--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the most general terms, the…" description: "\"In the most general terms, the Enlightenment goes back to Plato's belief that truth and beauty and goodness are connected; that truth and beauty, disse..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50d/susan-neiman-16864_beauty_in-the-most-general-terms-the-enlightenm_319620.jpg" --- # In the most general terms, the Enlightenment goes back to… ![“In the most general terms, the Enlightenment goes back to Plato's belief that truth and beauty and goodness are connected; that truth and beauty, disseminated widely, will sooner or later lead to goodness. (While we're making at effort at truth and goodness, beauty reminds us what we're hold out…” quote by Susan Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50d/susan-neiman-16864_beauty_in-the-most-general-terms-the-enlightenm_319620.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50d/susan-neiman-16864_beauty_in-the-most-general-terms-the-enlightenm_319620.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50d/susan-neiman-16864_beauty_in-the-most-general-terms-the-enlightenm_319620.jpg) > “In the most general terms, the Enlightenment goes back to Plato's belief that truth and beauty and goodness are connected; that truth and beauty, disseminated widely, will sooner or later lead to goodness. (While we're making at effort at truth and goodness, beauty reminds us what we're hold out for.)” [Susan Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-neiman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The Enlightenment linked truth, beauty, and goodness, believing that spreading truth and beauty will eventually foster goodness. **In simple terms:** Truth, beauty, and goodness are connected. Key Takeaway Promote truth and beauty to nurture goodness. Themes enlightenment philosophy aesthetics morality Mood optimistic analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education curricula - public art projects - media reporting - community dialogues Key Concepts Platonism cultural transmission ethical idealism Questions to Reflect On - How can we ensure truth and beauty lead to goodness? - What barriers prevent this ideal? A Different Perspective Beauty alone may not guarantee moral outcomes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Buddhism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhism/) [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Enlightenment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlightenment/) [Goodness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goodness/) [Sooner or later](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sooner-or-later/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth and beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-and-beauty/) ## Related quotes > [I don't want my kids growing up with the image of God that I had -- Plato's white grandfatherly god -- because that god…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-p-young/i-don-t-want-my-kids-growing-up-with-the-image-of-god-that-i-had/) [William P. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-p-young/) > [Epicurus had rage and envy of Plato's superior style.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/epicurus-had-rage-and-envy-of-plato-s-superior-style/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [For me music is central, so when one's talking about poetry, for the most part Plato's talking primarily about words, where I talk about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/for-me-music-is-central-so-when-one-s-talking-about-poetry-for-the/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [In Plato's opinion, man was made for philosophy; in Bacon's opinion, philosophy was made for man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/in-plato-s-opinion-man-was-made-for-philosophy-in-bacon-s-opinion/) [Thomas B. 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Sometimes realism means the recognition that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-neiman/sometimes-realism-seems-to-mean-no-more-than-the-advice-to-plan-ahead/) [Susan Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-neiman/) > [“Ordinary goodness is fraught with veins of vanity and self-interest and above all with pleasure--because goodness makes you feel more alive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-neiman/ordinary-goodness-is-fraught-with-veins-of-vanity-and-self-interest/) [Susan Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-neiman/) > [One great function of the arts is to keep ideals alive in a culture that does not yet realize them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-neiman/one-great-function-of-the-arts-is-to-keep-ideals-alive-in-a-culture/) [Susan Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-neiman/) > [“The dangers of sophistry and scholasticism are present in the possibility of philosophy itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-neiman/the-dangers-of-sophistry-and-scholasticism-are-present-in-the/) [Susan Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-neiman/) > [“The claim that there is no alternative but perdition to a worldview that shows how everything fits together and makes perfect sense is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-neiman/the-claim-that-there-is-no-alternative-but-perdition-to-a-worldview/) [Susan Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-neiman/) > [“When education is overwhelmed by hypermedia, travel facile or ruinous, and work a blurred mixture of more dependence and less meaning, it’s harder than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-neiman/when-education-is-overwhelmed-by-hypermedia-travel-facile-or-ruinous/) [Susan Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-neiman/) > [“Vitality is not the denial of mortality, but the grown-up way of facing it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-neiman/vitality-is-not-the-denial-of-mortality-but-the-grown-up-way-of/) [Susan Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-neiman/) > [“Negotiating small differences is part of being a grownup; no one can tell you in advance where to put your foot down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-neiman/negotiating-small-differences-is-part-of-being-a-grownup-no-one-can/) [Susan Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-neiman/) > [“how can human beings behave in ways that so thoroughly violate both reasonable and rational norms?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-neiman/how-can-human-beings-behave-in-ways-that-so-thoroughly-violate-both/) [Susan Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-neiman/) > [“It’s a matter of logical structure: what is, just is, and any claim about what ought to be is a claim about our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-neiman/it-s-a-matter-of-logical-structure-what-is-just-is-and-any-claim/) [Susan Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-neiman/) > [“Kitsch is much more than a question of style; it's a preference for consolation over truth. 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When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie/to-me-the-beauty-of-a-quilt-or-a-dress-lies-within-the-stitches-and/) [Natalie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie/) > [“do not misunderstand person by beauty You really do not know its real or Mask on dirty thoughts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/do-not-misunderstand-person-by-beauty-you-really-do-not-know-its-real/) [Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/) > [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. 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