--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My external sensations are no less…" description: "\"“My external sensations are no less private to myself than are my thoughts or my feelings. In either case my experience falls within my own circle, a c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e1/anonymous-1_cases_my-external-sensations-are-no-less-priva_2139589.jpg" --- # My external sensations are no less private to myself than… ![“My external sensations are no less private to myself than are my thoughts or my feelings. In either case my experience falls within my own circle, a circle closed on the outside; and, with all its elements alike, every sphere is opaque to the others which surround it. . . . In brief, regarded as…” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e1/anonymous-1_cases_my-external-sensations-are-no-less-priva_2139589.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e1/anonymous-1_cases_my-external-sensations-are-no-less-priva_2139589.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e1/anonymous-1_cases_my-external-sensations-are-no-less-priva_2139589.jpg) > ““My external sensations are no less private to myself than are my thoughts or my feelings. In either case my experience falls within my own circle, a circle closed on the outside; and, with all its elements alike, every sphere is opaque to the others which surround it. . . . In brief, regarded as an existence which appears in a soul, the whole world for each is peculiar and private to that soul.”” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our inner experiences—thoughts, feelings, sensations—are inherently private, forming a self‑contained world that others cannot directly access. **In simple terms:** Our mind is a private sphere, opaque to outsiders. Key Takeaway Acknowledge the limits of understanding others’ inner lives. Themes privacy subjectivity consciousness Mood introspective thoughtful Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - therapy sessions - intimate conversations - creative writing - mindfulness practice Key Concepts phenomenology epistemology selfhood Questions to Reflect On - How do you bridge the gap between private experience and shared understanding? - Can empathy ever fully capture another’s inner world? A Different Perspective Assuming others can fully know us ignores the inherent opacity of personal experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cases/) [Circles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circles/) [Elements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elements/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [External Sensations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/external-sensations-2175118/) [Fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [My thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-thoughts/) [Opaque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opaque/) [Peculiar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peculiar/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Private Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/private-soul-4448913/) [Private Thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/private-thoughts-290314/) [Regarded Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regarded-existence-4448914/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Sensations Private](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensations-private-2175119/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Spheres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spheres/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [Surround](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surround/) [Whole world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole-world/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [My external sensations are no less private to my self than are my thoughts or my feelings. In either case my experience falls within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-h-bradley/my-external-sensations-are-no-less-private-to-my-self-than-are-my/) [F. H. Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-h-bradley/) > [“At home, I mainly used to read. I wished to stifle with external sensations all that was ceaselessly boiling up inside me. And among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/at-home-i-mainly-used-to-read-i-wished-to-stifle-with-external/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [Self is the opaque veil that hides the face of God from us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/self-is-the-opaque-veil-that-hides-the-face-of-god-from-us/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We seldom realize, for example that our most private thoughts and emotions are not actually our own. 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For we think in terms of languages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/we-seldom-realize-for-example-that-our-most-private-thoughts-and/) [Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/) > [We rode along in silence, thinking our private thoughts. Charlie and I had an unspoken agreement not to throw ourselves into speedy travel just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dewitt/we-rode-along-in-silence-thinking-our-private-thoughts-charlie-and-i/) [Patrick deWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dewitt/) > [Evil…doesn’t mean doing things that have bad consequences for people. It means private thoughts and actions that are not to “the Christian majority’s” private…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/evil-doesn-t-mean-doing-things-that-have-bad-consequences-for-people/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“After years of watching adversaries comb through her public records for any hint of a scandal, and after accessing her own aides’ e-mails, Hillary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-allen/after-years-of-watching-adversaries-comb-through-her-public-records/) [Jonathan Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-allen/) > [I remain convinced that obstinate addiction to ordinary language in our private thoughts is one of the main obstacles to progress in philosophy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/i-remain-convinced-that-obstinate-addiction-to-ordinary-language-in/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“Should we go into people’s inner and private thoughts and motivations, we would see that their wishes and hopes are almost invariably at someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/should-we-go-into-people-s-inner-and-private-thoughts-and-motivations/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [It's odd how different a house feels when one is alone in it. It makes it easier to think rather private thoughts...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/it-s-odd-how-different-a-house-feels-when-one-is-alone-in-it-it-makes/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. 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I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Cases quotes > [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [I'd always have grease in at least two places, in case the umpires would ask me to wipe one off. 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