---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The limits of our cognition are not…"
description: "\"“The limits of our cognition are not defined by the limits of our language.”\" — Elliot W. Eisner"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c30/elliot-w-eisner-22990_cognition_the-limits-of-our-cognition-are-not-defi_2755163.png"
---

#  The limits of our cognition are not defined by the limits…

![“The limits of our cognition are not defined by the limits of our language.” quote by Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c30/elliot-w-eisner-22990_cognition_the-limits-of-our-cognition-are-not-defi_2755163.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c30/elliot-w-eisner-22990_cognition_the-limits-of-our-cognition-are-not-defi_2755163.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c30/elliot-w-eisner-22990_cognition_the-limits-of-our-cognition-are-not-defi_2755163.png)

> ““The limits of our cognition are not defined by the limits of our language.””

[Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Thoughts are limited by language, but cognition can transcend linguistic bounds

**In simple terms:** Language shapes but does not confine thought

Key Takeaway

Expand thinking beyond words

Themes

cognition language limits

Mood

curious thoughtful

Type

philosophical inquisitive

When to use this quote

- education
- creative writing
- AI language models

Key Concepts

linguistic relativity cognitive science

Questions to Reflect On

- How can we think without words?
- What tools help bypass linguistic limits?

A Different Perspective

Language may still restrict complex ideas

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Cognition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cognition/) [Cognition Defined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cognition-defined-3128277/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits/) [Limits Cognition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits-cognition-1144764/) [Limits Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits-language-730616/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/)

## Related quotes

> [The arts make vivid the fact that words do not, in their literal form or number, exhaust what we can know. The limits of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/the-arts-make-vivid-the-fact-that-words-do-not-in-their-literal-form/)

[Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/)

> [The limits of our language do not define the limits of our cognition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/the-limits-of-our-language-do-not-define-the-limits-of-our-cognition/)

[Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/)

> [“The arts vividly illustrate the fact that neither words in their literal form nor numbers exhaust what we can know. The limits of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachelle-doorley/the-arts-vividly-illustrate-the-fact-that-neither-words-in-their/)

[Rachelle Doorley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachelle-doorley/)

> [Elizabeth, Lady C, claims to be writing at the limits of language. Would it not be insulting to her if I were diligently to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee-2/elizabeth-lady-c-claims-to-be-writing-at-the-limits-of-language-would/)

[J. M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee-2/)

> [The 2 timeless drivers that underpin the behavior of every generation: the need to belong and the need to be significant. The limits of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/the-2-timeless-drivers-that-underpin-the-behavior-of-every-generation/)

[Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/)

> [While I'm grateful for the freedom to express one's self, I've learned there are limits to what language is appropriate and I'm deeply sorry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/psy/while-i-m-grateful-for-the-freedom-to-express-one-s-self-i-ve-learned/)

[Psy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/psy/)

> [“The limits of my language are the limits of my universe”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/the-limits-of-my-language-are-the-limits-of-my-universe/)

[Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/)

> [“There are a lot of human experiences that challenge the limits of our language,” she said. “That’s one of the reasons that we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ava-dellaira/there-are-a-lot-of-human-experiences-that-challenge-the-limits-of-our-2/)

[Ava Dellaira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ava-dellaira/)

> [Man feels the urge to run up against the limits of language. Think for example of the astonishment that anything at all exists. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/man-feels-the-urge-to-run-up-against-the-limits-of-language-think-for/)

[Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/)

> [The limits of my language means the limits of my world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/the-limits-of-my-language-means-the-limits-of-my-world/)

[Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/)

> [“There are a lot of human experiences that challenge the limits of our language,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ava-dellaira/there-are-a-lot-of-human-experiences-that-challenge-the-limits-of-our/)

[Ava Dellaira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ava-dellaira/)

> [I believe that all poetry is formal in that it exists within limits, limits that are either inherited by tradition or limits that language…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/i-believe-that-all-poetry-is-formal-in-that-it-exists-within-limits/)

[Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/)

> [As vocabulary is reduced , so are the number of feelings you can express, the number of events you can describe, the number of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheri-s-tepper/as-vocabulary-is-reduced-so-are-the-number-of-feelings-you-can/)

[Sheri S. Tepper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheri-s-tepper/)

> [The limits of my language mean the limits of my world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/the-limits-of-my-language-mean-the-limits-of-my-world/)

[Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/)

> [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/)

[Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/)

## More by Elliot W. Eisner

> [The arts teach children that problems can have more than one solution and that questions can have more than one answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/the-arts-teach-children-that-problems-can-have-more-than-one-solution/)

[Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/)

> [We have inadvertently designed a system in which being good at what you do as a teacher is not formally rewarded, while being poor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/we-have-inadvertently-designed-a-system-in-which-being-good-at-what/)

[Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/)

> [The arts make vivid the fact that words do not, in their literal form or number, exhaust what we can know. The limits of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/the-arts-make-vivid-the-fact-that-words-do-not-in-their-literal-form/)

[Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/)

> [All art forms employ some means through which images become real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/all-art-forms-employ-some-means-through-which-images-become-real/)

[Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/)

> [The ultimate aim of education is to enable individuals to become the architects of their own education and through that process to continually reinvent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/the-ultimate-aim-of-education-is-to-enable-individuals-to-become-the/)

[Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/)

> [The kinds of nets we know how to weave determine the kinds of nets we cast. These nets, in turn, determine the kinds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/the-kinds-of-nets-we-know-how-to-weave-determine-the-kinds-of-nets-we/)

[Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/)

> [The arts enable us to have experience we can have from no other source and through such experience to discover the range and variety…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/the-arts-enable-us-to-have-experience-we-can-have-from-no-other/)

[Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/)

> [In some sense our aim ought to be to convert the school from an academic institution into an intellectual one. That shift in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/in-some-sense-our-aim-ought-to-be-to-convert-the-school-from-an/)

[Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/)

> [The arts celebrate multiple perspectives. One of their large lessons is that there are many ways to see and interpret the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/the-arts-celebrate-multiple-perspectives-one-of-their-large-lessons/)

[Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/)

> [The arts inform as well as stimulate; they challenge as well as satisfy. Their location is not limited to galleries, concert halls and theatres.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/the-arts-inform-as-well-as-stimulate-they-challenge-as-well-as/)

[Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/)

> [The arts help children learn to say what cannot be said. When children are invited to disclose what a work of art helps them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/the-arts-help-children-learn-to-say-what-cannot-be-said-when-children/)

[Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/)

> [The Arts are fundamental resources through which the world is viewed, meaning is created, and the mind developed. To neglect the contribution of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/the-arts-are-fundamental-resources-through-which-the-world-is-viewed/)

[Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/)

> [The arts teach students that small differences can have large effects. The arts traffic in subtleties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/the-arts-teach-students-that-small-differences-can-have-large-effects/)

[Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/)

> [Schools are not about enabling children to have a living but about children being able to have a life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/schools-are-not-about-enabling-children-to-have-a-living-but-about/)

[Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/)

> [The Arts' position in the school curriculum symbolizes to the young what adults believe is important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/the-arts-position-in-the-school-curriculum-symbolizes-to-the-young/)

[Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/)

[Explore all 26 Elliot W. Eisner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/)

## More Cognition quotes

> [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/)

[Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/)

> [“The brain works in a holistic, cooperative way that makes our basest desire or most abject fear as expressive of who we are as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-amerland/the-brain-works-in-a-holistic-cooperative-way-that-makes-our-basest/)

[David Amerland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-amerland/)

> [“In order to decide, judge; in order to judge, reason; in order to reason, decide (what to reason about).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-johnson-laird/in-order-to-decide-judge-in-order-to-judge-reason-in-order-to-reason/)

