--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Clichés, stock phrases, adherence to…" description: "\"Clichés, stock phrases, adherence to conventional, standardized codes of expression and conduct have the socially recognized function of protecting us ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7d/hannah-arendt-610_adherence_clich-s-stock-phrases-adherence-to-conve_1286037.jpg" --- # Clichés, stock phrases, adherence to conventional… ![“Clichés, stock phrases, adherence to conventional, standardized codes of expression and conduct have the socially recognized function of protecting us against reality.” quote by Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7d/hannah-arendt-610_adherence_clich-s-stock-phrases-adherence-to-conve_1286037.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7d/hannah-arendt-610_adherence_clich-s-stock-phrases-adherence-to-conve_1286037.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7d/hannah-arendt-610_adherence_clich-s-stock-phrases-adherence-to-conve_1286037.jpg) > “Clichés, stock phrases, adherence to conventional, standardized codes of expression and conduct have the socially recognized function of protecting us against reality.” [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Conventional language and norms act as social shields, preventing us from confronting harsh realities directly. **In simple terms:** Standard phrases protect us from reality. Key Takeaway Question limiting language. Themes society language reality Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - media discourse - everyday conversation - political rhetoric Key Concepts social norms communication psychological defense Questions to Reflect On - How does language shape perception? - When is protective speech harmful? A Different Perspective May underestimate value of shared symbols. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adherence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adherence/) [Banality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/banality/) [Code](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/code/) [Conduct Socially](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conduct-socially-4173154/) [Conventional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conventional/) [Conventional Standardized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conventional-standardized-4173155/) [Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) [Function](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/function/) [Function Protecting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/function-protecting-2552729/) [Investing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investing/) [Phrases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phrases/) [Programming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programming/) [Protecting Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protecting-reality-2552727/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Socially Recognized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/socially-recognized-2552731/) ## Related quotes > [“Clichés, stock phrases, adherence to conventional, standardized codes of expression and conduct have the socially recognized function of protecting us against reality, that is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/clich-s-stock-phrases-adherence-to-conventional-standardized-codes-of-2/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [It is time that Christians were judged more by their likeness to Christ than their notions of Christ. Were this sentiment generally admitted we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretia-mott/it-is-time-that-christians-were-judged-more-by-their-likeness-to/) [Lucretia Mott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretia-mott/) > [“Adherence is key. Keep it in mind when designing experiments; design experiments you can adhere to.   3.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-marshall/adherence-is-key-keep-it-in-mind-when-designing-experiments-design/) [Sebastian Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-marshall/) > [If the student truly absorbs the concept of free inquiry in the field of music, unimpeded by blind adherence to doctrine and tradition, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-howard-schuman/if-the-student-truly-absorbs-the-concept-of-free-inquiry-in-the-field/) [William Howard Schuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-howard-schuman/) > [Prejudice and passion and suspicion are more dangerous than the incitement of self-interest or the most stubborn adherence to real differences of opinion regarding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elihu-root/prejudice-and-passion-and-suspicion-are-more-dangerous-than-the/) [Elihu Root](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elihu-root/) > [What I mean by the Muse is that unimpeded clearness of the intuitive powers, which a perfectly truthful adherence to every admonition of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-fuller/what-i-mean-by-the-muse-is-that-unimpeded-clearness-of-the-intuitive/) [Margaret Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-fuller/) > [That the foundation of our national policy should be laid in private morality. If individuals be not influenced by moral principles, it is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/that-the-foundation-of-our-national-policy-should-be-laid-in-private/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [It is not our affluence, or our plumbing, or our clogged freeways that grip the imagination of others. Rather, it is the values upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/it-is-not-our-affluence-or-our-plumbing-or-our-clogged-freeways-that/) [J. William Fulbright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-william-fulbright/) > [Devotion to the facts will always give the pleasures of recognition; adherence to the rules of design, the pleasures of order and certainty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/devotion-to-the-facts-will-always-give-the-pleasures-of-recognition/) [Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/) > [We love your adherence to democratic principles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-buckley-jr/we-love-your-adherence-to-democratic-principles/) [William F. Buckley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-buckley-jr/) > [Some communities will be abandoned, others will struggle along, others will split, others