--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In philosophy, as in politics, the…" description: "\"In philosophy, as in politics, the longest distance between two points is a straight line.\" — Will Durant" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3a/will-durant-948_distance_in-philosophy-as-in-politics-the-longest_39629.png" --- # In philosophy, as in politics, the longest distance… ![“In philosophy, as in politics, the longest distance between two points is a straight line.” quote by Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3a/will-durant-948_distance_in-philosophy-as-in-politics-the-longest_39629.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3a/will-durant-948_distance_in-philosophy-as-in-politics-the-longest_39629.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3a/will-durant-948_distance_in-philosophy-as-in-politics-the-longest_39629.png) > “In philosophy, as in politics, the longest distance between two points is a straight line.” [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Straightforward paths are often the most efficient, both in thought and governance, emphasizing simplicity over complexity. **In simple terms:** Simplicity beats complexity. Key Takeaway Choose the direct route. Themes philosophy politics efficiency simplicity strategy Mood thoughtful analytical Type aphor maxim When to use this quote - navigating policy debates - solving ethical dilemmas - planning projects Key Concepts linear thinking optimal paths decision making Practical Applications - policy design - ethical analysis Questions to Reflect On - Why do we complicate simple solutions? - When might a non‑straight path be preferable? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Distance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distance/) [Distance Points](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distance-points-451964/) [Lines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lines/) [Longest Distance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longest-distance-451962/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Philosophy Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-politics-451963/) [Points Straight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/points-straight-451960/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Politics Longest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics-longest-451961/) [Straight line](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/straight-line/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) ## Related quotes > [The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-shortest-distance-between-two-points-is-a-straight-line/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A shortcut is the longest distance between two points.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-issawi/a-shortcut-is-the-longest-distance-between-two-points/) [Charles Issawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-issawi/) > [I may not be great at geometry but I know one theorum. The longest distance between two points is you and your parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-wagner/i-may-not-be-great-at-geometry-but-i-know-one-theorum-the-longest/) [Jane Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-wagner/) > [One must be able to say at all times--instead of points, straight lines, and planes--tables, chairs, and beer mugs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hilbert/one-must-be-able-to-say-at-all-times-instead-of-points-straight-lines/) [David Hilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hilbert/) > [“From The Self-Mover's Bible; The Longest Distance between Two Points is a Shortcut Most of us look at a map and instinctively plot a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-g-west/from-the-self-mover-s-bible-the-longest-distance-between-two-points/) [Jerry G. West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-g-west/) > [“The shortest distance between two points is always under construction. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mcclanahan/the-shortest-distance-between-two-points-is-always-under-construction/) [Rebecca McClanahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mcclanahan/) > [Curve: The loveliest distance between two points.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/curve-the-loveliest-distance-between-two-points/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [The shortest distance between two points is your mind. It's not a straight line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-shortest-distance-between-two-points-is-your-mind-it-s-not-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [A straight line is not the shortest distance between two points.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/a-straight-line-is-not-the-shortest-distance-between-two-points/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [The shortest distance between two points is under construction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-aikman/the-shortest-distance-between-two-points-is-under-construction/) [Leo Aikman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-aikman/) > [The shortest distance between two points is often unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/the-shortest-distance-between-two-points-is-often-unbearable/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“In the various arts, and above all in that of writing, the shortest distance between two points, even if close to each other, has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/in-the-various-arts-and-above-all-in-that-of-writing-the-shortest/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“The shortest distance between two points is a time line, a schedule, a map of your time, the itinerary for the rest of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/the-shortest-distance-between-two-points-is-a-time-line-a-schedule-a/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“The shortest distance between two points is the line from me to you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fisher-amelie/the-shortest-distance-between-two-points-is-the-line-from-me-to-you/) [Fisher Amelie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fisher-amelie/) > [The straightest line between a straight distance is two points.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/the-straightest-line-between-a-straight-distance-is-two-points/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) ## More by Will Durant > [I came to think of myself, not as a dance and chaos of molecules, but as a brief and minute portion of that majestic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/i-came-to-think-of-myself-not-as-a-dance-and-chaos-of-molecules-but/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [“This is the tragedy of almost every civilization—that its soul is in its faith, and seldom survives philosophy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/this-is-the-tragedy-of-almost-every-civilization-that-its-soul-is-in/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/education-is-a-progressive-discovery-of-our-own-ignorance/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [As long as there is poverty there will be gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/as-long-as-there-is-poverty-there-will-be-gods/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [“Hence the uselessness of logic: no one ever convinced anybody by logic; and even logicians use logic only as a source of income. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/hence-the-uselessness-of-logic-no-one-ever-convinced-anybody-by-logic/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [“It is a mistake to think that the past is dead. Nothing that has ever happened is quite without influence at this moment. