--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My potential salvation...must remain an…" description: "\"“My potential salvation...must remain an unswerving commitment to treat generality only as it emerges from little things that arrest us and open our ey..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb7/stephen-jay-gould-885_generalities_my-potential-salvation-must-remain-an-un_2949218.jpg" --- # My potential salvation...must remain an unswerving… ![“My potential salvation...must remain an unswerving commitment to treat generality only as it emerges from little things that arrest us and open our eyes with "aha" -- while direct, abstract, learned assaults upon generalities usually glaze them over.” quote by Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb7/stephen-jay-gould-885_generalities_my-potential-salvation-must-remain-an-un_2949218.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb7/stephen-jay-gould-885_generalities_my-potential-salvation-must-remain-an-un_2949218.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb7/stephen-jay-gould-885_generalities_my-potential-salvation-must-remain-an-un_2949218.jpg) > ““My potential salvation...must remain an unswerving commitment to treat generality only as it emerges from little things that arrest us and open our eyes with "aha" -- while direct, abstract, learned assaults upon generalities usually glaze them over.”” [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author urges focusing on specific, tangible observations to grasp broader concepts, warning that abstract analysis can obscure insight. **In simple terms:** Learn from small details to understand big ideas. Key Takeaway Pay attention to concrete examples. Themes learning observation abstraction Mood analytical inquisitive Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - education - research - problem solving Key Concepts cognitive science philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What small detail could illuminate your challenge? - How can you avoid over‑generalizing? A Different Perspective Over‑abstracting can miss essential nuances. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Generalities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generalities/) [Generalities Usually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generalities-usually-4436551/) [Generality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generality/) [Generality Emerges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generality-emerges-4436549/) [Little things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-things/) [Open Our Eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/open-our-eyes/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Treat Generality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/treat-generality-4436550/) [Ur Eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ur-eyes/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [It is good sense applied with diligence to what was at first a mere accident, and which by great application grew to be called,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-good-sense-applied-with-diligence-to-what-was-at-first-a-mere/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The generality of men are so accustomed to judge of things by their senses that, because the air is indivisible, they ascribe but little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-boyle/the-generality-of-men-are-so-accustomed-to-judge-of-things-by-their/) [Robert Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-boyle/) > [It is certain that the easy and obvious philosophy will always, with the generality of mankind, have preference above the accurate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/it-is-certain-that-the-easy-and-obvious-philosophy-will-always-with/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [No generality has any weight whatever. It is like saying "how do you do?" When you have no intention of inquiring about ones health.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-c-hopkins/no-generality-has-any-weight-whatever-it-is-like-saying-how-do-you-do/) [Claude C. Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-c-hopkins/) > [All that is alive tends toward color, individuality, specificity, effectiveness and opacity. All that is done with life inclines toward knowledge, abstraction, generality transfiguration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/all-that-is-alive-tends-toward-color-individuality-specificity/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [We must not always judge of the generality of the opinion by the noise of the acclamation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/we-must-not-always-judge-of-the-generality-of-the-opinion-by-the/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Everything that is hard to attain is easily assailed by the generality of men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ptolemy/everything-that-is-hard-to-attain-is-easily-assailed-by-the/) [Ptolemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ptolemy/) > [I think there is a blossom about me of something more distinguished than the generality of mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/i-think-there-is-a-blossom-about-me-of-something-more-distinguished/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [...the source of all great mathematics is the special case, the concrete example. It is frequent in mathematics that every instance of a concept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-halmos/the-source-of-all-great-mathematics-is-the-special-case-the-concrete/) [Paul Halmos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-halmos/) > [The generality of men have, like plants, latent properties, which chance brings to light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/the-generality-of-men-have-like-plants-latent-properties-which-chance/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [The opinion I have of the generality of women--who appear to me as children to whom I would rather give a sugar plum than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/the-opinion-i-have-of-the-generality-of-women-who-appear-to-me-as/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [Conventions