--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Definition merely adds the locks to a…" description: "\"“Definition merely adds the locks to a world that is assumed to be closed.”\" — John Holloway" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14b/john-holloway-28219_locks_definition-merely-adds-the-locks-to-a-wo_2744355.jpg" --- # Definition merely adds the locks to a world that is… ![“Definition merely adds the locks to a world that is assumed to be closed.” quote by John Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14b/john-holloway-28219_locks_definition-merely-adds-the-locks-to-a-wo_2744355.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14b/john-holloway-28219_locks_definition-merely-adds-the-locks-to-a-wo_2744355.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14b/john-holloway-28219_locks_definition-merely-adds-the-locks-to-a-wo_2744355.jpg) > ““Definition merely adds the locks to a world that is assumed to be closed.”” [John Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Adding definitions creates barriers in a world already seen as closed, limiting openness. **In simple terms:** Definitions add barriers. Key Takeaway Question definitions to keep ideas open. Themes philosophy language power control critical theory social constructs Mood thoughtful critical Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - academic discourse - policy drafting - social activism - education - media analysis Key Concepts structuralism semiotics political theory Questions to Reflect On - How do definitions shape reality? - When is defining helpful? A Different Perspective Definitions can also clarify and protect rights. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [“His world had assumed the attribute of pure mass. 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She wanted to lock it down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/god-his-chin-she-wanted-to-make-an-honest-woman-of-his-chin-she/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > ['cause haters wanna shoot, everything that shine So I'm prepared, to lock and load my rhymes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ol-dirty-bastard/cause-haters-wanna-shoot-everything-that-shine-so-i-m-prepared-to/) [Ol' Dirty Bastard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ol-dirty-bastard/) > [I don't think a day has gone past in 10 years where someone hasn't said, 'What did you do with those guns from Lock,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-flemyng/i-don-t-think-a-day-has-gone-past-in-10-years-where-someone-hasn-t/) [Jason Flemyng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-flemyng/) > [Karma is often wrongly confused with the notion of a fixed destiny. 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I figure no matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elayne-boosler/i-have-six-locks-on-my-door-all-in-a-row-when-i-go-out-i-lock-every/) [Elayne Boosler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elayne-boosler/) > [When you're unhinged, things make their way out of you that should be kept inside, and other things get in that ought to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/when-you-re-unhinged-things-make-their-way-out-of-you-that-should-be/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I decided to lock myself in. A forced segregation. Sabbatical. A retreat into myself. My selves. Play hide and go seek in the looking-glass.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/i-decided-to-lock-myself-in-a-forced-segregation-sabbatical-a-retreat/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [ I wanted to play in New York when I was in my prime and I was young, fierce, lock-down \[defender\]. Madison Square Garden, that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/metta-world-peace/i-wanted-to-play-in-new-york-when-i-was-in-my-prime-and-i-was-young/) [Metta World Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/metta-world-peace/) > [The dark ages still reign over all humanity, and the depth and persistence of this domination are only now becoming clear. This Dark Ages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/the-dark-ages-still-reign-over-all-humanity-and-the-depth-and/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [Closing his eyes, he sent up a prayer to anyone who was listening, asking please, for God's sake, stop sending him signals that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/closing-his-eyes-he-sent-up-a-prayer-to-anyone-who-was-listening/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [Time is painted with a lock before, and bald behind, signifying thereby that we must take time by the forelock; for, when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/time-is-painted-with-a-lock-before-and-bald-behind-signifying-thereby/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) ## More by John Holloway > [“A whole world of horror is contained in the process of definition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holloway/a-whole-world-of-horror-is-contained-in-the-process-of-definition/) [John Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/) > [“The struggle is lost from the beginning, long before the victorious party or army conquers state power and ‘betrays’ its promises. It is lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holloway/the-struggle-is-lost-from-the-beginning-long-before-the-victorious/) [John Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/) > [“The theory of crisis is not just a theory of fear but also a theory of hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holloway/the-theory-of-crisis-is-not-just-a-theory-of-fear-but-also-a-theory/) [John Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/) > [“Doing is inherently plural, collective, choral, communal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holloway/doing-is-inherently-plural-collective-choral-communal/) [John Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/) > [“We do not need to have a picture of what a true world would be like in order to feel that there is something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holloway/we-do-not-need-to-have-a-picture-of-what-a-true-world-would-be-like/) [John Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/) > [“We need no promise of a happy ending to justify our rejection of a world we feel to be wrong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holloway/we-need-no-promise-of-a-happy-ending-to-justify-our-rejection-of-a/) [John Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/) > [“Social self-determination does not and cannot exist in a capitalist society: capital, in all its forms, is the negation of self-determination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holloway/social-self-determination-does-not-and-cannot-exist-in-a-capitalist/) [John Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/) > [“The real determinant of society is hidden behind the state and the economy: it is the way in which our everyday activity is organised,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holloway/the-real-determinant-of-society-is-hidden-behind-the-state-and-the/) [John Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/) > [“Comradeship, dignity, amorosity, love, solidarity, fraternity, friendship, ethics: all these names stand in contrast to the commodified, monetised relations of capitalism, all describe relations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holloway/comradeship-dignity-amorosity-love-solidarity-fraternity-friendship/) [John Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/) > [“Identification is domination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holloway/identification-is-domination/) [John Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/) > [“Nonsubordination is the simple, unspectacular struggle to shape one's life. It is people's reluctance to give up the simple pleasures of life, their reluctance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holloway/nonsubordination-is-the-simple-unspectacular-struggle-to-shape-one-s/) [John Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/) > [“The rule of identity is the rule of amnesia.