--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An idea, to be suggestive, must come to…" description: "\"An idea, to be suggestive, must come to the individual with the force of revelation.\" — William James" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc9/william-james-228_force_an-idea-to-be-suggestive-must-come-to-th_102048.png" --- # An idea, to be suggestive, must come to the individual… ![“An idea, to be suggestive, must come to the individual with the force of revelation.” quote by William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc9/william-james-228_force_an-idea-to-be-suggestive-must-come-to-th_102048.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc9/william-james-228_force_an-idea-to-be-suggestive-must-come-to-th_102048.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc9/william-james-228_force_an-idea-to-be-suggestive-must-come-to-th_102048.png) > “An idea, to be suggestive, must come to the individual with the force of revelation.” [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A compelling idea must strike the mind with the sudden clarity of a revelation, not merely be suggested. **In simple terms:** Ideas need to hit like a flash, not just be hinted at. Key Takeaway Impactful ideas arrive as revelations. Themes creativity cognition inspiration Mood enthusiastic intrigued Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - brainstorming sessions - artistic breakthroughs - scientific insight Key Concepts epiphany mental breakthrough Practical Applications - use vivid language to frame concepts - create environments that foster sudden insight Questions to Reflect On - What conditions help an idea feel revelatory? - Can a suggestion become a revelation without effort? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Revelation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revelation/) [Suggestive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suggestive/) ## Related quotes > [Then there are some minor points that strike me as suggestive - for instance, the position of Mrs. Hubbard's sponge bag, the name of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/then-there-are-some-minor-points-that-strike-me-as-suggestive-for/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [I like things to reverberate, to be suggestive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-hollinghurst/i-like-things-to-reverberate-to-be-suggestive/) [Alan Hollinghurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-hollinghurst/) > [I don't believe in using too much graphic violence, although I've done it. It's better to be suggestive and to allow the viewer to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobe-hooper/i-don-t-believe-in-using-too-much-graphic-violence-although-i-ve-done/) [Tobe Hooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobe-hooper/) > [Poetry is a deliberate attempt to make language suggestive and imprecise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/poetry-is-a-deliberate-attempt-to-make-language-suggestive-and/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) > [“Put your mouth on mine, Little Raven. I’m ready for a taste of lemon cake,” he said in a deep and tumbling voice. “Maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dannika-dark/put-your-mouth-on-mine-little-raven-i-m-ready-for-a-taste-of-lemon/) [Dannika Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dannika-dark/) > [“You're still looking.' ... 'You make it hard to look away.' ... 'I'm over here keeping my hands and memories to myself because you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-yarros/you-re-still-looking-you-make-it-hard-to-look-away-i-m-over-here/) [Rebecca Yarros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-yarros/) > [Wearing a low-cut, cleavage-revealing top is called suggestive. What does it suggest? That there is more than what you now see, and I may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-leigh-demoss/wearing-a-low-cut-cleavage-revealing-top-is-called-suggestive-what/) [Nancy Leigh DeMoss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-leigh-demoss/) > [I don't ever feel that it's necessary to say certain things. I think we can be very suggestive. 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Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [To see with one's own eyes, to feel and judge without succumbing to the suggestive power of the fashion of the day, to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/to-see-with-one-s-own-eyes-to-feel-and-judge-without-succumbing-to/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Just imagine how suggestive things are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-henry-twachtman/just-imagine-how-suggestive-things-are/) John Henry Twachtman ## More by William James > [Effort is the one strictly undervalued and original contribution we make to this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/effort-is-the-one-strictly-undervalued-and-original-contribution-we/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We are all potentially such sick men. The sanest and best of us are of one clay with lunatics and prison-inmates. And whenever we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-are-all-potentially-such-sick-men-the-sanest-and-best-of-us-are-of/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [In the dim background of our mind we know meanwhile what we ought to be doing: getting up, dressing ourselves, answering the person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/in-the-dim-background-of-our-mind-we-know-meanwhile-what-we-ought-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“Our minds thus grow in spots; and like grease-spots, the spots spread. 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They may have seen them, may have said them, done them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/most-people-probably-are-in-doubt-about-certain-matters-ascribed-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“How soon, indeed, are human things forgotten! As we meet here this morning, the Southern sun is shining on their place of burial, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/how-soon-indeed-are-human-things-forgotten-as-we-meet-here-this/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [There can be no difference anywhere that does not make a difference somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/there-can-be-no-difference-anywhere-that-does-not-make-a-difference/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [It is wrong always, everywhere, and for everyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-wrong-always-everywhere-and-for-everyone-to-believe-anything/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [The pragmatist turns away from abstraction and insufficiency, from verbal solutions, from bad a priori reasons, from fixed principles, closed systems, and pretended absolutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-pragmatist-turns-away-from-abstraction-and-insufficiency-from/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) [Explore all 854 William James quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## More Force quotes > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Sentiment is the mightiest force in civilization; not sentimentality, but sentiment. Women will bring this into politics. Home, sweet home, is as powerful on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-ellen-foster/sentiment-is-the-mightiest-force-in-civilization-not-sentimentality/) [Judith Ellen Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-ellen-foster/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [Above Coblentz almost every mountain has a ruin and a legend. One feels everywhere the spirit of the past, and its stirring recollections come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/above-coblentz-almost-every-mountain-has-a-ruin-and-a-legend-one/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) > [I hope that the Palestinians don't make the mistake of unleashing a new intifada. They've tried it twice before, and the consequences were bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/i-hope-that-the-palestinians-don-t-make-the-mistake-of-unleashing-a/) [Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/) > [The one means that wins the easiest victory over reason is terror and force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/the-one-means-that-wins-the-easiest-victory-over-reason-is-terror-and/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [ Neither Italian fascism nor German national "socialism" have anything in common with such a \[Soviet socialistic\] society, primarily because private ownership of factories, plants,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/neither-italian-fascism-nor-german-national-socialism-have-anything/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) > [Dictatorship is rule based directly upon force and unrestricted by any laws. The revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat is rule won and maintained by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/dictatorship-is-rule-based-directly-upon-force-and-unrestricted-by/) [Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/) > [The great force for forging a society into a solid mass has always been war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/the-great-force-for-forging-a-society-into-a-solid-mass-has-always/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. 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