--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Valuing names as they do, Realists are…" description: "\"“Valuing names as they do, Realists are sparing with them. They are likely to be known only as Joe or Bill or Plato. And they don't smile much. Nominal..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dda/alexei-panshin-24622_aristotle_valuing-names-as-they-do-realists-are-sp_2784317.png" --- # Valuing names as they do, Realists are sparing with them… ![“Valuing names as they do, Realists are sparing with them. They are likely to be known only as Joe or Bill or Plato. And they don't smile much. Nominalists have more fun. They are known as Aristotle or Decimus-et-Ultimus Barziza, or as Edward John Barrington Douglas-Scott-Montague, or perhaps by…” quote by Alexei Panshin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dda/alexei-panshin-24622_aristotle_valuing-names-as-they-do-realists-are-sp_2784317.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dda/alexei-panshin-24622_aristotle_valuing-names-as-they-do-realists-are-sp_2784317.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dda/alexei-panshin-24622_aristotle_valuing-names-as-they-do-realists-are-sp_2784317.png) > ““Valuing names as they do, Realists are sparing with them. They are likely to be known only as Joe or Bill or Plato. And they don't smile much. Nominalists have more fun. They are known as Aristotle or Decimus-et-Ultimus Barziza, or as Edward John Barrington Douglas-Scott-Montague, or perhaps by one name in childhood and several others in the course of life. A firm Realist misses out on one of the most satisfying of all human activities -- the assumption of secret identities. A man who has lived and never been someone else has never lived. It is true that occasionally there can be embarrassment in secret identities, but only a Realist will take the whole thing seriously enough to hit you. So have your fun, and avoid Realists.”” [Alexei Panshin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-panshin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Realists limit identity to simple names, while nominalists enjoy multiple identities, enriching life through varied self‑presentation. **In simple terms:** Nominalists enjoy multiple identities, enriching life. Key Takeaway Embrace varied identities for richer experience. Themes identity creativity freedom Mood playful thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal branding - social interaction - creative writing - role‑playing games Key Concepts philosophy psychology literature Questions to Reflect On - Do you limit your identity? - What benefits come from multiple selves? A Different Perspective Multiple identities can cause confusion or inconsistency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aristotle/) [Course of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/course-of-life/) [Identities Realist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identities-realist-3334131/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Names](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/names/) [Names Realists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/names-realists-3334130/) [Nominalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nominalism/) [Nominalists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nominalists-3334132/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plato/) [Realism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realism/) [Realist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realist/) [Realists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realists/) ## Related quotes > [“Occam’s epistemological developments effected an essential schism within medieval scholarship and precipitated a new school of philosophy that emphasized the freedom of the will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-alan-thornbury/occam-s-epistemological-developments-effected-an-essential-schism/) [Gregory Alan Thornbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-alan-thornbury/) > [“Every man in the world is either a Realist or a Nominalist. Give yourself a test: if someone called you a gigger or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-panshin/every-man-in-the-world-is-either-a-realist-or-a-nominalist-give/) [Alexei Panshin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-panshin/) > [“The art of meditation is a way of getting into touch with reality, and the reason for it is that most civilized people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/the-art-of-meditation-is-a-way-of-getting-into-touch-with-reality-and/) [Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/) > [The faith engaged with Platonism in the ancient world, with Aristotle in the medieval world, with nominalism in the Reformation era, and with rationalism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-webber/the-faith-engaged-with-platonism-in-the-ancient-world-with-aristotle/) [Robert E. Webber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-webber/) > [ “\[According to Peirce\] ‘The opinion which is fated to be ultimately agreed to by all who investigate, is what we mean by the truth,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-menand/according-to-peirce-the-opinion-which-is-fated-to-be-ultimately/) [Louis Menand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-menand/) > [“Ockham snorted. "I am no nominalist. The problem with teaching the Modern Way is that lesser scholars, excited by the novelty, seldom bother to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-flynn/ockham-snorted-i-am-no-nominalist-the-problem-with-teaching-the/) [Michael Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-flynn/) > [The difference between resemblance nominalism and class nominalism is that the former, but not the latter, brings in resemblance to account for the truthmakers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gonzalo-rodriguez-pereyra/the-difference-between-resemblance-nominalism-and-class-nominalism-is/) [Gonzalo Rodriguez-Pereyra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gonzalo-rodriguez-pereyra/) > [“As indicated by our example, methodological nominalism is nowadays fairly generally accepted in the natural sciences. The problems of the social sciences, on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/as-indicated-by-our-example-methodological-nominalism-is-nowadays/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [“Without the withering criticism by nominalism, medieval Christian philosophy and theology would not have relinquished their claim to the role of knowledge in discovering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seyyed-hossein-nasr/without-the-withering-criticism-by-nominalism-medieval-christian/) [Seyyed Hossein Nasr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seyyed-hossein-nasr/) > [“Plato