--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Philosophy exists in profoundest…" description: "\"Philosophy exists in profoundest opposition to rhetoric, which is speaking for the sake of producing or controlling some effect in others' perceptions...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e8/kenny-smith-2406_caustic_philosophy-exists-in-profoundest-opposit_2086253.png" --- # Philosophy exists in profoundest opposition to rhetoric… ![“Philosophy exists in profoundest opposition to rhetoric, which is speaking for the sake of producing or controlling some effect in others' perceptions. Philosophy is about the caustic or cauterizing effect of the truth, not the currying of sensibilities.” quote by Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e8/kenny-smith-2406_caustic_philosophy-exists-in-profoundest-opposit_2086253.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e8/kenny-smith-2406_caustic_philosophy-exists-in-profoundest-opposit_2086253.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e8/kenny-smith-2406_caustic_philosophy-exists-in-profoundest-opposit_2086253.png) > “Philosophy exists in profoundest opposition to rhetoric, which is speaking for the sake of producing or controlling some effect in others' perceptions. Philosophy is about the caustic or cauterizing effect of the truth, not the currying of sensibilities.” [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Philosophy challenges rhetoric by prioritizing truth's harsh clarity over persuasive manipulation of perception. **In simple terms:** Philosophy values truth over persuasion. Key Takeaway Seek truth, not just influence. Themes truth philosophy rhetoric ethics communication Mood reflective critical serious Type analytical ethical philosophical When to use this quote - academic debate - public speaking - media analysis - political discourse Key Concepts critical thinking truth power dynamics ethical persuasion Questions to Reflect On - How does truth confront persuasion? - When is persuasive rhetoric justified? A Different Perspective Rhetoric can be necessary for effective communication in urgent contexts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Caustic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caustic/) [Effects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effects/) [Opposition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposition/) [Opposition Rhetoric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposition-rhetoric-4100792/) [Perception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perception/) [Perceptions Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perceptions-philosophy-4100794/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Philosophy Caustic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-caustic-4100793/) [Philosophy Exists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-exists-4100791/) [Rhetoric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rhetoric/) [Sake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sake/) [Sensibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensibility/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [“How can a man who, for a significant phase of his formation, shared his master’s opposition to rhetoric have in maturity composed a masterpiece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/how-can-a-man-who-for-a-significant-phase-of-his-formation-shared-his/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [ "Masters of War" \[of Bob Dylan\] wasn't peacenik, anti-war stuff. With its minor key and uncompromising final lines ("And I hope that you die/And… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/masters-of-war-of-bob-dylan-wasn-t-peacenik-anti-war-stuff-with-its/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [How damaging is a habit that permits faultfinding, character assassination, and the sharing of malicious rumors! Gossip and caustic comments often create chains of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-j-ashton/how-damaging-is-a-habit-that-permits-faultfinding-character/) [Marvin J. Ashton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-j-ashton/) > [I found my friends very amusing the first time because they are funny and amusing. They really are because they're people who've got everything.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duncan-roy/i-found-my-friends-very-amusing-the-first-time-because-they-are-funny/) [Duncan Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duncan-roy/) > [A raised eyebrow, an inflection of the voice, a caustic remark dropped in the middle of a broadcast can raise doubts in a million…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spiro-t-agnew/a-raised-eyebrow-an-inflection-of-the-voice-a-caustic-remark-dropped/) [Spiro T. Agnew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spiro-t-agnew/) > [The bitter attacks I faced were far worse than any fighter I ever faced in the ring. The caustic remarks, the threats to injure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-johnson/the-bitter-attacks-i-faced-were-far-worse-than-any-fighter-i-ever/) [Jack Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-johnson/) > [The cynical, caustic, acid-tongued New York drama critic Addison De Witt introduces his protege/date of the moment, a bimbo date and so-called actress named…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sanders/the-cynical-caustic-acid-tongued-new-york-drama-critic-addison-de/) [George Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sanders/) > [I mean, sometimes we do do that, The National Anthem was a caustic satire and sometimes that's the way to go with the story…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-brooker/i-mean-sometimes-we-do-do-that-the-national-anthem-was-a-caustic/) [Charlie Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-brooker/) > [English audiences of working people are like an