Books Quote by Elias Canetti
““Books have no life; they lack feeling maybe, and perhaps cannot feel pain, as animals and even plants feel pain. But what proof have we that inorganic objects can feel no pain? Who knows if a book may not yearn for other books, its companions of many years, in some way strange to us and therefore never yet perceived?””
About This Quote
Source Essay: The Pain of Inorganic Objects, 1965
The author questions whether non-living things could possess sensations, challenging assumptions about consciousness and empathy.
In simple terms: Maybe objects can feel, we don’t know.
Key Takeaway
Question assumptions about what can feel.
Themes
philosophy
consciousness
empathy
ontology
Mood
curious
speculative
Type
philosophical
literary
When to use this quote
- designing AI
- environmental ethics
- art criticism
- education
Key Concepts
sentience
object‑human relations
anthropomorphism
Questions to Reflect On
- Can we ever know if objects feel?
- What would it mean for ethics if they did?
A Different Perspective
Lack of evidence makes the claim speculative.
![“The hand which scoops up the water is the first vessel. The fingers of both hands intertwined are the first basket. [p. 217]” quote by Elias Canetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c74/elias-canetti-3574_hand_the-hand-which-scoops-up-the-water-is-th_31545.jpg)
