--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Just as a novelist may sometimes wonder…" description: "\"“Just as a novelist may sometimes wonder why he invents characters who do not exist and makes them do things which do not matter, so a philosopher may ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48e/edward-st-aubyn-13456_philosopher_just-as-a-novelist-may-sometimes-wonder_2555937.jpg" --- # Just as a novelist may sometimes wonder why he invents… ![“Just as a novelist may sometimes wonder why he invents characters who do not exist and makes them do things which do not matter, so a philosopher may wonder why he invents cases that cannot occur in order to determine what must be the case.” quote by Edward St. Aubyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48e/edward-st-aubyn-13456_philosopher_just-as-a-novelist-may-sometimes-wonder_2555937.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48e/edward-st-aubyn-13456_philosopher_just-as-a-novelist-may-sometimes-wonder_2555937.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48e/edward-st-aubyn-13456_philosopher_just-as-a-novelist-may-sometimes-wonder_2555937.jpg) > ““Just as a novelist may sometimes wonder why he invents characters who do not exist and makes them do things which do not matter, so a philosopher may wonder why he invents cases that cannot occur in order to determine what must be the case.”” [Edward St. Aubyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-st-aubyn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers create fictional scenarios to explore truths that real life cannot reveal. **In simple terms:** Imaginary cases reveal real truths. Key Takeaway Use thought experiments to test ideas. Themes philosophy fiction truth Mood analytical inquisitive Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - academic debates - creative writing - ethical dilemmas - policy planning Key Concepts thought experiments counterfactuals Questions to Reflect On - Why do we need impossible cases? - What limits do imagined scenarios have? A Different Perspective Fiction may oversimplify complex realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Philosopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosopher/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) ## Related quotes > [For this feeling of wonder shows that you are a philosopher, since wonder is the only beginning of philosophy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/for-this-feeling-of-wonder-shows-that-you-are-a-philosopher-since/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [We like existentially wacky characters who exist in existential crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-russo/we-like-existentially-wacky-characters-who-exist-in-existential-crisis/) [Joe Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-russo/) > [My characters are fictional. I get ideas from real people, sometimes, but my characters always exist only in my head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-e-hinton/my-characters-are-fictional-i-get-ideas-from-real-people-sometimes/) [S. E. 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If it hadn’t all gone horribly wrong, it wouldn’t have been the real thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-st-aubyn/but-that-after-all-was-the-point-of-romantic-folly-if-it-hadn-t-all/) [Edward St. Aubyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-st-aubyn/) > [“Try as one might to live on the edge, thought Patrick, getting into the other lift, there was no point in competing with people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-st-aubyn/try-as-one-might-to-live-on-the-edge-thought-patrick-getting-into-the/) [Edward St. Aubyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-st-aubyn/) > [“He had only just made the Elysian deadline; hanging onto the typescript until the last moment in case there was something still to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-st-aubyn/he-had-only-just-made-the-elysian-deadline-hanging-onto-the/) [Edward St. Aubyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-st-aubyn/) > [“The mess that's emerging...at least reflects the truth of my experience, the fact that every contemplation is interrupted, and that every interruption becomes further…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-st-aubyn/the-mess-that-s-emerging-at-least-reflects-the-truth-of-my-experience/) [Edward St. Aubyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-st-aubyn/) [Explore all 49 Edward St. Aubyn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-st-aubyn/) ## More Philosopher quotes > [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/) > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. 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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/) > [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/) > [“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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [“Mr. Pickwick was a philosopher, but philosophers are only men in armour, after all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/mr-pickwick-was-a-philosopher-but-philosophers-are-only-men-in-armour/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [And that, in a way, was the burden of being a philosopher: one knew what one had to do, but it was so often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/and-that-in-a-way-was-the-burden-of-being-a-philosopher-one-knew-what/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [As our domestic fowls are said to have their original in the wild pheasant of India, so our domestic thoughts have their prototypes in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/as-our-domestic-fowls-are-said-to-have-their-original-in-the-wild/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you'll be happy. 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