--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Idealism, though just in its premises…" description: "\"Idealism, though just in its premises, and often daring and honest in their application, is stultified by the exclusive intellectualism of its own meth..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c22/evelyn-underhill-4102_application_idealism-though-just-in-its-premises-and_1033902.png" --- # Idealism, though just in its premises, and often daring… ![“Idealism, though just in its premises, and often daring and honest in their application, is stultified by the exclusive intellectualism of its own methods: by its fatal trust in the squirrel-work of the industrious brain instead of the piercing vision of the desirous heart. It interests man, but…” quote by Evelyn Underhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c22/evelyn-underhill-4102_application_idealism-though-just-in-its-premises-and_1033902.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c22/evelyn-underhill-4102_application_idealism-though-just-in-its-premises-and_1033902.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c22/evelyn-underhill-4102_application_idealism-though-just-in-its-premises-and_1033902.png) > “Idealism, though just in its premises, and often daring and honest in their application, is stultified by the exclusive intellectualism of its own methods: by its fatal trust in the squirrel-work of the industrious brain instead of the piercing vision of the desirous heart. It interests man, but does not involve him in its processes: does not catch him up to the new and more real life which it describes. Hence the thing that matters, the living thing, has somehow escaped it; and its observations bear the same relation to reality as the art of the anatomist does to the mystery of birth.” [Evelyn Underhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-underhill/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that idealism, while noble, is limited by overly rational methods, neglecting the passionate, intuitive heart that connects us to lived reality. **In simple terms:** Rationalism can trap idealism, ignoring heart‑driven insight. Key Takeaway Balance intellect with heartfelt intuition. Themes idealism intellect heart spirituality Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - creative arts - spiritual practice - education Key Concepts philosophy intuition human experience Questions to Reflect On - How can we integrate heart and mind? - What practices nurture intuitive insight? A Different Perspective Pure rationalism may ignore emotional truth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Bears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/) [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Daring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daring/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest/) [Idealism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idealism/) [Intellectualism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectualism/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery/) [Mysticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysticism/) [Observation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observation/) [Piercings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/piercings/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Real life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-life/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Squirrels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/squirrels/) [Things that matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-that-matter/) [Trust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trust/) [Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision/) ## Related quotes > [Life without idealism is empty indeed. We just hope or starve to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/life-without-idealism-is-empty-indeed-we-just-hope-or-starve-to-death/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [This preparatory sort of idealism is the one that, as I just suggested, Berkeley made prominent, and, after a fashion familiar. I must state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josiah-royce/this-preparatory-sort-of-idealism-is-the-one-that-as-i-just-suggested/) [Josiah Royce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josiah-royce/) > [“There was a time when you trusted me with your life!” “And there was a time when you used your brain instead of blindly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-chance/there-was-a-time-when-you-trusted-me-with-your-life-and-there-was-a/) [Karen Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-chance/) > [Well, what if we did this in the mind as opposed to the brain? 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Never give up! You will learn to do things for your brain instead of relying on your brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-and-beth-jameson/yes-you-are-a-different-person-never-give-up-you-will-learn-to-do/) Larry and Beth Jameson > [It's like there's a filter set up in my brain, except instead of making things better, it twists everything around so what comes out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-s-like-there-s-a-filter-set-up-in-my-brain-except-instead-of/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [Now, men think, with regard to their conduct, that, if they were to lift themselves up gigantically and commit some crashing sin, they should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/now-men-think-with-regard-to-their-conduct-that-if-they-were-to-lift/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [I was walking along the road with two friends. The sun set. I felt a tinge of melancholy. Suddenly the sky became a bloody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edvard-munch/i-was-walking-along-the-road-with-two-friends-the-sun-set-i-felt-a/) [Edvard Munch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edvard-munch/) > [Man screams from the depths of his soul; the whole era becomes a single, piercing shriek. Art also screams, into the deep darkness, screams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-bahr/man-screams-from-the-depths-of-his-soul-the-whole-era-becomes-a/) [Hermann Bahr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-bahr/) > [In a last violent protest against the hopelessness of imminent death, I sensed my spirit piercing through the enveloping gloom. I felt it transcend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/in-a-last-violent-protest-against-the-hopelessness-of-imminent-death/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [I wasn't really into body piercings until I found that about half my female students had them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/i-wasn-t-really-into-body-piercings-until-i-found-that-about-half-my/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [Obviously, if you don't love life, you can't enjoy an oyster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-clark/obviously-if-you-don-t-love-life-you-can-t-enjoy-an-oyster/) [Eleanor Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-clark/) ## More by Evelyn Underhill > [Sometimes I think the resurrection of the body, unless much improved in construction, a mistake!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-underhill/sometimes-i-think-the-resurrection-of-the-body-unless-much-improved/) [Evelyn Underhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-underhill/) > [But so many Christians are like deaf people at a concert. 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The uncertainties only begin for most of us when we ask…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-underhill/no-metaphysician-has-yet-shaken-the-ordinary-individual-s-belief-in/) [Evelyn Underhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-underhill/) > [Love makes the whole difference between an execution and a martyrdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-underhill/love-makes-the-whole-difference-between-an-execution-and-a-martyrdom/) [Evelyn Underhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-underhill/) > [A simple rule, to be followed whether one is in the light or not, gives backbone to one's spiritual life, as nothing else can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-underhill/a-simple-rule-to-be-followed-whether-one-is-in-the-light-or-not-gives/) [Evelyn Underhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-underhill/) > [Every minute you are thinking of evil, you might have been thinking of good instead. Refuse to pander to a morbid interest in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-underhill/every-minute-you-are-thinking-of-evil-you-might-have-been-thinking-of/) [Evelyn Underhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-underhill/) > [It seems so much easier in these days to live morally than to live beautifully. 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I'm really excited about the partnership…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mc-hammer/i-ve-been-in-real-estate-for-a-long-time-and-i-always-try-to-stay-on/) [MC Hammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mc-hammer/) > [If we blow ourselves up we will do it by misapplication of science; if we manage to keep from blowing ourselves up, it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/if-we-blow-ourselves-up-we-will-do-it-by-misapplication-of-science-if/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“...why don't you take a picture of yourself next to a fucking job application? How about that?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-wolf/why-don-t-you-take-a-picture-of-yourself-next-to-a-fucking-job/) Josh Wolf > [Everything for us is a system. 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