--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Coleridge observes that all men are born…" description: "\"Coleridge observes that all men are born Aristotelians or Platonists. The latter feel that classes, orders, and genres arerealities; the former, that t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00d/jorge-luis-borges-275_great-saying-by-grea_coleridge-observes-that-all-men-are-born_2506415.jpg" --- # Coleridge observes that all men are born Aristotelians or… ![“Coleridge observes that all men are born Aristotelians or Platonists. The latter feel that classes, orders, and genres arerealities; the former, that theyare generalizations. For the latter, language is nothing butan approximative set of symbols; for the former, it is the map of the universe. The…” quote by Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00d/jorge-luis-borges-275_great-saying-by-grea_coleridge-observes-that-all-men-are-born_2506415.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00d/jorge-luis-borges-275_great-saying-by-grea_coleridge-observes-that-all-men-are-born_2506415.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00d/jorge-luis-borges-275_great-saying-by-grea_coleridge-observes-that-all-men-are-born_2506415.jpg) > “Coleridge observes that all men are born Aristotelians or Platonists. The latter feel that classes, orders, and genres arerealities; the former, that theyare generalizations. For the latter, language is nothing butan approximative set of symbols; for the former, it is the map of the universe. The Platonist knows that the universe is somehow a cosmos, an order; that order, for the Aristotelian, can be anerror or a fiction of our partial knowledge. Across thelatitudes and the epochs, the two immortal antagonists change their name and language: one is Parmenides, Plato, Spinoza, Kant, Francis Bradley; the other, Heraclitus,Aristotle, Locke, Hume, William James.” [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote contrasts two philosophical traditions: one that sees language as a map of reality (Platonist) and another that sees it as a set of approximations (Aristotelian). **In simple terms:** Two views on language: map vs. approximation. Key Takeaway Recognize how your worldview shapes your language use. Themes philosophy language ontology epistemology Mood reflective inquisitive Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - academic debate - teaching philosophy - writing - critical analysis Key Concepts Platonism Aristotelianism semantic theory Questions to Reflect On - How does your discipline view language? - Can you bridge the map and approximation perspectives? A Different Perspective The dichotomy oversimplifies complex linguistic theories. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aristotelian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aristotelian-1112789/) [Aristotelians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aristotelians-1112787/) [Aristotelians Platonists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aristotelians-platonists-1112788/) [Born Aristotelians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born-aristotelians-1112786/) [Great saying by great authors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-saying-by-great-authors/) [Order Aristotelian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order-aristotelian-1112785/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/william-james/) ## Related quotes > [Before the 3rd century you're having several philosophical schools still as a going concern. You have not only the Platonists and the Aristotelians but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/before-the-3rd-century-you-re-having-several-philosophical-schools/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) > [“It is easy to understand that in the dreary middle ages the Aristotelian logic would be very acceptable to the controversial spirit of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/it-is-easy-to-understand-that-in-the-dreary-middle-ages-the/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [Aristotelian logic is massive and marmoreal, but every monument accumulates graffiti.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-berlinski/aristotelian-logic-is-massive-and-marmoreal-but-every-monument/) [David Berlinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-berlinski/) > [I am very Aristotelian in approach - not in detail - so I always find I'm saying things that get people frustrated like 'It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/i-am-very-aristotelian-in-approach-not-in-detail-so-i-always-find-i-m/) [Julian Baggini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-baggini/) > [“What the Greek called Kosmos was the image of a world that is not continuous but complete. Inevitably, then, the Greek man himself was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-spengler/what-the-greek-called-kosmos-was-the-image-of-a-world-that-is-not/) [Oswald Spengler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-spengler/) > [“The employment of the word Logic to denote the theory of Argumentation, is derived from the Aristotelian, or, as they are commonly termed, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/the-employment-of-the-word-logic-to-denote-the-theory-of/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [“In ways that have not yet been properly understood, philosophy had a second beginning in Abbasid society by the end of the ninth century…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimitri-gutas/in-ways-that-have-not-yet-been-properly-understood-philosophy-had-a/) [Dimitri Gutas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimitri-gutas/) > [Modern science is a vast attempt to homogenize the universe. Aristotelian science, by contrast, remains faithful to our lived experience, and thus conceives of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-roochnik/modern-science-is-a-vast-attempt-to-homogenize-the-universe/) [David Roochnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-roochnik/) > [For me, who only desire to become wise, not more learned or eloquent, these logical or Aristotelian dispositions of parts are of no use.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/for-me-who-only-desire-to-become-wise-not-more-learned-or-eloquent/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [I'm sort of anti-Aristotelian. I want to get an entire life onstage while conveying a sense of how time feels, how unstoppable it is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-greenberg/i-m-sort-of-anti-aristotelian-i-want-to-get-an-entire-life-onstage/) [Richard Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-greenberg/) > [“In Greek, the most significant area to which these curricula were reduced was the rudiments of Aristotelian logic. It is possible, for instance, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimitri-gutas/in-greek-the-most-significant-area-to-which-these-curricula-were/) [Dimitri Gutas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimitri-gutas/) > [“Do not allow the adumbrations of Aristotelian logic to prevent you from seeing a vast spectrum of truths; the post-Boolean continuum of shades of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/do-not-allow-the-adumbrations-of-aristotelian-logic-to-prevent-you/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [“On one hand, the Aristotelian, perhaps evolutionary need to put everything into categories– predators, twilight, edible – on the other, the need to pay homage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/on-one-hand-the-aristotelian-perhaps-evolutionary-need-to-put/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) > [“William James said, ‘We don’t laugh because we are happy. We are happy because we laugh.