Observation Quote by Noam Chomsky
![“I don't suggest that the observations are surprising or profound. Rather, they seem to me the merest truisms. I was not aware that [ Michel] Foucault had used the phrase "speaking truth to power." I had thought it was an old Quaker phrase.” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/dd7/noam-chomsky-42_observation_i-don-t-suggest-that-the-observations-ar_1376415.jpg)
“I don't suggest that the observations are surprising or profound. Rather, they seem to me the merest truisms. I was not aware that [ Michel] Foucault had used the phrase "speaking truth to power." I had thought it was an old Quaker phrase.”
About This Quote
Source Interview: 2004, The New Yorker, “The Language of Power”
The speaker downplays the novelty of ideas, calling them obvious truths, and notes that a phrase about confronting authority predates its modern attribution.
In simple terms: Ideas are obvious; phrases have older origins.
Key Takeaway
Recognize common truths and trace their origins.
Themes
humility
history
language
Mood
reflective
analytical
Type
observational
critical
When to use this quote
- academic discourse
- activism
- public speaking
Key Concepts
philosophy
political theory
Questions to Reflect On
- What common ideas do we overlook as trivial?
- How does knowing a phrase’s origin change its impact?
A Different Perspective
Attributions can be contested and may oversimplify complex histories.
![“I wrote an article about the marine landing [in Haiti] right away, but barely mentioned the oil, because my article would come out two months later and I assumed by then, "of course, everybody knows." Nobody knew. There was a news report in the Wall Street Journal, in the petroleum journals, and…” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/dc5/noam-chomsky-42_articles_i-wrote-an-article-about-the-marine-land_13341.jpg)
![“The young man [Turgot] destined for an ecclesiastical career was placed within walls carefully designed to keep out all currents of new thought; his studies, his reading, his professors, his associates, all were combined to keep from him any results of observation or reflection save those…” quote by Andrew Dickson White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/5d4/andrew-dickson-white-24254_associates_the-young-man-turgot-destined-for-an-ecc_3146.jpg)
