--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Reason in my philosophy is only a harmony…" description: "\"Reason in my philosophy is only a harmony among irrational impulses.\" — George Santayana" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5b/george-santayana-478_harmony_reason-in-my-philosophy-is-only-a-harmon_2454449.png" --- # Reason in my philosophy is only a harmony among irrational… ![“Reason in my philosophy is only a harmony among irrational impulses.” quote by George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5b/george-santayana-478_harmony_reason-in-my-philosophy-is-only-a-harmon_2454449.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5b/george-santayana-478_harmony_reason-in-my-philosophy-is-only-a-harmon_2454449.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5b/george-santayana-478_harmony_reason-in-my-philosophy-is-only-a-harmon_2454449.png) > “Reason in my philosophy is only a harmony among irrational impulses.” [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reason serves as a unifying melody that organizes chaotic, irrational drives into a harmonious whole. **In simple terms:** Reason harmonizes irrational impulses. Key Takeaway Use reason to organize inner chaos. Themes philosophy mind reason irrationality Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - decision making - personal development - conflict resolution Key Concepts harmony integration Questions to Reflect On - How can you apply reason to emotional turmoil? - What role does intuition play? A Different Perspective Reason alone cannot resolve deep emotional conflicts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Harmony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harmony/) [Irrational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irrational/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) ## Related quotes > [“Would it not therefore be wiser in moral concerns to acquiesce in the judgement of common reason, or at most only to call in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/would-it-not-therefore-be-wiser-in-moral-concerns-to-acquiesce-in-the/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [“This is not a new idea; this is the idea of the age of reason. This is the philosophy that guided the men that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/this-is-not-a-new-idea-this-is-the-idea-of-the-age-of-reason-this-is/) [Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/) > [It's clear to me that there is no good reason for many philosophy books to sound as complicated as they do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/it-s-clear-to-me-that-there-is-no-good-reason-for-many-philosophy/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“In the presence of death reason and philosophy are silent”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/in-the-presence-of-death-reason-and-philosophy-are-silent/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [The irrational in the human has something about it altogether repulsive and terrible, as we see in the maniac, the miser, the drunkard or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-irrational-in-the-human-has-something-about-it-altogether/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [We should have to abandon our vested illusions, our irrational religions and patriotisms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/we-should-have-to-abandon-our-vested-illusions-our-irrational/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [My greatest personal mistake is ever to allow a word or moment that “doesn’t count,” i.e., that I do not refer to my own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/my-greatest-personal-mistake-is-ever-to-allow-a-word-or-moment-that/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [America must deal once and for all with an utterly irrational health care financing system that allows private interests to make billions in profits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-gordon/america-must-deal-once-and-for-all-with-an-utterly-irrational-health/) [Suzanne Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-gordon/) > [For people of color - especially African Americans - the idea that racist cops might frame members of their community is no abstract notion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/for-people-of-color-especially-african-americans-the-idea-that-racist/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [But jealousy... it's a strange thing. So much more powerful then I would have thought. And irrational!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-cullen/but-jealousy-it-s-a-strange-thing-so-much-more-powerful-then-i-would/) [Edward Cullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-cullen/) > [The advance of science spares us from irrational dread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/the-advance-of-science-spares-us-from-irrational-dread/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [There are big, extremely irrational parts of the society, and they have now been mobilized politically by the Republican establishment, hoping that these people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-big-extremely-irrational-parts-of-the-society-and-they-have/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [To be against rationalization is not the same as to be opposed to reasoning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/to-be-against-rationalization-is-not-the-same-as-to-be-opposed-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“...the irrational will have its say, perhaps because 'irrational' is the wrong word for it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/the-irrational-will-have-its-say-perhaps-because-irrational-is-the/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [It is true that from a behavioral economics perspective we are fallible, easily confused, not that smart, and often irrational. We are more like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/it-is-true-that-from-a-behavioral-economics-perspective-we-are/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) ## More by George Santayana > [Perhaps the universe is nothing but an equilibrium of idiocies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/perhaps-the-universe-is-nothing-but-an-equilibrium-of-idiocies/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [The combative instinct is a savage prompting by which one man's good is found in another's evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-combative-instinct-is-a-savage-prompting-by-which-one-man-s-good/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Sanctity and genius are as rebellious as vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/sanctity-and-genius-are-as-rebellious-as-vice/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [To attempt to be religious without practicing a specific religion is as possible as attempting to speak without a specific language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/to-attempt-to-be-religious-without-practicing-a-specific-religion-is/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [“The contemporary world has turned its back on the attempt and even on the desire to live reasonably.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-contemporary-world-has-turned-its-back-on-the-attempt-and-even-on/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [The pride of the artisan in his art and its uses is pride in himself...It is in his skill and ability to make things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-pride-of-the-artisan-in-his-art-and-its-uses-is-pride-in-himself/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [If pain could have cured us we should long ago have been saved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/if-pain-could-have-cured-us-we-should-long-ago-have-been-saved/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Towers in a modern town are a frill and a survival; they seem like the raised hands of the various churches, afraid of being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/towers-in-a-modern-town-are-a-frill-and-a-survival-they-seem-like-the/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Wealth, religion, military victory have more rhetorical than efficacious worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/wealth-religion-military-victory-have-more-rhetorical-than/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Whoever it was who searched the heavens with a telescope and found no God would not have found the human mind if he had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/whoever-it-was-who-searched-the-heavens-with-a-telescope-and-found-no/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [It is easier to make a saint out of a libertine than out of a prig.