--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Large, general questions about meaning…" description: "\"“Large, general questions about meaning, etc., can only be answered with generalities, which make me uncomfortable, because it is so hard to be honest ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e1/ursula-k-le-guin-138_quote_large-general-questions-about-meaning-et_1196026.jpg" --- # Large, general questions about meaning, etc., can only be… ![“Large, general questions about meaning, etc., can only be answered with generalities, which make me uncomfortable, because it is so hard to be honest when you generalize. If you skip over all the details, how can you tell if you’re being honest or not?” quote by Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e1/ursula-k-le-guin-138_quote_large-general-questions-about-meaning-et_1196026.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e1/ursula-k-le-guin-138_quote_large-general-questions-about-meaning-et_1196026.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e1/ursula-k-le-guin-138_quote_large-general-questions-about-meaning-et_1196026.jpg) > ““Large, general questions about meaning, etc., can only be answered with generalities, which make me uncomfortable, because it is so hard to be honest when you generalize. If you skip over all the details, how can you tell if you’re being honest or not?”” [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. General answers obscure truth; honesty requires confronting detailed specifics rather than broad generalities. **In simple terms:** Avoid vague answers; focus on details. Key Takeaway Embrace specificity for authentic honesty. Themes philosophy truth communication integrity Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - academic debate - personal journaling - ethical decision‑making Key Concepts critical thinking epistemology self‑reflection Questions to Reflect On - What details do you overlook? - How can you balance breadth and depth? A Different Perspective Generalizations can oversimplify complex realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Answered Generalities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answered-generalities-3567362/) [Generalities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generalities/) [Hard Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-honest-646293/) [Honest Generalize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest-generalize-3567361/) [Questions Meaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/questions-meaning-2695479/) ## Related quotes > [Stop asking yourself questions that have no meaning. Or if they have, you'll find out when you need to -- find out both the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/stop-asking-yourself-questions-that-have-no-meaning-or-if-they-have/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Man's progress is but a gradual discovery that his questions have no meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/man-s-progress-is-but-a-gradual-discovery-that-his-questions-have-no/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [For many years, questions about the meaning of life were dismissed as senseless. We were told that life, not being a word or sentence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-cooper/for-many-years-questions-about-the-meaning-of-life-were-dismissed-as/) [David E. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-cooper/) > [Every kid goes to school full of questions about meaning. You know, 'What's my place in the universe? What does it mean to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-christian/every-kid-goes-to-school-full-of-questions-about-meaning-you-know/) [David Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-christian/) > [It's hard to be honest about you but it's harder to wait for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fatin-syaza/it-s-hard-to-be-honest-about-you-but-it-s-harder-to-wait-for-you/) [Fatin Syaza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fatin-syaza/) > [It's very hard to be honest with yourself when something's just not working.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shania-twain/it-s-very-hard-to-be-honest-with-yourself-when-something-s-just-not/) [Shania Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shania-twain/) > [Always work hard, be honest, and be proud of who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-velasquez/always-work-hard-be-honest-and-be-proud-of-who-you-are/) [Patricia Velasquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-velasquez/) > [It is hard for any one to be an honest politician who is not born and bred a Dissenter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/it-is-hard-for-any-one-to-be-an-honest-politician-who-is-not-born-and/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [My job is to work hard and be honest with my character, and that's in my control. I can only try to give my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nawazuddin-siddiqui/my-job-is-to-work-hard-and-be-honest-with-my-character-and-that-s-in/) [Nawazuddin Siddiqui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nawazuddin-siddiqui/) > [They don't keep their promises in the promised land, its getting mighty hard to find an honest man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-mclean/they-don-t-keep-their-promises-in-the-promised-land-its-getting/) [Don McLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-mclean/) > [I was taught to work hard and to be honest, and that's what I try to do, so that's it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-arpaio/i-was-taught-to-work-hard-and-to-be-honest-and-that-s-what-i-try-to/) [Joe Arpaio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-arpaio/) > [If you put in that work and you work hard, you're honest with yourself about it, good things will happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-wallace/if-you-put-in-that-work-and-you-work-hard-you-re-honest-with-yourself/) [Ben Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-wallace/) > [It's not hard for me to be honest with my fans because that's what I set out to do from the beginning - I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beatrice-miller/it-s-not-hard-for-me-to-be-honest-with-my-fans-because-that-s-what-i/) [Beatrice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beatrice-miller/) > [I'm trying to keep my personal life personal. It's very hard for me because I'm a very honest person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-arquette/i-m-trying-to-keep-my-personal-life-personal-it-s-very-hard-for-me/) [David Arquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-arquette/) > [“It was hard to be honest, to open up, and reveal something that sounded crazy. Because once you told someone the truth, that person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-cross/it-was-hard-to-be-honest-to-open-up-and-reveal-something-that-sounded/) [Sarah Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-cross/) ## More by Ursula K. Le Guin > [“...I wore his blood for clothing, on my legs and thighs and hands: a dry, stiff, brown garment with no warmth in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-wore-his-blood-for-clothing-on-my-legs-and-thighs-and-hands-a-dry/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Translation is entirely mysterious. Increasingly I have felt that the art of writing is itself translating, or more like translating than it is like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/translation-is-entirely-mysterious-increasingly-i-have-felt-that-the/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Aeneas' mother is a star?" "No; a goddess." I said cautiously, "Venus is the power that we invoke in spring, in the garden, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/aeneas-mother-is-a-star-no-a-goddess-i-said-cautiously-venus-is-the/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Meaning - this is perhaps the common note, the bane I am seeking. What is the Meaning of this book, this event in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/meaning-this-is-perhaps-the-common-note-the-bane-i-am-seeking-what-is/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [For fantasy is true, of course. It isn't factual, but it is true. Children know that. Adults know it too, and that is precisely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/for-fantasy-is-true-of-course-it-isn-t-factual-but-it-is-true/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“. . . chronosophy does involve ethics. Because our sense of time involves our ability to separate cause and effect, means and end. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/chronosophy-does-involve-ethics-because-our-sense-of-time-involves/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“If both you and your plane are on time, the airport is merely a diffuse, short, miserable prelude to the intense, long, miserable plane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/if-both-you-and-your-plane-are-on-time-the-airport-is-merely-a/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“The author is not impartial. Dystopia is not tragedy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/the-author-is-not-impartial-dystopia-is-not-tragedy/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Between thought and spoken word is a gap where intention can enter, the symbol be twisted aside, and the lie come to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/between-thought-and-spoken-word-is-a-gap-where-intention-can-enter/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [I have no control over my writing. I have lots of good intentions, but no control. There's a story that wants to be told.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-have-no-control-over-my-writing-i-have-lots-of-good-intentions-but/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“I did a lot today. That is, I did something. The only thing I have ever done. I pressed a button. It took the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-did-a-lot-today-that-is-i-did-something-the-only-thing-i-have-ever/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [To me the female principle is, or at least historically has been, basically anarchic. It values order without constraint, rule by custom not by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/to-me-the-female-principle-is-or-at-least-historically-has-been/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Hector had no virtue?” “Of course he did. He won all his battles, till the last one.” “We all do,” Aeneas remarked.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/hector-had-no-virtue-of-course-he-did-he-won-all-his-battles-till-the/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“I was willing to believe him that most modern writing was trash, on the evidence that so much old writing was trash; but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-was-willing-to-believe-him-that-most-modern-writing-was-trash-on/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Can women operate as women in a male institution without becoming imitation men?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/can-women-operate-as-women-in-a-male-institution-without-becoming/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) [Explore all 1,114 Ursula K. Le Guin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) ## 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. 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