-banish/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“It is just as little necessary for the saint to be a philosopher as for the philosopher to be a saint; just as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/it-is-just-as-little-necessary-for-the-saint-to-be-a-philosopher-as/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [The philosopher is in love with truth, that is, not with the changing world of sensation, which is the object of opinion, but with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-philosopher-is-in-love-with-truth-that-is-not-with-the-changing/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Take from the philosopher the pleasure of being heard and his desire for knowledge ceases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/take-from-the-philosopher-the-pleasure-of-being-heard-and-his-desire/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [When Eudæmonidas heard a philosopher arguing that only a wise man can be a good general, "This is a wonderful speech," said he; "but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/when-eud-monidas-heard-a-philosopher-arguing-that-only-a-wise-man-can/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [To become a philosopher, start by walking very slowly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/to-become-a-philosopher-start-by-walking-very-slowly/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“Since Pawlow and his pupils have succeeded in causing the secretion of saliva in the dog by means of optic and acoustic signals, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-loeb/since-pawlow-and-his-pupils-have-succeeded-in-causing-the-secretion/) [Jacques Loeb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-loeb/) > [Divers philosophers hold that the lips is parcel of the mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/divers-philosophers-hold-that-the-lips-is-parcel-of-the-mouth/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) ## More by Alexander Nehamas > [ So long as we find anything beautiful, we feel that we have not yet exhausted what \[life\] has to offer \[…\] That forward-looking element… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-nehamas/so-long-as-we-find-anything-beautiful-we-feel-that-we-have-not-yet/) [Alexander Nehamas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-nehamas/) > [My own view is that friendship is essential to our becoming who we are. It provides a context within which we can, more or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-nehamas/my-own-view-is-that-friendship-is-essential-to-our-becoming-who-we/) [Alexander Nehamas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-nehamas/) > [Beauty can be as dangerous as evil can be beautiful. But that is just another aspect of the double edge of non-moral values. Both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-nehamas/beauty-can-be-as-dangerous-as-evil-can-be-beautiful-but-that-is-just/) [Alexander Nehamas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-nehamas/) > [To find something beautiful is to hope that your life will be better if that is a part of it. Unfortunately, the promise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-nehamas/to-find-something-beautiful-is-to-hope-that-your-life-will-be-better/) [Alexander Nehamas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-nehamas/) > [To emphasize the importance of beauty is to connect art again to emotion and desire. To find something or someone beautiful is not simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-nehamas/to-emphasize-the-importance-of-beauty-is-to-connect-art-again-to/) [Alexander Nehamas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-nehamas/) > [This is a major, wide-ranging, and comprehensive book. A philosophical investigation that is also a literary and historical study, Truth and Truthfulness asks how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-nehamas/this-is-a-major-wide-ranging-and-comprehensive-book-a-philosophical/) [Alexander Nehamas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-nehamas/) > [In contrast to the values of morality, which depend on and encourage our similarities to each other, values like friendship or beauty depend on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-nehamas/in-contrast-to-the-values-of-morality-which-depend-on-and-encourage/) [Alexander Nehamas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-nehamas/) > [“But is eternity an alternative to life? Isn't it, on the contrary, the case that it is when one wants everything to be eternal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-nehamas/but-is-eternity-an-alternative-to-life-isn-t-it-on-the-contrary-the/) [Alexander Nehamas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-nehamas/) > [My view is that friendship permeates human life and is involved in almost everything we think, feel, and do. For that very reason, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-nehamas/my-view-is-that-friendship-permeates-human-life-and-is-involved-in/) [Alexander Nehamas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-nehamas/) > [It is clear that friendship is by and large crucial to human life. And I believe, in contrast with most of the philosophical tradition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-nehamas/it-is-clear-that-friendship-is-by-and-large-crucial-to-human-life-and/) [Alexander Nehamas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-nehamas/) [Explore all 11 Alexander Nehamas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-nehamas/) ## More Knowledge quotes > [“Knowledge without conscience is but the ruin of the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabelaise/knowledge-without-conscience-is-but-the-ruin-of-the-soul/) Rabelaise > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [If we will not interfere with our thought, but will act entirely, or see how the thing stands in God, we know the particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-will-not-interfere-with-our-thought-but-will-act-entirely-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [An enlightened awareness is within each one of us, right at this moment. This enlightened awareness is truly unborn and marvellously illuminating; and everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bankei-yotaku/an-enlightened-awareness-is-within-each-one-of-us-right-at-this/) [Bankei Yotaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bankei-yotaku/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I never knew any man who had once tasted the sweetness of experimental knowledge, that ever afterward fasted after ye Vapour garlick and onions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/i-never-knew-any-man-who-had-once-tasted-the-sweetness-of/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [I would rather excel others in the knowledge of what is excellent than in the extent of my powers and dominion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/i-would-rather-excel-others-in-the-knowledge-of-what-is-excellent/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [We know accurately only when we know little, with knowledge doubt increases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/we-know-accurately-only-when-we-know-little-with-knowledge-doubt/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I've always been a believer in research. It's great to have an instinctual human reaction to a character, too, of course, but it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chiwetel-ejiofor/i-ve-always-been-a-believer-in-research-it-s-great-to-have-an/) [Chiwetel Ejiofor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chiwetel-ejiofor/) > [I am an aware citizen, so I want my characters to be aware, too. They should be aware of what's happening in the society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-tripathi/i-am-an-aware-citizen-so-i-want-my-characters-to-be-aware-too-they/) [Pankaj Tripathi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-tripathi/) > [Technology means the systematic application of scientific or other organized knowledge to practical tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/technology-means-the-systematic-application-of-scientific-or-other/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Love is a vision,love carry our vision,and love by-step our vision. we carry our love to our by-step. once love is vision love is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-a-vision-love-carry-our-vision-and-love-by-step-our-vision-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Man is an ignoramus athirst for knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-wagner/man-is-an-ignoramus-athirst-for-knowledge/) [Charles Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-wagner/) [Browse all 13,227 Knowledge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I will tell you why I became a philosopher. 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