--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I detest tradition for tradition's sake…" description: "\"I detest tradition for tradition's sake; the half-alive; that which is not real. I feel no hatred of individuals, but of customs, traditions; superstit..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ad/alfred-stieglitz-13773_alive_i-detest-tradition-for-tradition-s-sake_2558727.jpg" --- # I detest tradition for tradition's sake; the half-alive… ![“I detest tradition for tradition's sake; the half-alive; that which is not real. I feel no hatred of individuals, but of customs, traditions; superstitions that go against life, against truth, against the reality of experience, against the spontaneous living out of the sense of wonder-of fresh…” quote by Alfred Stieglitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ad/alfred-stieglitz-13773_alive_i-detest-tradition-for-tradition-s-sake_2558727.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ad/alfred-stieglitz-13773_alive_i-detest-tradition-for-tradition-s-sake_2558727.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ad/alfred-stieglitz-13773_alive_i-detest-tradition-for-tradition-s-sake_2558727.jpg) > “I detest tradition for tradition's sake; the half-alive; that which is not real. I feel no hatred of individuals, but of customs, traditions; superstitions that go against life, against truth, against the reality of experience, against the spontaneous living out of the sense of wonder-of fresh experience, freshly seen and communicated.” [Alfred Stieglitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-stieglitz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He rejects empty rituals and customs that stifle authentic, lived experience and curiosity. **In simple terms:** Reject hollow traditions that block true experience. Key Takeaway Question and discard meaningless customs. Themes authenticity tradition curiosity Mood reflective critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - cultural critique - creative expression Key Concepts existentialism critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - What tradition still adds value to your life? - How can you honor heritage while staying authentic? A Different Perspective Customs can provide social cohesion and identity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Customs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customs/) [Detest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/detest/) [Detest Tradition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/detest-tradition-1586249/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Half](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half/) [Hatred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hatred/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Sake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sake/) [Sense of wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense-of-wonder/) [Spontaneous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spontaneous/) [Superstitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superstitions/) [Tradition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tradition/) [Tradition Tradition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tradition-tradition-1330695/) [Traditions Superstitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traditions-superstitions-1586250/) [Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonder/) ## Related quotes > [“In times when the grain was harvested by hand, many traditions and superstitions grew up around this important event.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carole-carlton/in-times-when-the-grain-was-harvested-by-hand-many-traditions-and/) [Carole Carlton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carole-carlton/) > [My true function within a society which embraces all of us is to continue an age-old tradition. This tradition is to create images from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tippett/my-true-function-within-a-society-which-embraces-all-of-us-is-to/) [Michael Tippett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tippett/) > [If I belong to a tradition it is a tradition that makes the masterpiece tell the performer what he should do and not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-brendel/if-i-belong-to-a-tradition-it-is-a-tradition-that-makes-the-2/) [Alfred Brendel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-brendel/) > [Tradition is no longer a continuity but a series of sharp breaks. The modern tradition is the tradition of revolt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/tradition-is-no-longer-a-continuity-but-a-series-of-sharp-breaks-the/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [The emphasis on original, individual work in the past years has done a great deal to produce a crop of eccentric fakes and has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-french-sloan/the-emphasis-on-original-individual-work-in-the-past-years-has-done-a/) [John French Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-french-sloan/) > [The trouble with a series as it gets older is it can feel like a tradition, and tradition is the enemy of suspense, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-moffat/the-trouble-with-a-series-as-it-gets-older-is-it-can-feel-like-a/) [Steven Moffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-moffat/) > [If I belong to a tradition, it is a tradition that makes the masterpiece tell the performer what to do, and not the performer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-brendel/if-i-belong-to-a-tradition-it-is-a-tradition-that-makes-the/) [Alfred Brendel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-brendel/) > [It's time to realise that tradition is fantastic but if because of tradition and only tradition you lose everyone it's less fantastic so you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-mouratoglou/it-s-time-to-realise-that-tradition-is-fantastic-but-if-because-of/) [Patrick Mouratoglou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-mouratoglou/) > [Sunnybrook Farm is now a parking lot; the petticoats are in the garbage can, where they belong in the modern world; and I detest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-temple/sunnybrook-farm-is-now-a-parking-lot-the-petticoats-are-in-the/) [Shirley Temple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-temple/) > [You know I hate, detest, and can't bear a lie, not because I am straighter than the rest of us, but simply because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/you-know-i-hate-detest-and-can-t-bear-a-lie-not-because-i-am/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [God