“Man's gift of seeing resemblances is nothing other than a rudiment of the powerful compulsion in former times to become and behave like something else.”
Explore This Quote Further
Analysis of Walter Benjamin's Quote
In this quote, Walter Benjamin suggests that humans' ability to see resemblances in things is a remnant of a past need to imitate and adapt to their surroundings. This implies that the act of finding similarities between objects or beings could be a survival instinct, a way for humans to better understand and connect with their environment. Benjamin's words highlight the deep-rooted connection between humanity and the world around them, suggesting that our perceptual abilities are linked to our ancestral drive for survival and adaptation.
Exploring the Concept of Imitation in the Modern Era
In this quote by Walter Benjamin, the idea of humans instinctively recognizing similarities is tied to a primal urge to imitate other beings. This concept of imitation has important implications in today's society, where individuals are constantly bombarded with images and personas on social media and the internet. From influencers shaping trends to filters altering appearances, the desire to imitate and conform to certain standards remains prevalent.
Understanding Human Perception
"“Man's gift of seeing resemblances is nothing other than a rudiment of the powerful compulsion in former times to become and behave like something else.” - Walter Benjamin"
Reflection Questions
In the quote by Walter Benjamin, there is an idea presented that our ability to see resemblances in the world around us is a leftover trait from a time when humans felt a strong urge to imitate and assimilate with what they saw. This concept raises some interesting questions about human behavior and our relationship to the world. Reflect on the following questions:
How does the idea that our tendency to see resemblances is linked to a compulsion to become like what we see, shape our understanding of human interaction and empathy?
In what ways do you think this innate urge to mimic and assimilate with our surroundings influences our sense of individuality and authenticity?
How might this concept of mimicking and resembling others impact our relationships with one another and how we perceive ourselves in relation to the world?
Similar quotes
“Unlimited goodwill. Suspension of the compulsive anxiety complex. The beautiful "character" unfolds. All of those present become comically iridescent. At the same time one is pervaded by their aura.”
“The construction of life is at present in the power of facts far more than of convictions, and of such facts as have scarcely ever become the basis of convictions.”
“A man listening to a story is in the company of the storyteller; even a man reading one shares this companionship. The reader of a novel, however, is isolated, more so than any other reader(For even the reader of a poem is ready to utter the words, for the benefit of the listener.) In this solitude of his, the reader ofa novel seizes upon his material more jealously than anyone else. He is ready to make it completely his own, to devour it, as it were. Indeed, he destroys, he swallows up the material as the fire devours logs in the fireplace. The suspense which permeates the novel isvery much like the draft which stimulates the flame in the fireplace and enlivens its play.”
“Fragments of a vessel which are to be glued together must match one another in the smallest details, although they need not be like one another. In the same way a translation, instead of resembling the meaning of the original, must lovingly and in detail incorporate the original's mode of signification, thus making both the original and the translation recognizable as fragments of a greater language, just as fragments are part of a vessel.”
“This process of assimilation, which takes place in depth, requires a state of relaxation that is becoming rarer and rarer. If sleep is the apogee of physical relaxation, boredom is the apogee of mental relaxation. Boredom is the dream bird that hatches the egg of experience. A rustling in the leaves drives him away. His nesting places - the activities that are intimately associated with boredom - are already extinct in the cities and are declining in the country as well. With this the gift for listening is lost and the community of listeners disappears. For storytelling is always the art of repeated stories, and this art is lost when the stories are no longer retained.”
“To be happy is to be able to become aware of oneself without fright.”