in some sense anticipated the Catholic realism, as attacked by the heretical nominalism, by insisting on the equally fundamental fact that ideas are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/plato-in-some-sense-anticipated-the-catholic-realism-as-attacked-by/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [The three main medieval points of view regarding universals are designated by historians as realism, conceptualism, and nominalism. Essentially these same three doctrines reappear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/the-three-main-medieval-points-of-view-regarding-universals-are/) [Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/) > [For the first time in American history, men in authority are talking about an 'emergency' without a foreseeable end... such men as these are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/for-the-first-time-in-american-history-men-in-authority-are-talking/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [For what reason then do the realists show themselves so unfriendly toward philosophy? Because they misunderstand their own calling and with all their might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-stirner/for-what-reason-then-do-the-realists-show-themselves-so-unfriendly/) [Max Stirner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-stirner/) > [I was staying at the Konchucos Tambo lodge, next to the Huascaran national park, near Chavin. Sitting here on its veranda, I was beginning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-barrowcliffe/i-was-staying-at-the-konchucos-tambo-lodge-next-to-the-huascaran/) [Mark Barrowcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-barrowcliffe/) > [Sooner or later, many idealists transform themselves into disheartened realists who mistakenly believe that giving up is the same thing as being realistic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/sooner-or-later-many-idealists-transform-themselves-into-disheartened/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) ## More by Alexei Panshin > [“Night is irregular. What is not done in the daytime becomes possible at night: murder and sex and thought. Simple men are driven to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-panshin/night-is-irregular-what-is-not-done-in-the-daytime-becomes-possible/) [Alexei Panshin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-panshin/) > [This is what makes science so hard, and ultimately so fun. Think of the limits of what we know as a great suite of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-panshin/this-is-what-makes-science-so-hard-and-ultimately-so-fun-think-of-the/) [Alexei Panshin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-panshin/) > [You can't stamp on people and not get hurt in return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-panshin/you-can-t-stamp-on-people-and-not-get-hurt-in-return/) [Alexei Panshin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-panshin/) > [“There is something unique about the size, and shape, and feel of a real physical book, and there is a real discovery about running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-panshin/there-is-something-unique-about-the-size-and-shape-and-feel-of-a-real/) [Alexei Panshin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-panshin/) > [There's no reason to trade insults. We have our way of life and they have theirs. I wouldn't live as they do, but disrespect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-panshin/there-s-no-reason-to-trade-insults-we-have-our-way-of-life-and-they/) [Alexei Panshin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-panshin/) > [I finished by saying that it struck me that all the ethical systems I was discussing were after the fact. That is, that people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-panshin/i-finished-by-saying-that-it-struck-me-that-all-the-ethical-systems-i/) [Alexei Panshin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-panshin/) > [Brains are no good if you don't use them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-panshin/brains-are-no-good-if-you-don-t-use-them/) [Alexei Panshin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-panshin/) > [“If you read Rite of Passage and enjoy yourself, I couldn't be more pleased. I hope it gets you of. On the other hand,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-panshin/if-you-read-rite-of-passage-and-enjoy-yourself-i-couldn-t-be-more/) [Alexei Panshin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-panshin/) > [“A book isn't a single, static thing with one unarguable meaning. Each reader who comes to it brings his own special knowledge, habits and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-panshin/a-book-isn-t-a-single-static-thing-with-one-unarguable-meaning-each/) [Alexei Panshin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-panshin/) > [“I want to make it clear before we begin that I think your purpose is to learn and mine is to help you to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-panshin/i-want-to-make-it-clear-before-we-begin-that-i-think-your-purpose-is/) [Alexei Panshin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-panshin/) > [Some people get a feeling of power from being unpleasant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-panshin/some-people-get-a-feeling-of-power-from-being-unpleasant/) [Alexei Panshin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-panshin/) > [If I had the opportunity, I would make the proposal that no man should be killed except by somebody who knows him well enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-panshin/if-i-had-the-opportunity-i-would-make-the-proposal-that-no-man-should/) [Alexei Panshin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-panshin/) > [Maturity is the ability to sort the portions of truth from the accepted lies and self-deceptions that you have grown up with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-panshin/maturity-is-the-ability-to-sort-the-portions-of-truth-from-the/) [Alexei Panshin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-panshin/) > [“I don't like the idea of people who don't sing to themselves when they're all alone. They're too sober for me. At least hum--…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-panshin/i-don-t-like-the-idea-of-people-who-don-t-sing-to-themselves-when/) [Alexei Panshin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-panshin/) > [“Classics aren't books that are read for pleasure. Classics are books that are imposed on unwilling students, books that are subjected to analyses of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-panshin/classics-aren-t-books-that-are-read-for-pleasure-classics-are-books/) [Alexei Panshin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-panshin/) [Explore