wanted Israel, as He wants Christians, to learn to utterly abhor and detest anything that had the potential of coming between them and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-anders/god-wanted-israel-as-he-wants-christians-to-learn-to-utterly-abhor/) [Max Anders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-anders/) > [I have ever hated all nations, professions, and communities, and all my love is toward individuals: for instance, I hate the tribe of lawyers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-have-ever-hated-all-nations-professions-and-communities-and-all-my/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [“My robust lexicon notwithstanding, I struggle to find the right words to describe just how much I despise, hate, abhor, revile, detest and categorically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-held-evans/my-robust-lexicon-notwithstanding-i-struggle-to-find-the-right-words/) [Rachel Held Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-held-evans/) > [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; & the simple truth is, I detest it. Not mildly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-heard-enough-classical-music-to-be-able-to-enjoy-it-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Men love in haste, but they detest at leisure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/men-love-in-haste-but-they-detest-at-leisure/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) ## More by Alfred Stieglitz > [The ability to make a truly artistic photograph is not acquired off-hand, but is the result of an artistic instinct coupled with years of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-stieglitz/the-ability-to-make-a-truly-artistic-photograph-is-not-acquired-off/) [Alfred Stieglitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-stieglitz/) > [I have all but killed myself for Photography. My passion for it is greater than ever. It's forty years that I have fought its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-stieglitz/i-have-all-but-killed-myself-for-photography-my-passion-for-it-is/) [Alfred Stieglitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-stieglitz/) > [If you can imagine photography in the guise of a woman and you’d ask her what she thought of Stieglitz, she’d say: He always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-stieglitz/if-you-can-imagine-photography-in-the-guise-of-a-woman-and-you-d-ask/) [Alfred Stieglitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-stieglitz/) > [Everything is relative except relatives, and they are absolute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-stieglitz/everything-is-relative-except-relatives-and-they-are-absolute/) [Alfred Stieglitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-stieglitz/) > [ A woman artist could be one of those intuitive geniuses \[who\] have kept their childlike spirit and have added to it breadth of vision… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-stieglitz/a-woman-artist-could-be-one-of-those-intuitive-geniuses-who-have-kept/) [Alfred Stieglitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-stieglitz/) > [Before the people at large, and for that matter, the artists themselves, understand what photography really means, as I understand that term, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-stieglitz/before-the-people-at-large-and-for-that-matter-the-artists-themselves/) [Alfred Stieglitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-stieglitz/) > [I was sad to leave Europe in 1890, after my student days in Germany... But then, once back in New York, I experienced an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-stieglitz/i-was-sad-to-leave-europe-in-1890-after-my-student-days-in-germany/) [Alfred Stieglitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-stieglitz/) > [Photographers must learn not to be ashamed to have their photographs look like photographs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-stieglitz/photographers-must-learn-not-to-be-ashamed-to-have-their-photographs/) [Alfred Stieglitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-stieglitz/) > [As a matter of fact, nearly all the greatest work is being, and has always been done, by those who are following photography for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-stieglitz/as-a-matter-of-fact-nearly-all-the-greatest-work-is-being-and-has/) [Alfred Stieglitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-stieglitz/) > [The goal of art was the vital expression of self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-stieglitz/the-goal-of-art-was-the-vital-expression-of-self/) [Alfred Stieglitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-stieglitz/) > [“Photography is a reality so subtle that it becomes more real than reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-stieglitz/photography-is-a-reality-so-subtle-that-it-becomes-more-real-than/) [Alfred Stieglitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-stieglitz/) > [Photography my passion, the search for truth, my obsession.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-stieglitz/photography-my-passion-the-search-for-truth-my-obsession/) [Alfred Stieglitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-stieglitz/) > [My cloud photographs are equivalents of my most profound life experiences, my basic philosophy of life. All art is an equivalent of the artist’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-stieglitz/my-cloud-photographs-are-equivalents-of-my-most-profound-life/) [Alfred Stieglitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-stieglitz/) > [Photography as a fad is well-nigh on its last legs, thanks principally to the bicycle craze.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-stieglitz/photography-as-a-fad-is-well-nigh-on-its-last-legs-thanks-principally/) [Alfred Stieglitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-stieglitz/) > [Wherever there is light, one can photograph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-stieglitz/wherever-there-is-light-one-can-photograph/) [Alfred Stieglitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-stieglitz/) [Explore all 49 Alfred Stieglitz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-stieglitz/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) [Adam Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ant/) > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I detest tradition for tradition's sake; the half-alive; that which is not real. 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