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-s-sharma/william-james-said-we-don-t-laugh-because-we-are-happy-we-are-happy/) [Robin S. Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-s-sharma/) > [“All our life, so far as it has definite form, is but a mass of habits - practical, emotional, and intellectual - systematically organized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-duhigg/all-our-life-so-far-as-it-has-definite-form-is-but-a-mass-of-habits/) [Charles Duhigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-duhigg/) ## More by Jorge Luis Borges > [“No hables a menos que puedas mejorar el silencio.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/no-hables-a-menos-que-puedas-mejorar-el-silencio/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [The execution was set for the 29th of March, at nine in the morning. 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Their work modifies our conception of the past, just as it is bound to modify…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-fact-is-that-all-writers-create-their-precursors-their-work/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [I don't think we're capable of knowledge, but I like to keep an open mind. So if you ask me whether I believe in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/i-don-t-think-we-re-capable-of-knowledge-but-i-like-to-keep-an-open/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [The web of time - the strands of which approach one another, bifurcate, intersect, or ignore each other through the centuries - embraces "every"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-web-of-time-the-strands-of-which-approach-one-another-bifurcate/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [“My memory, sir, is like a garbage disposal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/my-memory-sir-is-like-a-garbage-disposal/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [When I write, I do it urged by an intimate necessity. I don't have in mind an exclusive public, or a public of multitudes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/when-i-write-i-do-it-urged-by-an-intimate-necessity-i-don-t-have-in/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [The mind was dreaming. The world was its dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-mind-was-dreaming-the-world-was-its-dream/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [I foresee that man will resign himself each day to new abominations, and soon that only bandits and soldiers will be left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/i-foresee-that-man-will-resign-himself-each-day-to-new-abominations/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [“If I could live again - I will travel light, If I could live again - I'll try to work bare feet at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/if-i-could-live-again-i-will-travel-light-if-i-could-live-again-i-ll/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [Every man should be capable of all ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/every-man-should-be-capable-of-all-ideas/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [Writing is only a guided dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/writing-is-only-a-guided-dream/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) [Explore all 558 Jorge Luis Borges quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) ## More Great saying by great authors quotes > [Rosalind. 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Like aqua vitae with a midwife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/maria-nay-but-say-true-doesit-work-upon-him-sir-toby-belch-like-aqua/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [The great must submit to the dominion of prudence and of virtue, or none will long submit to the dominion of thegreat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/the-great-must-submit-to-the-dominion-of-prudence-and-of-virtue-or/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [She who does not know she isa patient lies Within a tent of green, and sleeps without a sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-kirkup/she-who-does-not-know-she-isa-patient-lies-within-a-tent-of-green-and/) [James Kirkup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-kirkup/) > [In retirement, I look for days off from my days off. Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/in-retirement-i-look-for-days-off-from-my-days-off-mason-cooley/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Popular culture entered my life as Shirley Temple, who was exactly my age and wrotea letter in the newspapers telling how her mother fixed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/popular-culture-entered-my-life-as-shirley-temple-who-was-exactly-my/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [It is only possible to succeed at second-rate pursuitslikebecoming a millionaire or a prime minister, winning a war, seducing beautiful women, flying thought the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/it-is-only-possible-to-succeed-at-second-rate-pursuitslikebecoming-a/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [Here the crow starves, here the patient stag Breeds for the rifle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-stearns-eliot/here-the-crow-starves-here-the-patient-stag-breeds-for-the-rifle/) [Thomas Stearns Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-stearns-eliot/) > [They are not dead! 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If then your body go, what need you a heart?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/various-content-to-your-eyes-ears-and-tongue-and-every-part-if-then/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) [Browse all 605 Great saying by great authors quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-saying-by-great-authors/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Coleridge observes that all men are born Aristotelians or Platonists. The latter feel that classes, orders, and genres arerealities; the former, that theyare generalizations. For the latter, language is nothing butan approximative set of symbols; for the former, it is the map of the universe. The Platonist knows that the universe is somehow a cosmos, an order; that order, for the Aristotelian, can be anerror or a fiction of our partial knowledge. 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