will flourish, gain members, and be duplicated elsewhere. Each community must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-nozick/some-communities-will-be-abandoned-others-will-struggle-along-others/) [Robert Nozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-nozick/) > [Having been brought up with a definition of faith as adherence to a set of beliefs, I have more and more begun to turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-brown-taylor/having-been-brought-up-with-a-definition-of-faith-as-adherence-to-a/) [Barbara Brown Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-brown-taylor/) > [“start with a baseline of how often a habit or practice atrophies or breaks down, and then you start stacking up advantages to increase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-marshall/start-with-a-baseline-of-how-often-a-habit-or-practice-atrophies-or/) [Sebastian Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-marshall/) > [Intellectual adherence is never owed to anything whatsoever, for it is never in any degree a voluntary thing. Attention alone is voluntary. It alone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/intellectual-adherence-is-never-owed-to-anything-whatsoever-for-it-is/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [No one is born with good character; it's not a hereditary trait. And it isn't determined by a single noble act. Character is established…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-josephson/no-one-is-born-with-good-character-it-s-not-a-hereditary-trait-and-it/) [Michael Josephson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-josephson/) ## More by Hannah Arendt > [“It means, first, that everything that appears in public can be seen and heard by everybody and has the widest possible publicity. For us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/it-means-first-that-everything-that-appears-in-public-can-be-seen-and/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [Without being forgiven, released from the consequences of what we have done, our capacity to act would, as it were, be confined to one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/without-being-forgiven-released-from-the-consequences-of-what-we-have/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [What really distinguishes this generation in all countries from earlier generations ... is its determination to act, its joy in action, the assurance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/what-really-distinguishes-this-generation-in-all-countries-from/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [The practice of violence, like all action, changes the world, but the most probable change is a more violent world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/the-practice-of-violence-like-all-action-changes-the-world-but-the/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [“Nationalism always preserved this initial intimate loyalty to the government and never quite lost its function of preserving a precarious balance between nation and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/nationalism-always-preserved-this-initial-intimate-loyalty-to-the/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [There is all the difference in the world between the criminal's avoiding the public eye and the civil disobedience's taking the law into his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/there-is-all-the-difference-in-the-world-between-the-criminal-s/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [“What imperialists actually wanted was expansion of political power without the foundation of the body politic. Imperialist expansion had been touched off by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/what-imperialists-actually-wanted-was-expansion-of-political-power/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [the greater the bureaucratization of public life, the greater will be the attraction of violence. In a fully developed bureaucracy there is nobody left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/the-greater-the-bureaucratization-of-public-life-the-greater-will-be/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [Forgiveness is the key to action and freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/forgiveness-is-the-key-to-action-and-freedom/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [Death not merely ends life, it also bestows upon it a silent completeness, snatched from the hazardous flux to which all things human are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/death-not-merely-ends-life-it-also-bestows-upon-it-a-silent/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [Only crime and the criminal, it is true, confront us with the perplexity of radical evil; but only the hypocrite is really rotten to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/only-crime-and-the-criminal-it-is-true-confront-us-with-the/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [We have almost succeeded in leveling all human activities to the common denominator of securing the necessities of life and providing for their abundance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/we-have-almost-succeeded-in-leveling-all-human-activities-to-the/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [“Totalitarian politics—far from being simply antisemitic or racist or imperialist or communist—use and abuse their own ideological and political elements until the basis of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/totalitarian-politics-far-from-being-simply-antisemitic-or-racist-or/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [“It is like the distinction between war and peace: just as war takes place for the sake of peace, thus every kind of activity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/it-is-like-the-distinction-between-war-and-peace-just-as-war-takes/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [Every end in history necessarily contains a new beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/every-end-in-history-necessarily-contains-a-new-beginning/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) [Explore all 405 Hannah Arendt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) ## More Adherence quotes > [No one is born with good character; it's not a hereditary trait. And it isn't determined by a single noble act. Character is established…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-josephson/no-one-is-born-with-good-character-it-s-not-a-hereditary-trait-and-it/) [Michael