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/it-is-easier-to-make-a-saint-out-of-a-libertine-than-out-of-a-prig/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Experience is a mere whiff or rumble, produced by enormously complex and ill-deciphered causes of experience; and in the other direction, experience is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/experience-is-a-mere-whiff-or-rumble-produced-by-enormously-complex/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Miracles are propitious accidents, the natural causes of which are too complicated to be readily understood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/miracles-are-propitious-accidents-the-natural-causes-of-which-are-too/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Memory itself is an internal rumour; and when to this hearsay within the mind we add the falsified echoes that reach us from others,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/memory-itself-is-an-internal-rumour-and-when-to-this-hearsay-within/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Familiarity breeds contempt only when it breeds inattention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/familiarity-breeds-contempt-only-when-it-breeds-inattention/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) [Explore all 530 George Santayana quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) ## More Harmony quotes > [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. We want a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/we-do-not-want-nowadays-temples-of-worship-and-outward-rites-and/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [Just understand that the good that you want is already here. All you have to do is get in harmony with it. And you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/just-understand-that-the-good-that-you-want-is-already-here-all-you/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [“Achieving mental harmony is one of the greatest goals and experiences in life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kambiz-mostofizadeh/achieving-mental-harmony-is-one-of-the-greatest-goals-and-experiences/) [Kambiz Mostofizadeh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kambiz-mostofizadeh/) > [I'm proud to stand with U.S. Impact Team in their initiative to create harmony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-stanton-king/i-m-proud-to-stand-with-u-s-impact-team-in-their-initiative-to-create/) [Angela Stanton-King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-stanton-king/) > [Most of us want to live in harmony and peace and be good to others. Right now, however, the world is in a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hany-abu-assad/most-of-us-want-to-live-in-harmony-and-peace-and-be-good-to-others/) [Hany Abu-Assad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hany-abu-assad/) > [It is easy to speak words of love, or to meditate lovingly upon those people with whom you are in harmony. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ponder/it-is-easy-to-speak-words-of-love-or-to-meditate-lovingly-upon-those/) [Catherine Ponder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ponder/) > [“Disharmony at home or work is toxic to a person’s physical disposition and mental health.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/disharmony-at-home-or-work-is-toxic-to-a-person-s-physical/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) > [What a strange power the perception of beauty is! It seems to ebb and flow like some secret tide, independent alike of health and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-benson/what-a-strange-power-the-perception-of-beauty-is-it-seems-to-ebb-and/) [A. C. Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-benson/) > [If you want to find greater happiness and fulfillment in your life, you must begin to understand and live in harmony with the law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-canfield/if-you-want-to-find-greater-happiness-and-fulfillment-in-your-life/) [Jack Canfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-canfield/) > [If you long for peace, act in peace and harmony. If you want the world to change, start with the person in the mirror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-long-for-peace-act-in-peace-and-harmony-if-you-want-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The spirit of the West, of America, is different than the East. The cultural conditioning is very different. It seems to be harder for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-spirit-of-the-west-of-america-is-different-than-the-east-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“Life is always great, when shared in a spirit of love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/life-is-always-great-when-shared-in-a-spirit-of-love/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“The peace of God is with them whose mind and soul are in harmony, who are free from desire and wrath, who know their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-peace-of-god-is-with-them-whose-mind-and-soul-are-in-harmony-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Every marriage is different, but the most important factor in a strong relationship is the love and harmony between the couple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hema-malini/every-marriage-is-different-but-the-most-important-factor-in-a-strong/) [Hema Malini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hema-malini/) > [“We're supposed to strive for harmony, and that's what the art of tea is supposed to accomplish... but harmony is very, very difficult to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/koushun-takami/we-re-supposed-to-strive-for-harmony-and-that-s-what-the-art-of-tea/) [Koushun Takami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/koushun-takami/) [Browse all 2,638 Harmony quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harmony/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Reason in my philosophy is only a harmony among irrational impulses.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Santayana" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/reason-in-my-philosophy-is-only-a-harmony-among-irrational-impulses/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Harmony" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/reason-in-my-philosophy-is-only-a-harmony-among-irrational-impulses/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5b/george-santayana-478_harmony_reason-in-my-philosophy-is-only-a-harmon_2454449.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5b/george-santayana-478_harmony_reason-in-my-philosophy-is-only-a-harmon_2454449.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5b/george-santayana-478_harmony_reason-in-my-philosophy-is-only-a-harmon_2454449.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Reason in my philosophy is only a harmony among irrational impulses.” — George Santayana", "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": "George Santayana", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Reason in my philosophy is only...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/reason-in-my-philosophy-is-only-a-harmony-among-irrational-impulses/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/reason-in-my-philosophy-is-only-a-harmony-among-irrational-impulses/#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 } } ] } ```