of generality and mathematical elegance may be just as much barriers to the attainment and diffusion of knowledge as may contentment with particularity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/conventions-of-generality-and-mathematical-elegance-may-be-just-as/) [Kenneth E. Boulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-e-boulding/) > [God is basic Fact. He must not be thought of as a featureless generality. He is the most concrete thing there is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/god-is-basic-fact-he-must-not-be-thought-of-as-a-featureless/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [To the generality of men you cannot give a stronger hint for them to impose upon you than by imposing upon yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/to-the-generality-of-men-you-cannot-give-a-stronger-hint-for-them-to/) [Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/) > [ Euclid avoids it \[the treatment of the infinite\]; in modern mathematics it is systematically introduced, for only then is generality obtained. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-cayley/euclid-avoids-it-the-treatment-of-the-infinite-in-modern-mathematics/) [Arthur Cayley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-cayley/) ## More by Stephen Jay Gould > [I strongly reject any conceptual scheme that places our options on a line, and holds that the only alternative to a pair of extreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/i-strongly-reject-any-conceptual-scheme-that-places-our-options-on-a/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [History employs evolution to structure biological events in time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/history-employs-evolution-to-structure-biological-events-in-time/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [In his anti-Darwinian book... (and eponymously named The Neck of the Giraffe ), Francis Hitching tells the story... "The need to survive by reaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/in-his-anti-darwinian-book-and-eponymously-named-the-neck-of-the/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [... many folks take them seriously because they just 'know' that evolution can never be seen in the immediate here and now. In fact,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/many-folks-take-them-seriously-because-they-just-know-that-evolution/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Charles Darwin viewed the fossil record more as an embarrassment than as an aid to his theory ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/charles-darwin-viewed-the-fossil-record-more-as-an-embarrassment-than/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Zoocentrism is the primary fallacy of human sociobiology, for this view of human behavior rests on the argument that if the actions of "lower"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/zoocentrism-is-the-primary-fallacy-of-human-sociobiology-for-this/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [The world, unfortunately, rarely matches our hopes and consistently refuses to behave in a reasonable manner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-world-unfortunately-rarely-matches-our-hopes-and-consistently/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [The true beauty of nature is her amplitude; she exists neither for nor because of us, and possesses a staying power that all our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-true-beauty-of-nature-is-her-amplitude-she-exists-neither-for-nor/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [With copious evidence ranging from Plato's haughtiness to Beethoven's tirades, we may conclude that the most brilliant people of history tend to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/with-copious-evidence-ranging-from-plato-s-haughtiness-to-beethoven-s/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [When scientists need to explain difficult points of theory, illustration by hypothetical example - rather than by total abstraction - works well (perhaps indispensably)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/when-scientists-need-to-explain-difficult-points-of-theory/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [The truly awesome intellectuals in our history have not merely made discoveries; they have woven variegated, but firm, tapestries of comprehensive coverage. The tapestries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-truly-awesome-intellectuals-in-our-history-have-not-merely-made/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [I believe that we can still have a genre of scientific books suitable for and accessible alike to professionals and interested laypeople. The concepts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/i-believe-that-we-can-still-have-a-genre-of-scientific-books-suitable/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Science simply cannot adjudicate the issue of God's possible superintendence of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/science-simply-cannot-adjudicate-the-issue-of-god-s-possible/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [But if we laugh with derision, we will never understand. Human intellectual capacity has not altered for thousands of years so far as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/but-if-we-laugh-with-derision-we-will-never-understand-human/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [We debase the richness of both nature and our own minds if we view the great pageant of our intellectual history as a compendium…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/we-debase-the-richness-of-both-nature-and-our-own-minds-if-we-view/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Explore all 341 Stephen Jay Gould quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) ## More Generalities quotes > [The great generalities of the constitution have a content and a significance that vary from age to age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-cardozo/the-great-generalities-of-the-constitution-have-a-content-and-a/) [Benjamin Cardozo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-cardozo/) > [People are mostly sane enough, of course, in the affairs