--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I’ve read the philosophers. I range up…" description: "\"“I’ve read the philosophers. I range up and down them like a housewife with a dividend check in the Sears and Roebuck store.”\" — Stephen King" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9aa/stephen-king-13_philosophy_i-ve-read-the-philosophers-i-range-up-an_163275.jpg" --- # I’ve read the philosophers. I range up and down them like… ![“I’ve read the philosophers. I range up and down them like a housewife with a dividend check in the Sears and Roebuck store.” quote by Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9aa/stephen-king-13_philosophy_i-ve-read-the-philosophers-i-range-up-an_163275.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9aa/stephen-king-13_philosophy_i-ve-read-the-philosophers-i-range-up-an_163275.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9aa/stephen-king-13_philosophy_i-ve-read-the-philosophers-i-range-up-an_163275.jpg) > ““I’ve read the philosophers. I range up and down them like a housewife with a dividend check in the Sears and Roebuck store.”” [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker likens studying philosophy to casually browsing a department store, suggesting a superficial, consumerist approach to deep ideas. **In simple terms:** Treating philosophy like shopping, not serious study. Key Takeaway Engage deeper, not just skim. Themes philosophy consumerism learning culture humor Mood playful critical reflective Type humorous observational. When to use this quote - education - personal growth - intellectual curiosity Key Concepts Superficial engagement commercial metaphor Questions to Reflect On - How can you move from browsing to meaningful engagement? - What value does depth bring to knowledge? A Different Perspective Shallow consumption of ideas limits true understanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) ## Related quotes > [I have tried to read philosophers of all ages and have found many illuminating ideas but no steady progress toward deeper knowledge and understanding.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-born/i-have-tried-to-read-philosophers-of-all-ages-and-have-found-many/) [Max Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-born/) > [Herbert Spencer is little read now. Philosophers do not regard him as a major thinker. Social Darwinism has long been in disrepute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/herbert-spencer-is-little-read-now-philosophers-do-not-regard-him-as/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [I want to read philosophers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-kripke/i-want-to-read-philosophers/) [Saul Kripke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-kripke/) > [Musings The little poets sing of little things: Hope, cheer, and faith, small queens and puppet kings; Lovers who kissed and then were made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-howard/musings-the-little-poets-sing-of-little-things-hope-cheer-and-faith/) [Robert E. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-howard/) > [Racism oppresses its victims, but also binds the oppressors, who sear their consciences with more and more lies until they become prisoners of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alveda-king/racism-oppresses-its-victims-but-also-binds-the-oppressors-who-sear/) [Alveda King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alveda-king/) > [I was 12 when I ordered my first guitar out of the worn and discolored pages of the Sears and Roebuck catalog. The story…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-autry/i-was-12-when-i-ordered-my-first-guitar-out-of-the-worn-and/) [Gene Autry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-autry/) > [The harder you work and the more you sear and bleed for a win, the sweeter that victory tastes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/branch-warren/the-harder-you-work-and-the-more-you-sear-and-bleed-for-a-win-the/) [Branch Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/branch-warren/) > [The melancholy days are come, the saddest of the year, Of wailing winds, and naked woods and meadows brown and sear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/the-melancholy-days-are-come-the-saddest-of-the-year-of-wailing-winds/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) > [I hate Billings, Montana. They have a fashion show at Sears Roebuck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-hate-billings-montana-they-have-a-fashion-show-at-sears-roebuck/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [A novel can educate to some extent, but first a novel has to entertain. That's the contract with the reader: you give me ten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/a-novel-can-educate-to-some-extent-but-first-a-novel-has-to-entertain/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [I'm not going to vacuum 'til Sears makes one you can ride on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roseanne-barr/i-m-not-going-to-vacuum-til-sears-makes-one-you-can-ride-on/) [Roseanne Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roseanne-barr/) > [“I gave a relenting sigh. "Fine! I'll throw on some clothes. Turn around. I'm in my pj's." Pj's that consisted of nothing but a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/i-gave-a-relenting-sigh-fine-i-ll-throw-on-some-clothes-turn-around-i/) [Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/) > [Schools were designed by Horace Mann and Barnard Sears and Harper of the University of Chicago and Thorndyke of Columbia Teachers College and some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/schools-were-designed-by-horace-mann-and-barnard-sears-and-harper-of/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [Blood fills my mouth. Fire sears my veins. I choke back a howl. The silver knife slips--the choice is mine. I am death or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bree-despain/blood-fills-my-mouth-fire-sears-my-veins-i-choke-back-a-howl-the/) [Bree Despain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bree-despain/) > [Just the other day, my assistant was on the line with Calvin Klein. Golly, I usually shop at Sears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-bob-thornton/just-the-other-day-my-assistant-was-on-the-line-with-calvin-klein/) [Billy Bob Thornton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-bob-thornton/) ## More by Stephen King > [Shall there be truth between us, as two men? Not as friends, but as enemies and equals?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/shall-there-be-truth-between-us-as-two-men-not-as-friends-but-as/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The worst advice? 'Don't listen to the critics.' I think that you really ought to listen to the critics, because sometimes they're telling you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-worst-advice-don-t-listen-to-the-critics-i-think-that-you-really/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“October 3, 2017 The clown, Hagarty said, looked like a cross between Ronald McDonald and that old TV clown, Bozo—or so he thought at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/october-3-2017-the-clown-hagarty-said-looked-like-a-cross-between/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Eddie saw great things and near misses. Albert Einstein as a child, not quite struck by a run-away milk-wagon as he crossed a street.