Josephson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-josephson/) > [Intellectual adherence is never owed to anything whatsoever, for it is never in any degree a voluntary thing. Attention alone is voluntary. It alone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/intellectual-adherence-is-never-owed-to-anything-whatsoever-for-it-is/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [“start with a baseline of how often a habit or practice atrophies or breaks down, and then you start stacking up advantages to increase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-marshall/start-with-a-baseline-of-how-often-a-habit-or-practice-atrophies-or/) [Sebastian Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-marshall/) > [Having been brought up with a definition of faith as adherence to a set of beliefs, I have more and more begun to turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-brown-taylor/having-been-brought-up-with-a-definition-of-faith-as-adherence-to-a/) [Barbara Brown Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-brown-taylor/) > [Some communities will be abandoned, others will struggle along, others will split, others will flourish, gain members, and be duplicated elsewhere. Each community must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-nozick/some-communities-will-be-abandoned-others-will-struggle-along-others/) [Robert Nozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-nozick/) > [We love your adherence to democratic principles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-buckley-jr/we-love-your-adherence-to-democratic-principles/) [William F. Buckley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-buckley-jr/) > [Devotion to the facts will always give the pleasures of recognition; adherence to the rules of design, the pleasures of order and certainty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/devotion-to-the-facts-will-always-give-the-pleasures-of-recognition/) [Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/) > [It is not our affluence, or our plumbing, or our clogged freeways that grip the imagination of others. Rather, it is the values upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/it-is-not-our-affluence-or-our-plumbing-or-our-clogged-freeways-that/) [J. William Fulbright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-william-fulbright/) > [That the foundation of our national policy should be laid in private morality. If individuals be not influenced by moral principles, it is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/that-the-foundation-of-our-national-policy-should-be-laid-in-private/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [What I mean by the Muse is that unimpeded clearness of the intuitive powers, which a perfectly truthful adherence to every admonition of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-fuller/what-i-mean-by-the-muse-is-that-unimpeded-clearness-of-the-intuitive/) [Margaret Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-fuller/) > [Prejudice and passion and suspicion are more dangerous than the incitement of self-interest or the most stubborn adherence to real differences of opinion regarding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elihu-root/prejudice-and-passion-and-suspicion-are-more-dangerous-than-the/) [Elihu Root](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elihu-root/) > [If the student truly absorbs the concept of free inquiry in the field of music, unimpeded by blind adherence to doctrine and tradition, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-howard-schuman/if-the-student-truly-absorbs-the-concept-of-free-inquiry-in-the-field/) [William Howard Schuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-howard-schuman/) > [“Adherence is key. Keep it in mind when designing experiments; design experiments you can adhere to.   3.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-marshall/adherence-is-key-keep-it-in-mind-when-designing-experiments-design/) [Sebastian Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-marshall/) > [It is time that Christians were judged more by their likeness to Christ than their notions of Christ. Were this sentiment generally admitted we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretia-mott/it-is-time-that-christians-were-judged-more-by-their-likeness-to/) [Lucretia Mott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretia-mott/) > [Sustainable change, after all, depends not upon compliance with external mandates or blind adherence to regulation, but rather upon the pursuit of the greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-b-reeves/sustainable-change-after-all-depends-not-upon-compliance-with/) [Douglas B. Reeves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-b-reeves/) [Browse all 105 Adherence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adherence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Clichés, stock phrases, adherence to conventional, standardized codes of expression and conduct have the socially recognized function of protecting us against reality.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hannah Arendt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/clich-s-stock-phrases-adherence-to-conventional-standardized-codes-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Adherence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/clich-s-stock-phrases-adherence-to-conventional-standardized-codes-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7d/hannah-arendt-610_adherence_clich-s-stock-phrases-adherence-to-conve_1286037.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7d/hannah-arendt-610_adherence_clich-s-stock-phrases-adherence-to-conve_1286037.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7d/hannah-arendt-610_adherence_clich-s-stock-phrases-adherence-to-conve_1286037.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Clichés, stock phrases, adherence to conventional, standardized codes of expression and conduct have the…” — Hannah Arendt", "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": "Hannah Arendt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Clichés, stock phrases, adherence to conventional,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/clich-s-stock-phrases-adherence-to-conventional-standardized-codes-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/clich-s-stock-phrases-adherence-to-conventional-standardized-codes-of/#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 } } ] } ```