of common life: the getting of food, shelter, and so on. But the moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-stove/people-are-mostly-sane-enough-of-course-in-the-affairs-of-common-life/) [David Stove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-stove/) > [It is very rare, indeed, for men to be wrong in their feelings concerning public misconduct; as rare to be right in their speculations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/it-is-very-rare-indeed-for-men-to-be-wrong-in-their-feelings/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [I have the vagary of taking a lively interest in mathematical subjects only where I may anticipate ingenious association of ideas and results recommending…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-friedrich-gauss/i-have-the-vagary-of-taking-a-lively-interest-in-mathematical/) [Carl Friedrich Gauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-friedrich-gauss/) > [Some bolder spirits, indeed, might be expected to despise the cautious moderation of these timid reasoners, and to pronounce decisively, that the Bible was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wilberforce/some-bolder-spirits-indeed-might-be-expected-to-despise-the-cautious/) [William Wilberforce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wilberforce/) > [It is good sense applied with diligence to what was at first a mere accident, and which by great application grew to be called,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-good-sense-applied-with-diligence-to-what-was-at-first-a-mere/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The person who did most to give to analysis the generality and symmetry which are now its pride, was also the person who made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-whewell/the-person-who-did-most-to-give-to-analysis-the-generality-and/) [William Whewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-whewell/) > [To the generality of men you cannot give a stronger hint for them to impose upon you than by imposing upon yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/to-the-generality-of-men-you-cannot-give-a-stronger-hint-for-them-to/) [Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/) > [God is basic Fact. He must not be thought of as a featureless generality. He is the most concrete thing there is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/god-is-basic-fact-he-must-not-be-thought-of-as-a-featureless/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [I shall venture to affirm, that there never was a popular religion, which represented the state of departed souls in such a light,as would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/i-shall-venture-to-affirm-that-there-never-was-a-popular-religion/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [No organism can afford to be conscious of matters with which it could deal at unconscious levels. Broadly, we can afford to sink those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/no-organism-can-afford-to-be-conscious-of-matters-with-which-it-could/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [Just as a chemist "isolates" a substance from contaminations that distort his view of its nature and effects, so the work of art purifies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-arnheim/just-as-a-chemist-isolates-a-substance-from-contaminations-that/) [Rudolf Arnheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-arnheim/) > [We can no longer oversimplify. We can no longer build lazy and false stereotypes: Americans are like this, Russians are like that, a Jew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/we-can-no-longer-oversimplify-we-can-no-longer-build-lazy-and-false/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [All artists, they say, are a little mad. This madness is, to a certain extent, a self-created myth designed to keep the generality away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/all-artists-they-say-are-a-little-mad-this-madness-is-to-a-certain/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [When we deal in generalities, we shall never succeed. When we deal in specifics, we shall rarely have a failure. When performance is measured,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/when-we-deal-in-generalities-we-shall-never-succeed-when-we-deal-in/) [Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) [Browse all 109 Generalities quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generalities/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“My potential salvation...must remain an unswerving commitment to treat generality only as it emerges from little things that arrest us and open our eyes with \"aha\" -- while direct, abstract, learned assaults upon generalities usually glaze them over.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Jay Gould" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/my-potential-salvation-must-remain-an-unswerving-commitment-to-treat/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Generalities" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/my-potential-salvation-must-remain-an-unswerving-commitment-to-treat/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb7/stephen-jay-gould-885_generalities_my-potential-salvation-must-remain-an-un_2949218.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb7/stephen-jay-gould-885_generalities_my-potential-salvation-must-remain-an-un_2949218.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb7/stephen-jay-gould-885_generalities_my-potential-salvation-must-remain-an-un_2949218.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My potential salvation...must remain an unswerving commitment to treat generality only as it emerges from…” — Stephen Jay Gould", "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": "Stephen Jay Gould", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“My potential salvation...must remain an unswerving...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/my-potential-salvation-must-remain-an-unswerving-commitment-to-treat/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/my-potential-salvation-must-remain-an-unswerving-commitment-to-treat/#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 } } ] } ```