--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Each generation criticizes the…" description: "\"Each generation criticizes the unconscious assumptions made by its parent. It may assent to them, but it brings them out in the open.\" — Alfred North W..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a3/alfred-north-whitehead-836_assumption_each-generation-criticizes-the-unconscio_2598061.png" --- # Each generation criticizes the unconscious assumptions… ![“Each generation criticizes the unconscious assumptions made by its parent. It may assent to them, but it brings them out in the open.” quote by Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a3/alfred-north-whitehead-836_assumption_each-generation-criticizes-the-unconscio_2598061.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a3/alfred-north-whitehead-836_assumption_each-generation-criticizes-the-unconscio_2598061.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a3/alfred-north-whitehead-836_assumption_each-generation-criticizes-the-unconscio_2598061.png) > “Each generation criticizes the unconscious assumptions made by its parent. It may assent to them, but it brings them out in the open.” [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Each generation critiques its predecessors' hidden assumptions, exposing them publicly. **In simple terms:** New generations reveal old assumptions. Key Takeaway Question inherited beliefs openly. Themes philosophy generational critique Mood analytical inquisitive Type critical intellectual When to use this quote - academic discourse - social change - education Key Concepts cultural analysis intellectual history Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions do we still accept? - How can we improve upon past ideas? A Different Perspective May lead to endless criticism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assumption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumption/) [Assumptions Parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumptions-parent-1920349/) [Criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism/) [Criticize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticize/) [Criticizes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticizes/) [Criticizes Unconscious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticizes-unconscious-1920348/) [Generation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generation/) [Generation Criticizes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generation-criticizes-1920347/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Unconscious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unconscious/) [Unconscious Assumptions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unconscious-assumptions-1514299/) ## Related quotes > [You make certain assumptions as a parent. And you kind of think, at a certain point, you've figured things out. And then all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-shalhoub/you-make-certain-assumptions-as-a-parent-and-you-kind-of-think-at-a/) [Tony Shalhoub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-shalhoub/) > [Unconscious assumptions or opinions are the worst enemy of woman; they can even grow into a positively demonic passion that exasperates and disgusts men,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/unconscious-assumptions-or-opinions-are-the-worst-enemy-of-woman-they/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [No matter how honest scientists think they are, they are still influenced by various unconscious assumptions that prevent them from attaining true objectivity. Expressed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/no-matter-how-honest-scientists-think-they-are-they-are-still/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [“Korzybski argued that language must be viewed as a map, which is useful only insofar as it is similar to the world it describes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-o-reilly/korzybski-argued-that-language-must-be-viewed-as-a-map-which-is/) [Timothy O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-o-reilly/) > [When someone criticizes you, it defines who they are, not who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-forleo/when-someone-criticizes-you-it-defines-who-they-are-not-who-you-are/) [Marie Forleo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-forleo/) > [The one who praises you is a thief. The one who criticizes you is your true friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seungsahn/the-one-who-praises-you-is-a-thief-the-one-who-criticizes-you-is-your/) [Seungsahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seungsahn/) > [A critic knows more than the author he criticizes, or just as much, or at least somewhat less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-edward-manning/a-critic-knows-more-than-the-author-he-criticizes-or-just-as-much-or/) [Henry Edward Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-edward-manning/) > [Hardly any one is able to see what is before him, just as it is in itself. He comes expecting one thing, he finds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-symons/hardly-any-one-is-able-to-see-what-is-before-him-just-as-it-is-in/) [Arthur Symons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-symons/) > [Listen more to the one who criticizes you and less to the one who praises you. Learn from them and do something about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kagame/listen-more-to-the-one-who-criticizes-you-and-less-to-the-one-who/) [Paul Kagame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kagame/) > [If someone criticizes me, I strike back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romario/if-someone-criticizes-me-i-strike-back/) [Romario](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romario/) > [If you believe in what you're doing, and someone criticizes that, it's likely that they're just coming from a different place and they're bringing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilberto-hernandez-guerrero/if-you-believe-in-what-you-re-doing-and-someone-criticizes-that-it-s/) [Gilberto Hernandez Guerrero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilberto-hernandez-guerrero/) > [What the public criticizes in you, cultivate. It is you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-the-public-criticizes-in-you-cultivate-it-is-you/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Rush Limbaugh criticizes me a lot on the air. I take that as a badge of honor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-david/rush-limbaugh-criticizes-me-a-lot-on-the-air-i-take-that-as-a-badge/) [Laurie David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-david/) > [“bad men... aim at getting more than their share of advantages, while in labor and public service they fall short of their share; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/bad-men-aim-at-getting-more-than-their-share-of-advantages-while-in/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [When someone criticizes or disagrees with you, a small ant of hatred and antagonism is born in your heart. If you do not squash…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/when-someone-criticizes-or-disagrees-with-you-a-small-ant-of-hatred/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) ## More by Alfred North Whitehead > [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/) > [Philosophy begins in wonder. And, at the end, when philosophic thought has done its best, the wonder remains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/philosophy-begins-in-wonder-and-at-the-end-when-philosophic-thought/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [The pursuit of mathematics is a divine madness of the human spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-pursuit-of-mathematics-is-a-divine-madness-of-the-human-spirit/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Without adventure all civilization is full of decay. Adventure rarely reaches its predetermined end. Columbus never reached China.