--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To want to understand is an attempt to…" description: "\"To want to understand is an attempt to recapture something we have lost.\" — Peter Høeg" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f74/peter-h-eg-3553_learning_to-want-to-understand-is-an-attempt-to-r_398488.jpg" --- # To want to understand is an attempt to recapture something… ![“To want to understand is an attempt to recapture something we have lost.” quote by Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f74/peter-h-eg-3553_learning_to-want-to-understand-is-an-attempt-to-r_398488.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f74/peter-h-eg-3553_learning_to-want-to-understand-is-an-attempt-to-r_398488.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f74/peter-h-eg-3553_learning_to-want-to-understand-is-an-attempt-to-r_398488.jpg) > “To want to understand is an attempt to recapture something we have lost.” [Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding is an effort to reclaim lost knowledge or connection. **In simple terms:** Understanding tries to regain what’s lost. Key Takeaway Pursue deeper comprehension. Themes knowledge loss recovery Mood philosophical hopeful Type intellectual inspirational When to use this quote - education - therapy - relationship building Key Concepts philosophy cognitive science Questions to Reflect On - What have you lost that you seek to understand? - Can acceptance replace retrieval? A Different Perspective Understanding may not always restore what was lost. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Recapture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recapture/) ## Related quotes > [I wanted to go out there and do what no one's ever done - and that's recapture some kind of glory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-gatlin/i-wanted-to-go-out-there-and-do-what-no-one-s-ever-done-and-that-s/) [Justin Gatlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-gatlin/) > [But what if your obsession has nothing to do with drugs or thrills or money? What if what you want most in the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/but-what-if-your-obsession-has-nothing-to-do-with-drugs-or-thrills-or/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [I write - so it would seem - to recapture, to preserve and return to the past, though I might just as easily be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-write-so-it-would-seem-to-recapture-to-preserve-and-return-to-the/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“We can't escape history, anymore than we can recapture it." Master Kai”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleni-papanou/we-can-t-escape-history-anymore-than-we-can-recapture-it-master-kai/) [Eleni Papanou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleni-papanou/) > [“But a word once spoken who can recapture it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/but-a-word-once-spoken-who-can-recapture-it/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [I'm not trying to recapture anything. It's really about moving forward. I don't have much reverence for what I've done in the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-sharp/i-m-not-trying-to-recapture-anything-it-s-really-about-moving-forward/) [Matt Sharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-sharp/) > [“In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy's country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/in-the-practical-art-of-war-the-best-thing-of-all-is-to-take-the/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [I can recapture everything when I write, my thoughts, my ideals and my fantasies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-frank/i-can-recapture-everything-when-i-write-my-thoughts-my-ideals-and-my/) [Anne Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-frank/) > [Gather and hoard your inspirations as you live, then recapture them as needed in the studio.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-engle/gather-and-hoard-your-inspirations-as-you-live-then-recapture-them-as/) Nita Engle > [“We are all exiles from our past , and, as such, we need to recapture it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-salaman/we-are-all-exiles-from-our-past-and-as-such-we-need-to-recapture-it/) Esther Salaman > [“Time made apologies and absolution unnecessary. 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This is punishment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/i-want-you-to-understand-me-this-isn-t-vengeance-this-is-punishment/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [To live for the moment: it sounds so right and so beautiful. 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Why is it that such an elegant and petite girl like you has such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/there-s-a-look-of-mischief-in-his-eyes-smilla-why-is-it-that-such-an/) [Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) > [When my mother didn't come back I realized that any moment could be the last. Nothing in life should simply be a passage from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/when-my-mother-didn-t-come-back-i-realized-that-any-moment-could-be/) [Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) > [She was transparent, like a watercolor. As if she were about to dissolve in sound, in tones not yet created.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/she-was-transparent-like-a-watercolor-as-if-she-were-about-to/) [Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) > [“As far as I'm concerned, you could send all the cars in the world through a compactor and shoot them out through the stratosphere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/as-far-as-i-m-concerned-you-could-send-all-the-cars-in-the-world/) [Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) > [I don't fall in love anymore. Just like I don't get the mumps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/i-don-t-fall-in-love-anymore-just-like-i-don-t-get-the-mumps/) [Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) [Explore all 110 Peter Høeg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) ## More Learning quotes > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [Just understand that the good that you want is already here. All you have to do is get in harmony with it. And you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/just-understand-that-the-good-that-you-want-is-already-here-all-you/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [“Men mistook measurement for understanding. And they always had to put themselves at the center of everything. That was their greatest conceit. The earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/men-mistook-measurement-for-understanding-and-they-always-had-to-put/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [Learning from the best, you will eventually become the best if you have the talent already, if you have that potential.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-orton/learning-from-the-best-you-will-eventually-become-the-best-if-you/) [Randy Orton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-orton/) > [Everything I do is more memorable and I understand music more than ever now. It's not a burden to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seungri/everything-i-do-is-more-memorable-and-i-understand-music-more-than/) [Seungri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seungri/) > [“let us not teach / what we have learned badly / and not profited by”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-d-hilda-doolittle/let-us-not-teach-what-we-have-learned-badly-and-not-profited-by/) H.D. (Hilda Doolittle > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [once in awhile you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look it right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-garcia/once-in-awhile-you-get-shown-the-light-in-the-strangest-of-places-if/) [Jerry Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-garcia/) > [It's like saying French shouldn't be taught because you don't understand it because it's new. Shakespeare is just like learning a new, exciting language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-barnett/it-s-like-saying-french-shouldn-t-be-taught-because-you-don-t/) [Samuel Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-barnett/) > [I learned a lot about myself at Oakmont.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-lowry/i-learned-a-lot-about-myself-at-oakmont/) [Shane Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-lowry/) > [Would she understand that time had stopped while she was gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/would-she-understand-that-time-had-stopped-while-she-was-gone/) [Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/) > [It's difficult for people to come to the understanding that only a small minority of the people ever really get the word about life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/it-s-difficult-for-people-to-come-to-the-understanding-that-only-a/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [“Damen's understanding of Laurent rearranged itself, in order that he might despise him more accurately.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-u-pacat/damen-s-understanding-of-laurent-rearranged-itself-in-order-that-he/) [S.U. Pacat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-u-pacat/) [Browse all 22,300 Learning quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To want to understand is an attempt to recapture something we have lost.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Peter Høeg" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/to-want-to-understand-is-an-attempt-to-recapture-something-we-have/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Learning" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/to-want-to-understand-is-an-attempt-to-recapture-something-we-have/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f74/peter-h-eg-3553_learning_to-want-to-understand-is-an-attempt-to-r_398488.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f74/peter-h-eg-3553_learning_to-want-to-understand-is-an-attempt-to-r_398488.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f74/peter-h-eg-3553_learning_to-want-to-understand-is-an-attempt-to-r_398488.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To want to understand is an attempt to recapture something we have lost.” — Peter Høeg", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Peter Høeg", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To want to understand is an...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/to-want-to-understand-is-an-attempt-to-recapture-something-we-have/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/to-want-to-understand-is-an-attempt-to-recapture-something-we-have/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```