--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At least descriptive psychology is…" description: "\"“At least descriptive psychology is probably, taken as a whole, a form of anthropomorphism, a nibbling at our own limits.”\" — Franz Kafka" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/553/franz-kafka-214_psychology_at-least-descriptive-psychology-is-proba_2099840.jpg" --- # At least descriptive psychology is probably, taken as a… ![“At least descriptive psychology is probably, taken as a whole, a form of anthropomorphism, a nibbling at our own limits.” quote by Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/553/franz-kafka-214_psychology_at-least-descriptive-psychology-is-proba_2099840.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/553/franz-kafka-214_psychology_at-least-descriptive-psychology-is-proba_2099840.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/553/franz-kafka-214_psychology_at-least-descriptive-psychology-is-proba_2099840.jpg) > ““At least descriptive psychology is probably, taken as a whole, a form of anthropomorphism, a nibbling at our own limits.”” [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author critiques descriptive psychology as a form of projecting human traits onto nature, limiting understanding. **In simple terms:** Descriptive psychology can anthropomorphize nature. Key Takeaway Avoid projecting human bias onto scientific study. Themes psychology philosophy anthropomorphism science critique Mood analytical skeptical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - scientific research - philosophical debate - education curricula Key Concepts epistemology human nature methodology Questions to Reflect On - How can we study nature without bias? - When is anthropomorphism helpful? A Different Perspective The view may overlook useful analogies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anthropomorphism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthropomorphism/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [Psychology is probably the most important factor in the market - and one that is least understood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-dreman/psychology-is-probably-the-most-important-factor-in-the-market-and/) [David Dreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-dreman/) > [The general statement that the mental faculties are class concepts, belonging to descriptive psychology, relieves us of the necessity of discussing them and their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-wundt/the-general-statement-that-the-mental-faculties-are-class-concepts/) [Wilhelm Wundt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-wundt/) > [I worry about anthropomorphism as a form of self-deception. 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We simply cannot explain the kinds of problem solving and behavioral sophistication…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/talk-of-belief-in-these-animals-is-not-some-kind-of-anthropomorphism/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [“The problem is not that dolphins are dumber than we thought, but that our anthropomorphism inevitably makes it hard to understand an intelligence other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/the-problem-is-not-that-dolphins-are-dumber-than-we-thought-but-that/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [“A fox passing through the wood on business of his own stopped several minutes and sniffed. 'Hobbits!' he thought. 'Well, what next? I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien/a-fox-passing-through-the-wood-on-business-of-his-own-stopped-several/) [J.R.R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien/) > [What then is truth? A movable host of metaphors, metonymies, and anthropomorphisms: in short, a sum of human relations which have been poetically and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/what-then-is-truth-a-movable-host-of-metaphors-metonymies-and/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Homo economicus was surreptitiously taken as the emblem and analogue for all living beings. A mechanistic anthropomorphism has gained currency. Bacteria are imagined to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/homo-economicus-was-surreptitiously-taken-as-the-emblem-and-analogue/) [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) > [ “Then there's the pillar statue in the semi-subterranean temple at Tiahuanaco \[Bolivia\]. Like the Totem Pole of Göbekli Tepe, it is anthropomorphic. 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We become attached to dogs because of the feelings we project on them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-berge/loving-dogs-is-a-question-of-anthropomorphism-we-become-attached-to/) [Pierre Berge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-berge/) > [Anthropocentrism gave rise to boredom, and when anthropomorphism was replaced by technocentrism, boredom became even more profound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anthropocentrism-gave-rise-to-boredom-and-when-anthropomorphism-was/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We know from the truths of evolution and ecology that we are all related and interdependent. Anthropomorphism (crediting animals with human emotions and traits)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-fox/we-know-from-the-truths-of-evolution-and-ecology-that-we-are-all/) [Michael Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-fox/) > [“The river loved to tell everybody (everybody being the sky, the wind, the few trees that grew around there, birds, deer and even the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brautigan/the-river-loved-to-tell-everybody-everybody-being-the-sky-the-wind/) [Richard Brautigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brautigan/) > [“There is an universal tendency amongst mankind to conceive all beings like themselves, and to transfer to every object those qualities, with which they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/there-is-an-universal-tendency-amongst-mankind-to-conceive-all-beings/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) ## More by Franz Kafka > [ “The tremendous world I have inside my head. But how \[to\] free myself and free it without being torn to pieces. And a thousand… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-tremendous-world-i-have-inside-my-head-but-how-to-free-myself-and/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [What I write is different from what I say, what I say is different from what I think, what I think is different from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/what-i-write-is-different-from-what-i-say-what-i-say-is-different/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“A fine setting for a fit of despair,” it occurred to him, “if I were only standing here by accident instead of design.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/a-fine-setting-for-a-fit-of-despair-it-occurred-to-him-if-i-were-only/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“Ali svi se slažu u tome da se ne podižu lakomislene optužbe i da se sud, kad jedanput nekog optuži i kad je uvjeren…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/ali-svi-se-sla-u-u-tome-da-se-ne-podi-u-lakomislene-optu-be-i-da-se/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [My job is unbearable to me because it conflicts with my only desire and my only calling, which is literature. 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As heavy, as light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/faith-like-a-guillotine-as-heavy-as-light/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [You need not even listen, just wait...the world will offer itself freely to you, unmasking itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/you-need-not-even-listen-just-wait-the-world-will-offer-itself-freely/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“I will cross hundreds of seas and oceans without sinking to reach you, see your eyes and sink completely into their depths.