--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So far as photography satisfied a wish…" description: "\"So far as photography satisfied a wish, it satisfied a wish not confined to painters, but a human wish, intensifying since the Reformation, to escape s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b10/stanley-cavell-33068_agents_so-far-as-photography-satisfied-a-wish-i_2208489.jpg" --- # So far as photography satisfied a wish, it satisfied a… ![“So far as photography satisfied a wish, it satisfied a wish not confined to painters, but a human wish, intensifying since the Reformation, to escape subjectivity and metaphysical isolation - a wish for power to reach this world, having for so long tried, at last hopelessly, to manifest fidelity…” quote by Stanley Cavell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b10/stanley-cavell-33068_agents_so-far-as-photography-satisfied-a-wish-i_2208489.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b10/stanley-cavell-33068_agents_so-far-as-photography-satisfied-a-wish-i_2208489.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b10/stanley-cavell-33068_agents_so-far-as-photography-satisfied-a-wish-i_2208489.jpg) > “So far as photography satisfied a wish, it satisfied a wish not confined to painters, but a human wish, intensifying since the Reformation, to escape subjectivity and metaphysical isolation - a wish for power to reach this world, having for so long tried, at last hopelessly, to manifest fidelity to another... Photography overcame subjectivity in a way undreamed of by painting, one which does not so much defeat the act of painting as escape it altogether: by automatism, by removing the human agent from the act of reproduction.” [Stanley Cavell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-cavell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Photography seeks to capture reality beyond personal interpretation, offering an objective window that painting cannot provide. **In simple terms:** Photography tries to show reality without personal bias. Key Takeaway Use tools that reduce personal bias. Themes art technology objectivity representation subjectivity Mood reflective analytical critical Type philosophical observational critical When to use this quote - documentary photography - journalism - scientific imaging - archival work Key Concepts aesthetic theory media studies philosophy of perception Questions to Reflect On - How does the photographer’s intent shape “objectivity”? - Can any medium be truly free of subjectivity? A Different Perspective Photography still reflects choices in framing, lighting, and selection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Defeat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defeat/) [Fidelity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fidelity/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Isolation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/isolation/) [Metaphysical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphysical/) [Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painter/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Reformation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reformation/) [Reproduction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reproduction/) [Subjectivity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjectivity/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“Arguments led by subjectivity are a waste of time. And, if they take place online, add to that, a waste of one’s keyboard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/arguments-led-by-subjectivity-are-a-waste-of-time-and-if-they-take/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“But fairytales were, at best, dirty mirrors whose warped and pitted surfaces reflected a highly distorted view of the truth, quite different from reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/but-fairytales-were-at-best-dirty-mirrors-whose-warped-and-pitted/) [Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/) > [“There's no such thing as great art or poor art. Art is subjective expression. 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It wanted its audience to be led toward a recognition of the social reality of the sign (away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/modernism-had-two-great-wishes-it-wanted-its-audience-to-be-led/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [As with sound, images are subjective. You and I may not see the same color red as red, but we will probably agree that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dykstra/as-with-sound-images-are-subjective-you-and-i-may-not-see-the-same/) [John Dykstra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dykstra/) > [Humor of all types is notoriously subjective. That's true not only between different people but even within an individual at different times. This subjectivity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mankoff/humor-of-all-types-is-notoriously-subjective-that-s-true-not-only/) [Robert Mankoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mankoff/) > [I think subjectivity plays into everything. 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He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natsume-s-seki/daisuke-was-of-course-equipped-with-conversation-that-even-if-they/) [Natsume Sōseki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natsume-s-seki/) > [To give subjectivity to the Dozier School boys is fundamentally mind-blowing. In literature, you're allowed to write from the inside, but at least most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramell-ross/to-give-subjectivity-to-the-dozier-school-boys-is-fundamentally-mind/) [RaMell Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramell-ross/) > [every subjective phenomenon is essentially connected with a single point of view, and it seems inevitable that an objective, physical theory will abandon that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/every-subjective-phenomenon-is-essentially-connected-with-a-single/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [“We were in separate realities, fast and slow. 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