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/without-adventure-all-civilization-is-full-of-decay-adventure-rarely/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [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/) > [On the ostensible exactitude of certain branches of human knowledge, including mathematics. The exactness is a fake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/on-the-ostensible-exactitude-of-certain-branches-of-human-knowledge/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [It is this union of passionate interest in the detailed facts with equal devotion to abstract generalisation which forms the novelty in our present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/it-is-this-union-of-passionate-interest-in-the-detailed-facts-with/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Our minds are finite, and yet even in these circumstances of infinitude we are surrounded by possibilities that are infinite, and the purpose of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/our-minds-are-finite-and-yet-even-in-these-circumstances-of/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [The many become one and are increased by one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-many-become-one-and-are-increased-by-one/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Art is the imposing of a pattern on experience, and our aesthetic enjoyment is recognition of the pattern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/art-is-the-imposing-of-a-pattern-on-experience-and-our-aesthetic/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [The future belongs to those who can rise above the confines of the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-future-belongs-to-those-who-can-rise-above-the-confines-of-the/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Common sense is genius in homespun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/common-sense-is-genius-in-homespun/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Everyone is a philosopher. Not everyone is good at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/everyone-is-a-philosopher-not-everyone-is-good-at-it/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Do not teach too many subjects and what you teach, teach thoroughly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/do-not-teach-too-many-subjects-and-what-you-teach-teach-thoroughly/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Civilization advances by extending the number of important operations which we can perform without thinking about them. Operations of thought are cavalry charges in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/civilization-advances-by-extending-the-number-of-important-operations/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) [Explore all 356 Alfred North Whitehead quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) ## More Assumption quotes > [Next to the assumption of power was the responsibility of relinquishing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/next-to-the-assumption-of-power-was-the-responsibility-of/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [It's difficult for people to come to the understanding that only a small minority of the people ever really get the word about life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/it-s-difficult-for-people-to-come-to-the-understanding-that-only-a/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Much like teaching art to young art students age 10 to 15 or so on, you have to break it down into bite-sized pieces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/much-like-teaching-art-to-young-art-students-age-10-to-15-or-so-on/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [The risk of developing carcinoma of the lung increases steadily as the amount smoked increases. If the risk among non-smokers is taken as unity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-doll/the-risk-of-developing-carcinoma-of-the-lung-increases-steadily-as/) [Richard Doll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-doll/) > [Fortunately, the mind is restless; when it uncovers a layer of its own deception, gives up an illusion, exposes a lie, it does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-chernin/fortunately-the-mind-is-restless-when-it-uncovers-a-layer-of-its-own/) [Kim Chernin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-chernin/) > [The possibility of saying anything about a thing rests on the assumption that it preserves its identity, or continues to be the same thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-knight/the-possibility-of-saying-anything-about-a-thing-rests-on-the/) [Frank Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-knight/) > [She spent hours drawing on her own, trying to perfect her craft. And when she got into music, she had that same diligence in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-joplin/she-spent-hours-drawing-on-her-own-trying-to-perfect-her-craft-and/) [Laura Joplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-joplin/) > [If they are, then the only ultimate truths are the particulars of concrete experience, and no postulate or general assumption is inherent in science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-wright/if-they-are-then-the-only-ultimate-truths-are-the-particulars-of/) [Chauncey Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-wright/) > [If he's - the inference is that somehow he thinks slavery is a - is a noble institution I would - I would strongly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/if-he-s-the-inference-is-that-somehow-he-thinks-slavery-is-a-is-a/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Leadership, pure and simple, is the assumption of responsibility for the pursuit of excellence in group life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-selznick/leadership-pure-and-simple-is-the-assumption-of-responsibility-for/) [Philip Selznick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-selznick/) > [Humans suffer from self-centred notions as to the nature of life. Humans assume that alien life forms should conform to standards that match our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-perry/humans-suffer-from-self-centred-notions-as-to-the-nature-of-life/) [Steve Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-perry/) > [When I see a fan coming over, I can't help but make an assumption about what they want to talk about. 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That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/pussy-riot-have-certainly-changed-some-people-s-assumptions-about-the/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) [Browse all 1,277 Assumption quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumption/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Each generation criticizes the unconscious assumptions made by its parent. 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