instrument that responds to the player. Thought ripples up and down them, and if in some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-heaton-vorse/english-audiences-of-working-people-are-like-an-instrument-that/) [Mary Heaton Vorse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-heaton-vorse/) > [“...but I was not very good at hiding my displeasure at mental sleepiness and mediocrity”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlene-bauer/but-i-was-not-very-good-at-hiding-my-displeasure-at-mental-sleepiness/) [Carlene Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlene-bauer/) > [ I always thought that Seth \[Rogen\] was a fun, caustic, bombastic, sweet, underdog-type of person that I would root for the way you used… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judd-apatow/i-always-thought-that-seth-rogen-was-a-fun-caustic-bombastic-sweet/) [Judd Apatow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judd-apatow/) > [Too caustic? To hell with the costs, we'll make the picture anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-goldwyn/too-caustic-to-hell-with-the-costs-we-ll-make-the-picture-anyway/) [Samuel Goldwyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-goldwyn/) > [Debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust and wide-open and that...may well include vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/debate-on-public-issues-should-be-uninhibited-robust-and-wide-open/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [It was an axiom of "containment" that no part of the known world could be considered neutral. "Neutralism" was among the Cold Warriors' gravest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-was-an-axiom-of-containment-that-no-part-of-the-known-world-could/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [My childhood memories seem to be wreathed in the twin and far from harmonious olfactory sensations of patchouli oil and caustic soda.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamish-bowles/my-childhood-memories-seem-to-be-wreathed-in-the-twin-and-far-from/) [Hamish Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamish-bowles/) ## More by Kenny Smith > [The approach of intellect or noesis will forever be an effete and limited sort of thing by contrast with the vigor and color of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/the-approach-of-intellect-or-noesis-will-forever-be-an-effete-and/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [One can hardly appreciate how academia has perverted its highest tasks and "ideals" without pondering long and hard the implications of Jacques Barzun's House…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/one-can-hardly-appreciate-how-academia-has-perverted-its-highest/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [When academics claim a topic is obsolete, they mean merely they are tired of flogging it with their cliches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/when-academics-claim-a-topic-is-obsolete-they-mean-merely-they-are/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [If you look at the NBA, it's the richest and wealthiest group of African-American men in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/if-you-look-at-the-nba-it-s-the-richest-and-wealthiest-group-of/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [In late modernity we grow more and more accustomed to politicians and public figures who are indebted to their appetites for their "values," to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/in-late-modernity-we-grow-more-and-more-accustomed-to-politicians-and/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [How infinitely happier and more grateful is the whole personality or spirit when it finds something nourishing in art or writing or thinking, than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/how-infinitely-happier-and-more-grateful-is-the-whole-personality-or/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [There are a lot more famous fathers out there than me with daughters who wouldn't mind singing careers... but the talent and the work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/there-are-a-lot-more-famous-fathers-out-there-than-me-with-daughters/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [Games like 'Call of Duty' and 'NBA Baller Beats' have so much to them. I was more of the 'Pac-Man' generation where we were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/games-like-call-of-duty-and-nba-baller-beats-have-so-much-to-them-i/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [The Rockets have a philosophy of what they think their coach should be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/the-rockets-have-a-philosophy-of-what-they-think-their-coach-should-be/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [I've played more park games than NBA games, and I had a 10-year NBA career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/i-ve-played-more-park-games-than-nba-games-and-i-had-a-10-year-nba/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [I'm always the neutral guy, man. I'm able to bring people together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/i-m-always-the-neutral-guy-man-i-m-able-to-bring-people-together/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [People compose the schedules they do out of the priorities they have; and someone who says otherwise is deceiving himself about what he really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/people-compose-the-schedules-they-do-out-of-the-priorities-they-have/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [There's hasn't been a day in my life since I was 9 years old that I haven't touched a basketball or done something connected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/there-s-hasn-t-been-a-day-in-my-life-since-i-was-9-years-old-that-i/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [You can have your own thought process about things, but you still need to include and co-exist with other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/you-can-have-your-own-thought-process-about-things-but-you-still-need/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [NCAA is looking at how to do a better job enforcing their rules instead of looking at why the predatorial environment is created. There's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/ncaa-is-looking-at-how-to-do-a-better-job-enforcing-their-rules/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) [Explore all 168 Kenny Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) ## More Caustic quotes > [ "Masters of War" \[of Bob Dylan\] wasn't peacenik, anti-war stuff. With its minor key and uncompromising final lines ("And I hope that you die/And… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/masters-of-war-of-bob-dylan-wasn-t-peacenik-anti-war-stuff-with-its/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [It was an axiom of "containment" that no part of the known world could be considered neutral. "Neutralism" was among the Cold Warriors' gravest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-was-an-axiom-of-containment-that-no-part-of-the-known-world-could/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust and wide-open and that...may well include vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/debate-on-public-issues-should-be-uninhibited-robust-and-wide-open/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [Too caustic? To hell with the costs, we'll make the picture anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-goldwyn/too-caustic-to-hell-with-the-costs-we-ll-make-the-picture-anyway/) [Samuel Goldwyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-goldwyn/) > [ I always thought that Seth \[Rogen\] was a fun, caustic, bombastic, sweet, underdog-type of person that I would root for the way you used… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judd-apatow/i-always-thought-that-seth-rogen-was-a-fun-caustic-bombastic-sweet/) [Judd Apatow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judd-apatow/) > [“...but I was not very good at hiding my displeasure at mental sleepiness and mediocrity”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlene-bauer/but-i-was-not-very-good-at-hiding-my-displeasure-at-mental-sleepiness/) [Carlene Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlene-bauer/) > [English audiences of working people are like an instrument that responds to the player. Thought ripples up and down them, and if in some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-heaton-vorse/english-audiences-of-working-people-are-like-an-instrument-that/) [Mary Heaton Vorse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-heaton-vorse/) > [I mean, sometimes we do do that, The National Anthem was a caustic satire and sometimes that's the way to go with the story…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-brooker/i-mean-sometimes-we-do-do-that-the-national-anthem-was-a-caustic/) [Charlie Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-brooker/) > [The cynical, caustic, acid-tongued New York drama critic Addison De Witt introduces his protege/date of the moment, a bimbo date and so-called actress named…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sanders/the-cynical-caustic-acid-tongued-new-york-drama-critic-addison-de/) [George Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sanders/) > [The bitter attacks I faced were far worse than any fighter I ever faced in the ring. The caustic remarks, the threats to injure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-johnson/the-bitter-attacks-i-faced-were-far-worse-than-any-fighter-i-ever/) [Jack Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-johnson/) > [A raised eyebrow, an inflection of the voice, a caustic remark dropped in the middle of a broadcast can raise doubts in a million…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spiro-t-agnew/a-raised-eyebrow-an-inflection-of-the-voice-a-caustic-remark-dropped/) [Spiro T. Agnew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spiro-t-agnew/) > [I found my friends very amusing the first time because they are funny and amusing. They really are because they're people who've got everything.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duncan-roy/i-found-my-friends-very-amusing-the-first-time-because-they-are-funny/) [Duncan Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duncan-roy/) > [How damaging is a habit that permits faultfinding, character assassination, and the sharing of malicious rumors! Gossip and caustic comments often create chains of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-j-ashton/how-damaging-is-a-habit-that-permits-faultfinding-character/) [Marvin J. Ashton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-j-ashton/) > [My childhood memories seem to be wreathed in the twin and far from harmonious olfactory sensations of patchouli oil and caustic soda.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamish-bowles/my-childhood-memories-seem-to-be-wreathed-in-the-twin-and-far-from/) [Hamish Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamish-bowles/) > [I am acquainted with a wife and mother who is chained securely at the present time to a life-style of murmuring and criticism. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-j-ashton/i-am-acquainted-with-a-wife-and-mother-who-is-chained-securely-at-the/) [Marvin J. Ashton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-j-ashton/) [Browse all 24 Caustic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caustic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Philosophy exists in profoundest opposition to rhetoric, which is speaking for the sake of producing or controlling some effect in others' perceptions. 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