all 24 Alexei Panshin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-panshin/) ## More Aristotle quotes > [“This is Galileo,” said Aristotle. “He advocates understanding the world through observation and experiment. He is an unimaginative thinker, but his results demand our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liu-cixin/this-is-galileo-said-aristotle-he-advocates-understanding-the-world/) [Liu Cixin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liu-cixin/) > [Aristotle maintained that women have fewer teeth than men; although he was twice married, it never occurred to him to verify this statement by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/aristotle-maintained-that-women-have-fewer-teeth-than-men-although-he/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“This is what Aristotle meant when he said that the object of science is the necessary and the universal; man and not this man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/this-is-what-aristotle-meant-when-he-said-that-the-object-of-science/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [The ancient Greek philosophers were all natural-born dialecticians and Aristotle, the most encyclopaedic intellect among them, had even already analysed the most essential forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-engels/the-ancient-greek-philosophers-were-all-natural-born-dialecticians/) [Friedrich Engels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-engels/) > [“I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well. { His teacher was the legendary philosopher Aristotle }”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/i-am-indebted-to-my-father-for-living-but-to-my-teacher-for-living/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [Aristotle discovered all the half-truths which were necessary to the creation of science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/aristotle-discovered-all-the-half-truths-which-were-necessary-to-the/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [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/) > [“We are what we repeatedly do. —Aristotle”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-navarro/we-are-what-we-repeatedly-do-aristotle/) [Joe Navarro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-navarro/) > [“When the point of education becomes the production of credentials rather than the cultivation of knowledge, it forfeits the motive recognized by Aristotle: "All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-b-crawford/when-the-point-of-education-becomes-the-production-of-credentials/) [Matthew B. Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-b-crawford/) > [The intimate and the infinite are tangled together in this incandescent book, lit by Aristotle’s bright spark of a daughter. Lucid even in nightmare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-endicott/the-intimate-and-the-infinite-are-tangled-together-in-this/) [Marina Endicott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-endicott/) > [“Within certain limits terminology is always arbitrary. But the definition of being-true as unveiling, making manifest, is not an arbitrary, private invention of mine;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/within-certain-limits-terminology-is-always-arbitrary-but-the/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [“I have this idea that the reason we have dreams is that we're thinking about things that we don't know we're thinking about-and those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/i-have-this-idea-that-the-reason-we-have-dreams-is-that-we-re/) [Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) > [The science of the church is neglected for the study of geometry, and they lose sight of Heaven while they are employed in measuring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/the-science-of-the-church-is-neglected-for-the-study-of-geometry-and/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [“I guess I was a mystery even to myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/i-guess-i-was-a-mystery-even-to-myself/) [Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) > [“The void is 'not-being,' and no part of 'what is' is a 'not-being,'; for what 'is' in the strict sense of the term is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-void-is-not-being-and-no-part-of-what-is-is-a-not-being-for-what/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) [Browse all 260 Aristotle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aristotle/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Valuing names as they do, Realists are sparing with them. They are likely to be known only as Joe or Bill or Plato. And they don't smile much. Nominalists have more fun. They are known as Aristotle or Decimus-et-Ultimus Barziza, or as Edward John Barrington Douglas-Scott-Montague, or perhaps by one name in childhood and several others in the course of life. A firm Realist misses out on one of the most satisfying of all human activities -- the assumption of secret identities. A man who has lived and never been someone else has never lived. It is true that occasionally there can be embarrassment in secret identities, but only a Realist will take the whole thing seriously enough to hit you. So have your fun, and avoid Realists.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alexei Panshin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-panshin/valuing-names-as-they-do-realists-are-sparing-with-them-they-are/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Aristotle" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-panshin/valuing-names-as-they-do-realists-are-sparing-with-them-they-are/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dda/alexei-panshin-24622_aristotle_valuing-names-as-they-do-realists-are-sp_2784317.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dda/alexei-panshin-24622_aristotle_valuing-names-as-they-do-realists-are-sp_2784317.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dda/alexei-panshin-24622_aristotle_valuing-names-as-they-do-realists-are-sp_2784317.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Valuing names as they do, Realists are sparing with them. They are likely to be known only as Joe or Bill or…” — Alexei Panshin", "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": "Alexei Panshin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-panshin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Valuing names as they do, Realists...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-panshin/valuing-names-as-they-do-realists-are-sparing-with-them-they-are/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-panshin/valuing-names-as-they-do-realists-are-sparing-with-them-they-are/#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 } } ] } ```