Agreement Quote by Joseph Chilton Pearce
“We are limited by our agreements on possibility. Agreement is a common exclusion of alternate possibilities. Agreement is the cement of social structure. Two or three gathered together, agreeing on what they are after, may create a subset in which their goals can be achieved, even though folly in the eyes of the world. The world in this case means a set of expectancies agreed upon, a set excluding other possibilities.”
About This Quote
Source Book: The Seed of Life, Joseph Chilton Pearce, 1975
Human thought is constrained by shared beliefs, which both enable cooperation and limit imagination.
In simple terms: Agreements shape reality but also block alternatives.
Key Takeaway
Question the limits of your own assumptions.
Themes
cooperation
limitations
social structures
Mood
reflective
critical
Type
philosophical
analytical
When to use this quote
- team projects
- policy making
- creative brainstorming
- conflict resolution
Key Concepts
collective belief
cognitive framing
possibility exclusion
Questions to Reflect On
- What assumptions are you accepting without question?
- How can you foster openness to alternatives?
A Different Perspective
Agreements can become rigid, stifling innovation.
![“Function and man appear synonymous because the function can only be pointed toward by being the function. There is no being except in a mode of being. [...] Both scholar and Christian are functioning in identical ways, just under different metaphor, and both are evading the mechanics of being.” quote by Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/340/joseph-chilton-pearce-19622_function_function-and-man-appear-synonymous-becau_724701.jpg)
![“Look at what I am proposing, and we [wih Bernie Sanders] have a vigorous agreement here. We both want to reign in the excesses of Wall Street. I also want to reign in the excesses of Johnson Controls that we bailed out when they were an autoparts company, and we saved the auto industry, and now…” quote by Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ea8/hillary-clinton-51_agreement_look-at-what-i-am-proposing-and-we-wih-b_49820.jpg)