[Philip Johnson-Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-johnson-laird/)

> [“The obvious cure for the tragic shortcomings of human intuition in a high-tech world is education. And this offers priorities for educational policy: to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-obvious-cure-for-the-tragic-shortcomings-of-human-intuition-in-a/)

[Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/)

> [“Reality is not a thought experiment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-amerland/reality-is-not-a-thought-experiment/)

[David Amerland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-amerland/)

> [ “\[Mood allocates\] investments of time, effort, resources, and risk taking to maximize Darwinian fitness in situations of varying propitiousness. High and low moods adjust… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/mood-allocates-investments-of-time-effort-resources-and-risk-taking/)

[Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/)

> [In the early days the Cubism' method of grasping an object was to go round and round it. The Futurists declared that one had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gino-severini/in-the-early-days-the-cubism-method-of-grasping-an-object-was-to-go/)

[Gino Severini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gino-severini/)

> [Faith is the commitment of one's consciousness to beliefs for which one has no sensory evidence or rational proof. When man rejects reason as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/faith-is-the-commitment-of-one-s-consciousness-to-beliefs-for-which/)

[Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/)

> [The arts make vivid the fact that words do not, in their literal form or number, exhaust what we can know. The limits of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/the-arts-make-vivid-the-fact-that-words-do-not-in-their-literal-form/)

[Elliot W. Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/)

> [“In order to build a truly wise society devoid of any kind of existential crisis, it is imperative that the individuals foster a healthy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/in-order-to-build-a-truly-wise-society-devoid-of-any-kind-of/)

[Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/)

> [I worry that the level of interrupt, the sort of overwhelming rapidity of information — and especially of stressful information — is in fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-schmidt/i-worry-that-the-level-of-interrupt-the-sort-of-overwhelming-rapidity/)

[Eric Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-schmidt/)

> [The emergence of a unified cognitive moment relies on the coordination of scattered mosaics of functionally specialized brain regions. Here we review the mechanisms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francisco-varela/the-emergence-of-a-unified-cognitive-moment-relies-on-the/)

[Francisco Varela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francisco-varela/)

> [“The moment you establish a line of communication between two points, you subtly change both. That is also true for the way the brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-amerland/the-moment-you-establish-a-line-of-communication-between-two-points/)

[David Amerland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-amerland/)

> [Faculty Psychology is getting to be respectable again after centuries of hanging around with phrenologists and other dubious types. By faculty psychology I mean,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-fodor/faculty-psychology-is-getting-to-be-respectable-again-after-centuries/)

[Jerry Fodor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-fodor/)

> [Relativism is neither a method of fighting, nor a method of creating, for both of these are uncompromising and at times even ruthless; rather,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karel-capek/relativism-is-neither-a-method-of-fighting-nor-a-method-of-creating/)

[Karel Capek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karel-capek/)

[Browse all 139 Cognition quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cognition/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“The limits of our cognition are not defined by the limits of our language.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Elliot W. Eisner"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/the-limits-of-our-cognition-are-not-defined-by-the-limits-of-our/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Cognition"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/the-limits-of-our-cognition-are-not-defined-by-the-limits-of-our/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c30/elliot-w-eisner-22990_cognition_the-limits-of-our-cognition-are-not-defi_2755163.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c30/elliot-w-eisner-22990_cognition_the-limits-of-our-cognition-are-not-defi_2755163.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c30/elliot-w-eisner-22990_cognition_the-limits-of-our-cognition-are-not-defi_2755163.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The limits of our cognition are not defined by the limits of our language.” — Elliot W. Eisner",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Elliot W. Eisner",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-w-eisner/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“The limits of our cognition are...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/the-limits-of-our-cognition-are-not-defined-by-the-limits-of-our/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-w-eisner/the-limits-of-our-cognition-are-not-defined-by-the-limits-of-our/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
