February 5, 2011
Dirk Vermeirre No longer in a merely physical universe, man lives in a symbolic universe. Language, myth, art and religion are parts of this universe. They are varied threads which weave the symbolic net, the tangled web of human experience. No longer can man confront reality immediately; he cannot see it, as it were, face to face. Physical reality seems to recede in proportion as man’s symbolic activity advances. Instead of dealing with the things themselves man is in a sense constantly conversing with himself. He has so enveloped himself in linguistic forms, in artistic images, in mythical symbols or religious rites that he cannot see or know anything except by the interposition of this artificial medium. Ernst Cassirer

Dirk Vermeirre

No longer in a merely physical universe, man lives in a symbolic universe. Language, myth, art and religion are parts of this universe. They are varied threads which weave the symbolic net, the tangled web of human experience. No longer can man confront reality immediately; he cannot see it, as it were, face to face. Physical reality seems to recede in proportion as man’s symbolic activity advances. Instead of dealing with the things themselves man is in a sense constantly conversing with himself. He has so enveloped himself in linguistic forms, in artistic images, in mythical symbols or religious rites that he cannot see or know anything except by the interposition of this artificial medium.

Ernst Cassirer

10:20pm
(Notes: 21)
  
Filed under: Dirk Vermeirre photo Ernst Cassirer quote philosophy 
  1. paperalchemy reblogged this from 3wings
  2. dreaminginthedeepsouth reblogged this from nearlya
  3. nearlya reblogged this from 3wings
  4. caseht reblogged this from 3wings
  5. 3wings posted this