Books Quote by José Saramago
““We have an odd relationship with words. We learn a few when we are small, throughout our lives we collect others through education, conversation, our contact with books, and yet, in comparison, there are only a tiny number about whose meaning, sense, and denotation we would have absolutely no doubts, if one day, we were to ask ourselves seriously what they meant. Thus we affirm and deny, thus we convince and are convinced, thus we argue, deduce, and conclude, wandering fearlessly over the surface of concepts about which we only have the vaguest of ideas, and, despite the false air of confidence that we generally affect as we feel our way along the road in verbal darkness, we manage, more or less, to understand each other and even, sometimes, to find each other.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: Blindness by José Saramago, 1995
Language shapes perception but our grasp of meaning is often shallow, yet we still manage communication despite uncertainty.
In simple terms: Words guide us, but we rarely fully understand them.
Key Takeaway
Accept uncertainty and seek clarity.
Themes
communication
language
perception
Mood
reflective
curious
Type
philosophical
observational
When to use this quote
- daily conversation
- academic discussion
- cross‑cultural exchange
Key Concepts
semiotics
epistemology
social interaction
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you verify true meaning?
- When does confidence become a barrier?
A Different Perspective
Our confidence can mask misunderstanding, leading to misinterpretation.