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-will-cross-hundreds-of-seas-and-oceans-without-sinking-to-reach-you/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [I have no memory for things I have learned, nor things I have read, nor things experienced or heard, neither for people nor events;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-have-no-memory-for-things-i-have-learned-nor-things-i-have-read-nor/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“This sounds crazy, but it is so. Nor is it perhaps really love when I say that for me you are the most beloved;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/this-sounds-crazy-but-it-is-so-nor-is-it-perhaps-really-love-when-i/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [The more horses you yoke the quicker everything will go - not the rending of the block from its foundation, which is impossible, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-more-horses-you-yoke-the-quicker-everything-will-go-not-the/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Martyrs do not underrate the body, they allow it to be elevated on the cross. In this they are at one with their antagonists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/martyrs-do-not-underrate-the-body-they-allow-it-to-be-elevated-on-the/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [The true way goes over a line that, rather than spanning heights, is hardly above the ground. It appears more decidedly to make one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-true-way-goes-over-a-line-that-rather-than-spanning-heights-is/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Every new discovery is assumed at once into the sum total of knowledge, and with that ceases in a sense to be a discovery;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/every-new-discovery-is-assumed-at-once-into-the-sum-total-of/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“Sou de pedra. Sou a minha própria pedra tumular, sem nenhum interstício para a dúvida ou para a fé, para o amor ou para…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/sou-de-pedra-sou-a-minha-pr-pria-pedra-tumular-sem-nenhum-interst-cio/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) [Explore all 741 Franz Kafka quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) ## More Anthropomorphism quotes > [I worry about anthropomorphism as a form of self-deception. 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We become attached to dogs because of the feelings we project on them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-berge/loving-dogs-is-a-question-of-anthropomorphism-we-become-attached-to/) [Pierre Berge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-berge/) > [“For any anthropomorphism we use to describe our dogs, we can ask two questions: One, is there a natural behavior this action might have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-horowitz/for-any-anthropomorphism-we-use-to-describe-our-dogs-we-can-ask-two/) [Alexandra Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-horowitz/) > [ “Then there's the pillar statue in the semi-subterranean temple at Tiahuanaco \[Bolivia\]. Like the Totem Pole of Göbekli Tepe, it is anthropomorphic. Like the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-hancock/then-there-s-the-pillar-statue-in-the-semi-subterranean-temple-at/) [Graham Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-hancock/) > [“Homo economicus was surreptitiously taken as the emblem and analogue for all living beings. A mechanistic anthropomorphism has gained currency. Bacteria are imagined to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/homo-economicus-was-surreptitiously-taken-as-the-emblem-and-analogue/) [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) > [What then is truth? A movable host of metaphors, metonymies, and anthropomorphisms: in short, a sum of human relations which have been poetically and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/what-then-is-truth-a-movable-host-of-metaphors-metonymies-and/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“A fox passing through the wood on business of his own stopped several minutes and sniffed. 'Hobbits!' he thought. 'Well, what next? I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien/a-fox-passing-through-the-wood-on-business-of-his-own-stopped-several/) [J.R.R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien/) > [“The problem is not that dolphins are dumber than we thought, but that our anthropomorphism inevitably makes it hard to understand an intelligence other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/the-problem-is-not-that-dolphins-are-dumber-than-we-thought-but-that/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [Talk of belief in these animals is not some kind of anthropomorphism. We simply cannot explain the kinds of problem solving and behavioral sophistication…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/talk-of-belief-in-these-animals-is-not-some-kind-of-anthropomorphism/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [“There is an universal tendency amongst mankind to conceive all beings like themselves, and to transfer to every object those qualities, with which they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/there-is-an-universal-tendency-amongst-mankind-to-conceive-all-beings/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [In truth, one cannot, it seems, oppose mechanism and finalism, one cannot oppose mechanism and anthropomorphism, for if the functioning of a machine is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-canguilhem/in-truth-one-cannot-it-seems-oppose-mechanism-and-finalism-one-cannot/) [Georges Canguilhem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-canguilhem/) > [“This afternoon I sat at my window and alternately wrote at my new serial and watched a couple of dear, amusing, youngish maple-trees at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/this-afternoon-i-sat-at-my-window-and-alternately-wrote-at-my-new/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) [Browse all 27 Anthropomorphism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthropomorphism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“At least descriptive psychology is probably, taken as a whole, a form of anthropomorphism, a nibbling at our own limits.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Franz Kafka" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/at-least-descriptive-psychology-is-probably-taken-as-a-whole-a-form/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anthropomorphism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/at-least-descriptive-psychology-is-probably-taken-as-a-whole-a-form/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/553/franz-kafka-214_psychology_at-least-descriptive-psychology-is-proba_2099840.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/553/franz-kafka-214_psychology_at-least-descriptive-psychology-is-proba_2099840.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/553/franz-kafka-214_psychology_at-least-descriptive-psychology-is-proba_2099840.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“At least descriptive psychology is probably, taken as a whole, a form of anthropomorphism, a nibbling at our…” — Franz Kafka", "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": "Franz Kafka", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“At least descriptive psychology is probably,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/at-least-descriptive-psychology-is-probably-taken-as-a-whole-a-form/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/at-least-descriptive-psychology-is-probably-taken-as-a-whole-a-form/#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 } } ] } ```