Discourse Quote by William James
“Whatever universe a professor believes in must at any rate be a universe that lends itself to lengthy discourse. A universe definable in two sentences is something for which the professorial intellect has no use. No faith in anything of that cheap kind!”
About This Quote
Source Book: The Will to Believe, William James, 1897
A professor's worldview must be complex enough to sustain deep, extended discussion; simplistic universes are useless to scholarly thought.
In simple terms: Professors need rich, intricate ideas to discuss.
Key Takeaway
Seek depth over simplicity.
Themes
philosophy
intellectualism
complexity
Mood
thoughtful
analytical
Type
philosophical
reflective
When to use this quote
- Academic lectures
- research debates
- philosophical writing
Key Concepts
Epistemology
scholarly discourse
critical thinking
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you ensure your ideas can support long discourse?
- What value lies in complexity?
A Different Perspective
Simple models may miss nuance.
![“The average college graduate's proficient literacy in English [the ability to read lengthy, complex texts and draw complicated inferences] has declined from 40 percent in 1992 to 31 percent ten years later.” quote by Charles Colson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/abf/charles-colson-7127_ability_the-average-college-graduate-s-proficien_246756.jpg)
![“That is another theme in the book [Dreams from My Father]. How do we exercise more empathy in our public discourse? How do we get the black to see through the eyes of the white? Or the citizen to see through the eyes of the immigrant? Or the straight to see through the eyes of the gay? That has…” quote by Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/00d/barack-obama-17_black_that-is-another-theme-in-the-book-dreams_10185.jpg)