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holloway/the-rule-of-identity-is-the-rule-of-amnesia/) [John Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/) > [“In order to protect our jobs, our visas, our profits, our chances of receiving good grades, our sanity, we pretend not to see, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holloway/in-order-to-protect-our-jobs-our-visas-our-profits-our-chances-of/) [John Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/) > [“Identity negates possibility, denies openness to other life. Identity kills, both metaphorically and very, very literally.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holloway/identity-negates-possibility-denies-openness-to-other-life-identity/) [John Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/) > [“We are the only creators, the only gods. Guilty gods, negated gods, damaged, schizophrenic gods, but above all self- changing gods.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holloway/we-are-the-only-creators-the-only-gods-guilty-gods-negated-gods/) [John Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/) [Explore all 19 John Holloway quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/) ## More Locks quotes > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Time is painted with a lock before, and bald behind, signifying thereby that we must take time by the forelock; for, when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/time-is-painted-with-a-lock-before-and-bald-behind-signifying-thereby/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [Closing his eyes, he sent up a prayer to anyone who was listening, asking please, for God's sake, stop sending him signals that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/closing-his-eyes-he-sent-up-a-prayer-to-anyone-who-was-listening/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [The dark ages still reign over all humanity, and the depth and persistence of this domination are only now becoming clear. This Dark Ages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/the-dark-ages-still-reign-over-all-humanity-and-the-depth-and/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [ I wanted to play in New York when I was in my prime and I was young, fierce, lock-down \[defender\]. Madison Square Garden, that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/metta-world-peace/i-wanted-to-play-in-new-york-when-i-was-in-my-prime-and-i-was-young/) [Metta World Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/metta-world-peace/) > [I decided to lock myself in. A forced segregation. Sabbatical. A retreat into myself. My selves. Play hide and go seek in the looking-glass.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/i-decided-to-lock-myself-in-a-forced-segregation-sabbatical-a-retreat/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [When you're unhinged, things make their way out of you that should be kept inside, and other things get in that ought to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/when-you-re-unhinged-things-make-their-way-out-of-you-that-should-be/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I have six locks on my door all in a row. When I go out, I lock every other one. I figure no matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elayne-boosler/i-have-six-locks-on-my-door-all-in-a-row-when-i-go-out-i-lock-every/) [Elayne Boosler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elayne-boosler/) > [People say, 'I love 'Snatch,' I love 'Lock Stock,' but I want to be more than a movie name. I'd love to be more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinnie-jones/people-say-i-love-snatch-i-love-lock-stock-but-i-want-to-be-more-than/) [Vinnie Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinnie-jones/) > [Karma is often wrongly confused with the notion of a fixed destiny. It is more like an accumulation of tendencies that can lock us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-kabat-zinn/karma-is-often-wrongly-confused-with-the-notion-of-a-fixed-destiny-it/) [Jon Kabat-Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-kabat-zinn/) > [I don't think a day has gone past in 10 years where someone hasn't said, 'What did you do with those guns from Lock,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-flemyng/i-don-t-think-a-day-has-gone-past-in-10-years-where-someone-hasn-t/) [Jason Flemyng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-flemyng/) > ['cause haters wanna shoot, everything that shine So I'm prepared, to lock and load my rhymes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ol-dirty-bastard/cause-haters-wanna-shoot-everything-that-shine-so-i-m-prepared-to/) [Ol' Dirty Bastard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ol-dirty-bastard/) > [God, his chin. She wanted to make an honest woman of his chin. She wanted to lock it down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/god-his-chin-she-wanted-to-make-an-honest-woman-of-his-chin-she/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [The reason they invented coffins, to lock the dead in, preserve them, they put makeup on them; they didn't want them spreading or changing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-reason-they-invented-coffins-to-lock-the-dead-in-preserve-them/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I read a lot. I always have, but in those two years I gorged myself on books with a voluptuous, almost erotic gluttony. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/i-read-a-lot-i-always-have-but-in-those-two-years-i-gorged-myself-on/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) Browse all 672 Locks quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Definition merely adds the locks to a world that is assumed to be closed.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Holloway" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holloway/definition-merely-adds-the-locks-to-a-world-that-is-assumed-to-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Locks" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holloway/definition-merely-adds-the-locks-to-a-world-that-is-assumed-to-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14b/john-holloway-28219_locks_definition-merely-adds-the-locks-to-a-wo_2744355.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14b/john-holloway-28219_locks_definition-merely-adds-the-locks-to-a-wo_2744355.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14b/john-holloway-28219_locks_definition-merely-adds-the-locks-to-a-wo_2744355.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Definition merely adds the locks to a world that is assumed to be closed.” — John Holloway", "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": "John Holloway", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holloway/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Definition merely adds the locks to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holloway/definition-merely-adds-the-locks-to-a-world-that-is-assumed-to-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holloway/definition-merely-adds-the-locks-to-a-world-that-is-assumed-to-be/#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 } } ] } ```