--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The beginning of human knowledge is…" description: "\"The beginning of human knowledge is through the senses, and the fiction writer begins where the human perception begins. He appeals through the senses,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a99/flannery-o-connor-639_abstraction_the-beginning-of-human-knowledge-is-thro_119122.png" --- # The beginning of human knowledge is through the senses… ![“The beginning of human knowledge is through the senses, and the fiction writer begins where the human perception begins. He appeals through the senses, and you cannot appeal through the senses with abstractions.” quote by Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a99/flannery-o-connor-639_abstraction_the-beginning-of-human-knowledge-is-thro_119122.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a99/flannery-o-connor-639_abstraction_the-beginning-of-human-knowledge-is-thro_119122.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a99/flannery-o-connor-639_abstraction_the-beginning-of-human-knowledge-is-thro_119122.png) > “The beginning of human knowledge is through the senses, and the fiction writer begins where the human perception begins. He appeals through the senses, and you cannot appeal through the senses with abstractions.” [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Argues that sensory experience grounds knowledge, while fiction must begin where perception ends, avoiding abstract abstraction that cannot engage the senses. **In simple terms:** Stories start from what we can feel. Key Takeaway Sensory grounding enriches narrative. Themes perception fiction sensory detail epistemology Mood thoughtful instructive Type literary educational When to use this quote - creative writing workshops - literary criticism - educational curricula - marketing copy Key Concepts embodied cognition Practical Applications - use vivid imagery - anchor abstract ideas in concrete details Questions to Reflect On - How does sensory detail shape reader empathy? - When is abstraction necessary in storytelling? A Different Perspective Purely sensory focus may limit exploration of complex, intangible concepts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction/) [Appeals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appeals/) [Beginning Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning-human-233125/) [Crafts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crafts/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fiction writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-writer/) [Fiction writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-writers/) [Human knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-knowledge/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Perception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perception/) [Senses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/senses/) [Senses Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/senses-fiction-1393254/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The foundation of all human knowledge, the beginning of human consciousness, must be that each and every one of us is an object of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jackson/the-foundation-of-all-human-knowledge-the-beginning-of-human/) [Michael Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jackson/) > [If you want to be a fiction writer, you need to start reading like a fiction writer. To do so, you need to learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcnally/if-you-want-to-be-a-fiction-writer-you-need-to-start-reading-like-a/) [John McNally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcnally/) > [I am very much afraid that to the fiction writer the fact that we shall always have the poor with us is a source…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/i-am-very-much-afraid-that-to-the-fiction-writer-the-fact-that-we/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [... the main concern of the fiction writer is with mystery as it is incarnated in human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/the-main-concern-of-the-fiction-writer-is-with-mystery-as-it-is/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [The fiction writer has to engage in a continual examination of conscience. He has to be aware of the freak in himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/the-fiction-writer-has-to-engage-in-a-continual-examination-of/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [It's always great when you want scientific fact to get a really good science fiction writer to talk to you about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/it-s-always-great-when-you-want-scientific-fact-to-get-a-really-good/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [If you're a fiction writer, though, I can tell you how to let people talk through you. Listen. Just be quiet, and listen. Let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/if-you-re-a-fiction-writer-though-i-can-tell-you-how-to-let-people/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [A fiction writer is never entirely alone. Her characters are constantly whispering in her ear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cinda-williams-chima/a-fiction-writer-is-never-entirely-alone-her-characters-are/) [Cinda Williams Chima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cinda-williams-chima/) > [What I'm doing is exploring things. This is why I'm a fiction writer rather than an essayist or a politician or whatever. I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-c-boyle/what-i-m-doing-is-exploring-things-this-is-why-i-m-a-fiction-writer/) [T.C. Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-c-boyle/) > [If I couldn't be a fiction writer, I would be a roller coaster designer for theme parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wells/if-i-couldn-t-be-a-fiction-writer-i-would-be-a-roller-coaster/) [Mike Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wells/) > [The challenge for any fiction writer is that your job involves simply sitting at a desk for a very, very long time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-harbach/the-challenge-for-any-fiction-writer-is-that-your-job-involves-simply/) [Chad Harbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-harbach/) > [As a fiction writer, one of things you learn is God lives in specificity. You know, human kindness is increased as we pursue specificity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/as-a-fiction-writer-one-of-things-you-learn-is-god-lives-in/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [The training of a journalist, of working with words for thousands of hours, is extraordinarily useful for a fiction writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/the-training-of-a-journalist-of-working-with-words-for-thousands-of/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) > [I don't think the function of writing, at least for me as a fiction writer, is to say to people, "Here's the answer." It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/i-don-t-think-the-function-of-writing-at-least-for-me-as-a-fiction/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [The fiction writer has a lot of balls to juggle. Setting, pacing, dialogue, and so on. And let's not forget: plot. That was always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-marvin/the-fiction-writer-has-a-lot-of-balls-to-juggle-setting-pacing/) [Cate Marvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-marvin/) ## More by Flannery O'Connor > [“Wait here, wait here!" he cried and jumped up and began to run for help toward a cluster of lights he saw in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/wait-here-wait-here-he-cried-and-jumped-up-and-began-to-run-for-help/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [... the man in the violent situation reveals those qualities least dispensable in his personality, those qualities which are all he will have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/the-man-in-the-violent-situation-reveals-those-qualities-least/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“I don’t know how to cure the source-itis except to tell you that I can discover a good many possible sources myself for Wise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/i-don-t-know-how-to-cure-the-source-itis-except-to-tell-you-that-i/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“For the fiction writer himself the whole story is the meaning, because it is an experience, not an abstraction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/for-the-fiction-writer-himself-the-whole-story-is-the-meaning-because/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Everything that gave her pleasure was small and depressed him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/everything-that-gave-her-pleasure-was-small-and-depressed-him/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [To the hard of hearing you shout, and for the almost blind you draw large and startling figures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/to-the-hard-of-hearing-you-shout-and-for-the-almost-blind-you-draw/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“He felt his hunger no longer as a pain but as a tide. He felt it rising in himself through time and darkness, rising…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/he-felt-his-hunger-no-longer-as-a-pain-but-as-a-tide-he-felt-it/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“Where you come from is gone, where you thought you were going to never was there, and where you are is no good unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/where-you-come-from-is-gone-where-you-thought-you-were-going-to-never/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Technique in the minds of many is something rigid, something like a formula that you impose on the material; but in the best stories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/technique-in-the-minds-of-many-is-something-rigid-something-like-a/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“There are all kinds of truth ... but behind all of them there is only one truth and that is that there's no truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/there-are-all-kinds-of-truth-but-behind-all-of-them-there-is-only-one/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“Mrs. May winced. She thought the word Jesus should be kept inside the church building like other words inside the bedroom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/mrs-may-winced-she-thought-the-word-jesus-should-be-kept-inside-the/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [I feel that discussing story-writing in terms of plot, character, and theme is like trying to describe the expression on a face by saying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/i-feel-that-discussing-story-writing-in-terms-of-plot-character-and/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [She had observed that the more education they got, the less they could do. Their father had gone to a one-room schoolhouse through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/she-had-observed-that-the-more-education-they-got-the-less-they-could/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [One of the awful things about writing when you are a Christian is that for you the ultimate reality is the Incarnation, the present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/one-of-the-awful-things-about-writing-when-you-are-a-christian-is/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“Hazel Motes sat at a forward angel on the green plush train seat, looking one minute at the window as if he might want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/hazel-motes-sat-at-a-forward-angel-on-the-green-plush-train-seat/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) [Explore all 432 Flannery O'Connor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) ## More Abstraction quotes > [Everything in dancing is style, allusion, the essence of many thoughts and feelings. The abstraction of many moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-ailey/everything-in-dancing-is-style-allusion-the-essence-of-many-thoughts/) [Alvin Ailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-ailey/) > [The premises from which we begin are not arbitrary ones, not dogmas, but real premises from which abstraction can only be made in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/the-premises-from-which-we-begin-are-not-arbitrary-ones-not-dogmas/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [Two elements are needed to form a truth - a fact and an abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/two-elements-are-needed-to-form-a-truth-a-fact-and-an-abstraction/) [Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/) > [But we must not underestimate the potency of the mathematical process of abstraction. A surprising variety of things happen to have both magnitude and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banesh-hoffmann/but-we-must-not-underestimate-the-potency-of-the-mathematical-process/) [Banesh Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banesh-hoffmann/) > [Sometimes I start in a very realistic fashion, and as I go on from one painting to another of the same kind, it becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/sometimes-i-start-in-a-very-realistic-fashion-and-as-i-go-on-from-one/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [I like residing in abstraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sufjan-stevens/i-like-residing-in-abstraction/) [Sufjan Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sufjan-stevens/) > [Cancer begins and ends with people. In the midst of scientific abstraction, it is sometimes possible to forget this one basic fact. Doctors treat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-goodfield/cancer-begins-and-ends-with-people-in-the-midst-of-scientific/) [June Goodfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-goodfield/) > [Yes, there was an element of abstraction and unreality in misfortune. But when an abstraction starts to kill you, you have to get to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/yes-there-was-an-element-of-abstraction-and-unreality-in-misfortune/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Computer Science is a science of abstraction -creating the right model for a problem and devising the appropriate mechanizable techniques to solve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-aho/computer-science-is-a-science-of-abstraction-creating-the-right-model/) [Alfred Aho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-aho/) > [In 'Self Comes to Mind' I pay a lot of attention to simple creatures without brains or minds, because those 'cartooned abstractions of who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/in-self-comes-to-mind-i-pay-a-lot-of-attention-to-simple-creatures/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [Don't get stuck on the level of words. A word is no more than a means to an end. It's an abstraction. Not unlike…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/don-t-get-stuck-on-the-level-of-words-a-word-is-no-more-than-a-means/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Holidays are in no sense an alternative to the congestion and bustle of the cities and work. Quite the contrary. People look to escape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/holidays-are-in-no-sense-an-alternative-to-the-congestion-and-bustle/) [Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/) > [The pragmatist turns away from abstraction and insufficiency, from verbal solutions, from bad a priori reasons, from fixed principles, closed systems, and pretended absolutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-pragmatist-turns-away-from-abstraction-and-insufficiency-from/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [ I'd say that \[Louis\] Brandeis practiced a kind of a "living originalism," to use the title of Jack Balkin's great book. He said you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/i-d-say-that-louis-brandeis-practiced-a-kind-of-a-living-originalism/) [Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/) > [When novels deal in abstractions, they generally go off the rails.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/when-novels-deal-in-abstractions-they-generally-go-off-the-rails/) [Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/) [Browse all 562 Abstraction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The beginning of human knowledge is through the senses, and the fiction writer begins where the human perception begins. He appeals through the senses, and you cannot appeal through the senses with abstractions.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Flannery O'Connor" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/the-beginning-of-human-knowledge-is-through-the-senses-and-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abstraction" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/the-beginning-of-human-knowledge-is-through-the-senses-and-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a99/flannery-o-connor-639_abstraction_the-beginning-of-human-knowledge-is-thro_119122.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a99/flannery-o-connor-639_abstraction_the-beginning-of-human-knowledge-is-thro_119122.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a99/flannery-o-connor-639_abstraction_the-beginning-of-human-knowledge-is-thro_119122.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The beginning of human knowledge is through the senses, and the fiction writer begins where the human…” — Flannery O'Connor", "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": "Flannery O'Connor", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The beginning of human knowledge is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/the-beginning-of-human-knowledge-is-through-the-senses-and-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/the-beginning-of-human-knowledge-is-through-the-senses-and-the/#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 } } ] } ```