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/eddie-saw-great-things-and-near-misses-albert-einstein-as-a-child-not/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [It hurt, of course, but more often than not the best things do, I've found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/it-hurt-of-course-but-more-often-than-not-the-best-things-do-i-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“The idea that creative endeavor and mind-altering substances are entwined is one of the great pop-intellectual myths of our time... Creative people probably do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-idea-that-creative-endeavor-and-mind-altering-substances-are/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“The sun had burned through and the day had gone from dull to dazzling, yet in the west blask-satin thunderheads continued to stack up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-sun-had-burned-through-and-the-day-had-gone-from-dull-to-dazzling/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“God, you had enough time to have been through it three times. You've been through my stuff. I bet you over and let one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/god-you-had-enough-time-to-have-been-through-it-three-times-you-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Flakes of snow swirled and danced across the porch. The Overlook faced it as it had for nearly three-quarters of a century, its darkened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/flakes-of-snow-swirled-and-danced-across-the-porch-the-overlook-faced/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“In that instant it all seemed to come clear to him- it came in a grisly flash of light, and he realized that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-that-instant-it-all-seemed-to-come-clear-to-him-it-came-in-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Who gets to be best-liked in any community? Who is the most trusted? Why, the man who does the dirty job, of course, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/who-gets-to-be-best-liked-in-any-community-who-is-the-most-trusted/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“¿Lo ves, tonto? Volvió a regañarse. Tú lo inventaste todo, gato asustado. No fue más que tu imaginación, gato asustado, gato asustado... No te…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/lo-ves-tonto-volvi-a-rega-arse-t-lo-inventaste-todo-gato-asustado-no/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Death . . . but not for you. That was what Walter, clever as Satan even at the end, had said. A lawyer’s answer . . . so close to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/death-but-not-for-you-that-was-what-walter-clever-as-satan-even-at/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The ghost story movie that scared me the most was The Changeling with George C. Scott. I think that's sometimes overlooked, but it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-ghost-story-movie-that-scared-me-the-most-was-the-changeling-with/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Climb aboard, Jonesy. I'm going to send you up where the air is rare and the view is much more than fair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/climb-aboard-jonesy-i-m-going-to-send-you-up-where-the-air-is-rare/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) [Explore all 3,589 Stephen King quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## More Philosophy quotes > [“MIND & GRIND Self-belief and hard work can propel you past more talented peers”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamil-ali/mind-grind-self-belief-and-hard-work-can-propel-you-past-more/) [Kamil Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamil-ali/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [“It takes tremendous courage, persistence, and perseverance to pursue your ultimate purpose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/it-takes-tremendous-courage-persistence-and-perseverance-to-pursue/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [No philosophy, no religion, has ever brought so glad a message to the world as this good news of Atheism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/no-philosophy-no-religion-has-ever-brought-so-glad-a-message-to-the/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [“This is what is called "honor among thieves," for the really dangerous people are those who do not recognize that they are thieves— the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-watts/this-is-what-is-called-honor-among-thieves-for-the-really-dangerous/) [Alan W. Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-watts/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [“If you start and persist you will succeed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/if-you-start-and-persist-you-will-succeed/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [“The spirit of our accurate and exact philosophy is outraged by conclusions that contradict each other so glaringly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-spirit-of-our-accurate-and-exact-philosophy-is-outraged-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“I never knew any man who had once tasted the sweetness of experimental knowledge, that ever afterward fasted after ye Vapour garlick and onions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/i-never-knew-any-man-who-had-once-tasted-the-sweetness-of/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [“I fight with love and kindness as my weapons and compassion as my defense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/i-fight-with-love-and-kindness-as-my-weapons-and-compassion-as-my/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [Television's perfect. You turn a few knobs, a few of those mechanical adjustments at which the higher apes are so proficient, and lean back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/television-s-perfect-you-turn-a-few-knobs-a-few-of-those-mechanical/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [“He who is mindless is defenceless” RjS”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rassool-jibraeel-snyman/he-who-is-mindless-is-defenceless-rjs/) [rassool jibraeel snyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rassool-jibraeel-snyman/) > [Liberalism is the philosophy for our time, because it does not try to conserve every tradition of the past, because it does not apply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-trudeau/liberalism-is-the-philosophy-for-our-time-because-it-does-not-try-to/) [Pierre Trudeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-trudeau/) [Browse all 17,414 Philosophy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I’ve read the philosophers. I range up and down them like a housewife with a dividend check in the Sears and Roebuck store.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen King" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/i-ve-read-the-philosophers-i-range-up-and-down-them-like-a-housewife/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Philosophy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/i-ve-read-the-philosophers-i-range-up-and-down-them-like-a-housewife/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9aa/stephen-king-13_philosophy_i-ve-read-the-philosophers-i-range-up-an_163275.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9aa/stephen-king-13_philosophy_i-ve-read-the-philosophers-i-range-up-an_163275.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9aa/stephen-king-13_philosophy_i-ve-read-the-philosophers-i-range-up-an_163275.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I’ve read the philosophers. I range up and down them like a housewife with a dividend check in the Sears and…” — Stephen King", "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 King", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I’ve read the philosophers. I range...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/i-ve-read-the-philosophers-i-range-up-and-down-them-like-a-housewife/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/i-ve-read-the-philosophers-i-range-up-and-down-them-like-a-housewife/#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 } } ] } ```