--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It seems to me that metaphors come down…" description: "\"It seems to me that metaphors come down to a certain idea of interconnectedness - that everything relates to everything else. Metaphors don't believe i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68e/nick-laird-17405_autonomy_it-seems-to-me-that-metaphors-come-down_2727790.png" --- # It seems to me that metaphors come down to a certain idea… ![“It seems to me that metaphors come down to a certain idea of interconnectedness - that everything relates to everything else. Metaphors don't believe in autonomy. And in the end, perhaps that idea of interconnectedness is a moral position.” quote by Nick Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68e/nick-laird-17405_autonomy_it-seems-to-me-that-metaphors-come-down_2727790.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68e/nick-laird-17405_autonomy_it-seems-to-me-that-metaphors-come-down_2727790.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68e/nick-laird-17405_autonomy_it-seems-to-me-that-metaphors-come-down_2727790.png) > “It seems to me that metaphors come down to a certain idea of interconnectedness - that everything relates to everything else. Metaphors don't believe in autonomy. And in the end, perhaps that idea of interconnectedness is a moral position.” [Nick Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-laird/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Metaphors illustrate how all things are linked, rejecting the idea of isolated entities, and this view can be a moral stance. **In simple terms:** Metaphors show everything is connected and suggest a moral view. Key Takeaway Recognize interdependence in thinking. Themes interconnectedness metaphor morality philosophy Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - creative writing - teaching - ethical debates - philosophical discussion Key Concepts Systems thinking relational ontology Questions to Reflect On - How does seeing connections affect your decisions? - Can moral positions arise solely from relational views? A Different Perspective May overlook individual agency and complexity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Autonomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autonomy/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Interconnectedness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interconnectedness/) [Interconnectedness Relates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interconnectedness-relates-2932830/) [Metaphor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphor/) [Metaphors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphors/) [Metaphors Come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphors-come-2932829/) [Metaphors Don](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphors-don-2932831/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Relates Metaphors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relates-metaphors-2932828/) ## Related quotes > [“Enough with these stupid metaphors. 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Every let down affects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/all-disciplines-affect-each-other-mistakenly-the-man-says-this-is-the/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [“All that interconnectedness that facilitated much of the explosion of megawealth over the last decade also facilitated the interpenetration of everything, so no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/all-that-interconnectedness-that-facilitated-much-of-the-explosion-of/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [I have become convinced, through my studies, that the only way to achieve a safe, just and viable world is to live by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/i-have-become-convinced-through-my-studies-that-the-only-way-to/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [“When a person dies, they cross over from the realm of freedom to the realm of slavery. Life is freedom, and dying is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/when-a-person-dies-they-cross-over-from-the-realm-of-freedom-to-the/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) ## More by Nick Laird > [Writing fiction, for me, is a more indirect form of self-exploration than writing verse. When I'm working on a novel I'm moving characters around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-laird/writing-fiction-for-me-is-a-more-indirect-form-of-self-exploration/) [Nick Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-laird/) > [What passes for love is imperfect knowledge. Not knowing, initially, allows faithlessness to dress up as its opposite; casts the inarticulate as enigmatic, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-laird/what-passes-for-love-is-imperfect-knowledge-not-knowing-initially/) [Nick Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-laird/) > [When you're rereading or editing your book and you start to expect that this work is going to be reviewed, and you can sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-laird/when-you-re-rereading-or-editing-your-book-and-you-start-to-expect/) [Nick Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-laird/) > [I think all writing is an attempt to complicate and subvert the dominant narrative. Writing personalizes statistics. 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It interests me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-laird/with-an-age-difference-comes-a-great-gap-in-cultural-references-and/) [Nick Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-laird/) > [Most of the poems I write go through forty versions and then stay in a file on my computer. I'm not very good at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-laird/most-of-the-poems-i-write-go-through-forty-versions-and-then-stay-in/) [Nick Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-laird/) > [Poetry is a way of being alone without feeling alone. It allows you to experience another mind, I suppose. And it does that more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-laird/poetry-is-a-way-of-being-alone-without-feeling-alone-it-allows-you-to/) [Nick Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-laird/) > [Publishing a book is a great thing, and I'm grateful, but it's also a horrible, exposing thing. Once you've published a book, you never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-laird/publishing-a-book-is-a-great-thing-and-i-m-grateful-but-it-s-also-a/) [Nick Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-laird/) > [There is such a shelter in each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-laird/there-is-such-a-shelter-in-each-other/) [Nick Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-laird/) > [Nabokov quote: "I think like a genius, I write like a distinguished author, and I speak like a child."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-laird/nabokov-quote-i-think-like-a-genius-i-write-like-a-distinguished/) [Nick Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-laird/) > [There used to be one writer rather than a team of writers. It's the old line about a camel being a horse designed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-laird/there-used-to-be-one-writer-rather-than-a-team-of-writers-it-s-the/) [Nick Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-laird/) > [I'm always reading books, I'm always having encounters, I'm always taking trips. Whatever it is you come up with about how you got started,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-laird/i-m-always-reading-books-i-m-always-having-encounters-i-m-always/) [Nick Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-laird/) > [The whole process of having to put the thing into the world seems so antithetical to the act of writing. Poetry is slightly easier,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-laird/the-whole-process-of-having-to-put-the-thing-into-the-world-seems-so/) [Nick Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-laird/) [Explore all 37 Nick Laird quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-laird/) ## More Autonomy quotes > [I don't want to be famous famous. I'm happy on the second tier, where I have autonomy on a professional level but I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-reece/i-don-t-want-to-be-famous-famous-i-m-happy-on-the-second-tier-where-i/) [Gabrielle Reece](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-reece/) > [“The idea of autonomy denies that we are born into a world that existed prior to us. It posits an essential aloneness; an autonomous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-b-crawford/the-idea-of-autonomy-denies-that-we-are-born-into-a-world-that/) [Matthew B. Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-b-crawford/) > [It’s hard to feel attracted to someone who has abandoned her sense of autonomy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/it-s-hard-to-feel-attracted-to-someone-who-has-abandoned-her-sense-of/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [The first step toward maintaining autonomy in any programmed environment is to be aware that there's programming going on. It's as simple as understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/the-first-step-toward-maintaining-autonomy-in-any-programmed/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [Autonomy is impossible as long as one is driven by anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/autonomy-is-impossible-as-long-as-one-is-driven-by-anything/) [Gabor Mate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“Father had stretched out his long legs and was tilting back in his chair. Mother sat with her knees crossed, in blue slacks, smoking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/father-had-stretched-out-his-long-legs-and-was-tilting-back-in-his/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [Throughout the last century there were multiple attempts at giving Afghan women more autonomy, to change marriage laws, to abolish the practice of bride…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/throughout-the-last-century-there-were-multiple-attempts-at-giving/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [We could encourage the best qualities of youthfulness - curiosity, adventure, resilience, the capacity for surprising insight simply by being more flexible about time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/we-could-encourage-the-best-qualities-of-youthfulness-curiosity/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [“She isn't anybody's,' Rook said darkly. 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