--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Not only the individual experience slowly…" description: "\"Not only the individual experience slowly acquired, but the accumulated experience of the race, organized in language, condensed in instruments and axi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2de/george-henry-lewes-4544_abstract_not-only-the-individual-experience-slowl_715839.jpg" --- # Not only the individual experience slowly acquired, but… ![“Not only the individual experience slowly acquired, but the accumulated experience of the race, organized in language, condensed in instruments and axioms, and in what may be called the inherited intuitions--these form the multiple unity which is expressed in the abstract term "experience.” quote by George Henry Lewes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2de/george-henry-lewes-4544_abstract_not-only-the-individual-experience-slowl_715839.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2de/george-henry-lewes-4544_abstract_not-only-the-individual-experience-slowl_715839.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2de/george-henry-lewes-4544_abstract_not-only-the-individual-experience-slowl_715839.jpg) > “Not only the individual experience slowly acquired, but the accumulated experience of the race, organized in language, condensed in instruments and axioms, and in what may be called the inherited intuitions--these form the multiple unity which is expressed in the abstract term "experience.” [George Henry Lewes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human knowledge builds on personal and collective experiences, organized through language, tools, and shared intuitions, forming a unified concept of "experience". **In simple terms:** Experience is personal plus shared knowledge shaped by language and tools. Key Takeaway Recognize both personal and cultural contributions to knowledge. Themes knowledge culture language collective memory Mood reflective intellectual Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - education - research - team projects - cross‑cultural communication Key Concepts philosophy of history epistemology social cognition Questions to Reflect On - How does language shape our perception of experience? - In what ways can we balance personal insight with collective wisdom? A Different Perspective May overlook individual creativity within collective frameworks. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Axioms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/axioms/) [Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Intuition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intuition/) [Intuitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intuitions/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Unity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unity/) ## Related quotes > [Home is where we know - and are known - through accumulated experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tall/home-is-where-we-know-and-are-known-through-accumulated-experience/) [Deborah Tall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tall/) > [“The accumulated experience of old age was much more interesting than the chatter of the young.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-worth/the-accumulated-experience-of-old-age-was-much-more-interesting-than/) [Jennifer Worth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-worth/) > [As any change must begin somewhere, it is the single individual who will experience it and carry it through. The change must indeed begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/as-any-change-must-begin-somewhere-it-is-the-single-individual-who/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [“Adjusting to any marriage, let alone a plural one, is an incredibly individual experience, and it is all-encompassing. Your entire worldview and your entire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-brown/adjusting-to-any-marriage-let-alone-a-plural-one-is-an-incredibly/) [Janelle Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-brown/) > [Among all the vicissitudes of life, which vary in each individual's experience, there is one event which sooner or later comes to everyone -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-heindel/among-all-the-vicissitudes-of-life-which-vary-in-each-individual-s/) [Max Heindel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-heindel/) > [“If we only live through the eyes of the others and don’t try to capture the vibration of our own individual experience, we may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/if-we-only-live-through-the-eyes-of-the-others-and-don-t-try-to/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [“XV. Personal Work—Three Kinds of Church Services—Church Members—Individual Experience—One Inquirer at a Time—Those who lack Assurance—Backsliders—Not Convicted of Sin—Deeply Convicted—The Divinity of Christ—Can’t Hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-l-moody/xv-personal-work-three-kinds-of-church-services-church-members/) [D.L. 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You have to go in and go where those roles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kalup-linzy/every-artist-s-world-is-an-individual-experience-and-no-one-thing-can/) [Kalup Linzy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kalup-linzy/) > [Writing is a channeling of an individual experience; so is reading. That's what's so exciting about this art form - it's interactive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-c-boyle/writing-is-a-channeling-of-an-individual-experience-so-is-reading/) [T.C. Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-c-boyle/) > [How can creativity be bad? You can have, "I liked it" or "I didn't like it," but, in the end, it's an individual experience.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-winding-refn/how-can-creativity-be-bad-you-can-have-i-liked-it-or-i-didn-t-like-it/) [Nicolas Winding Refn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-winding-refn/) > [“Religion is an individual experience of a universal mind and universal experience of an individual mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ajmal-siddiqi/religion-is-an-individual-experience-of-a-universal-mind-and/) Ajmal Siddiqi ## More by George Henry Lewes > [Heart and Brain are the two lords of life. 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