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/it-is-a-mistake-to-think-that-the-past-is-dead-nothing-that-has-ever/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [“There is hardly an absurdity of the past that cannot be found flourishing somewhere in the present. Underneath all civilization, ancient or modern, moved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/there-is-hardly-an-absurdity-of-the-past-that-cannot-be-found/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [The Islamic conquest of India is probably the bloodiest story in history. It is a discouraging tale, for its evident moral is that civilization…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/the-islamic-conquest-of-india-is-probably-the-bloodiest-story-in/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [“Intellectualism—the conception of man as above all a thinking animal, consciously adapting means to rationally chosen ends—fell sick with Rousseau, took to its bed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/intellectualism-the-conception-of-man-as-above-all-a-thinking-animal/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [“All those fascinating varieties of terrain—mountains and valleys, fiords and straits, gulfs and streams—that make Europe a panorama of diverse delight, have broken the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/all-those-fascinating-varieties-of-terrain-mountains-and-valleys/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [“To be great is not to be placed above humanity, ruling others; but to stand above the partialities and futilities of uninformed desire, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/to-be-great-is-not-to-be-placed-above-humanity-ruling-others-but-to/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [“privately he composed—in French—a poem expressing his pleasure at having given the French a kick in the cul, which Carlyle delicately translated as “the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/privately-he-composed-in-french-a-poem-expressing-his-pleasure-at/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [ “\[N\]o language has ever had a word for a virgin man.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/n-o-language-has-ever-had-a-word-for-a-virgin-man/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [“And in the individual too, justice is effective coördination, the harmonious functioning of the elements in a man, each in its fit place and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/and-in-the-individual-too-justice-is-effective-co-rdination-the/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [Every science begins as philosophy and ends as art; it arises in hypothesis and flows into achievement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/every-science-begins-as-philosophy-and-ends-as-art-it-arises-in/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) [Explore all 320 Will Durant quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) ## More Distance quotes > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I raised another shot. "That sound you hear is the heads of moral conservatives spontaneously exploding in the distance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-thurman/i-raised-another-shot-that-sound-you-hear-is-the-heads-of-moral/) [Rob Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-thurman/) > [I think hair gel was invented to make it easier to identify assholes from a distance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/i-think-hair-gel-was-invented-to-make-it-easier-to-identify-assholes/) [Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/) > [Distance sometimes endears friendship, and absence sweeteneth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howell/distance-sometimes-endears-friendship-and-absence-sweeteneth-it/) [James Howell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howell/) > [Prison experience puts distance between me and any person who hasn't been there, done that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-mcconnell/prison-experience-puts-distance-between-me-and-any-person-who-hasn-t/) [Patricia McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-mcconnell/) > [At a distance, we cannot conceive of the authority of a despot who knows all his subjects on sight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/at-a-distance-we-cannot-conceive-of-the-authority-of-a-despot-who/) [Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/) > [When somebody mentions that I did a play with George C. Scott, I'm like, it can't have happened. What was I doing on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dano/when-somebody-mentions-that-i-did-a-play-with-george-c-scott-i-m-like/) [Paul Dano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dano/) > [She watched the prairies the rivers, the towns slipping past at an untouchable distance below - and she noted that the sense of detachment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-watched-the-prairies-the-rivers-the-towns-slipping-past-at-an/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Memories seem to surface in no particular order, with no time attached. Yesterday can seem as distant as last year. My life now consists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-olsson/memories-seem-to-surface-in-no-particular-order-with-no-time-attached/) [Linda Olsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-olsson/) > [I've never bought this idea of taking a therapeutic distance. If I see a student or house staff cry, I take great faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/i-ve-never-bought-this-idea-of-taking-a-therapeutic-distance-if-i-see/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [Combining the experience of a seasoned university president with the analysis of a respected legal scholar, Derek Bok explores what he concludes are 'signs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-h-t-rhodes/combining-the-experience-of-a-seasoned-university-president-with-the/) [Frank H. T. Rhodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-h-t-rhodes/) > [To be a champion long-distance runner you have to run on the edge of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toshihiko-seko/to-be-a-champion-long-distance-runner-you-have-to-run-on-the-edge-of/) [Toshihiko Seko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toshihiko-seko/) > [The sectaries of a persecuted religion, depressed by fear, animated with resentment, and perhaps heated by enthusiasm, are seldom in a proper temper of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/the-sectaries-of-a-persecuted-religion-depressed-by-fear-animated/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [Within walking distance of any spot on Earth there's probably more than enough mystery to investigate in a lifetime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-kates-shulman/within-walking-distance-of-any-spot-on-earth-there-s-probably-more/) [Alix Kates Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/) > [It takes a little more time to get into the role, but not very much more. In making a record you don't have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-callas/it-takes-a-little-more-time-to-get-into-the-role-but-not-very-much/) [Maria Callas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-callas/) [Browse all 3,296 Distance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In philosophy, as in politics, the longest distance between two points is a straight line.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Will Durant" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/in-philosophy-as-in-politics-the-longest-distance-between-two-points/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Distance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/in-philosophy-as-in-politics-the-longest-distance-between-two-points/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3a/will-durant-948_distance_in-philosophy-as-in-politics-the-longest_39629.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3a/will-durant-948_distance_in-philosophy-as-in-politics-the-longest_39629.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3a/will-durant-948_distance_in-philosophy-as-in-politics-the-longest_39629.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In philosophy, as in politics, the longest distance between two points is a straight line.” — Will Durant", "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": "Will Durant", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In philosophy, as in politics, the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/in-philosophy-as-in-politics-the-longest-distance-between-two-points/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/in-philosophy-as-in-politics-the-longest-distance-between-two-points/#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 } } ] } ```