Quotes About Subjectivity

It is not so much that subjectivity is communicated or expressed by music as that in it, as in a theater, something objective is enacted, the identifiable face of which has been obliterated. It is rather that the orchestra plays within musical consciousness than that a consciousness is projected onto the orchestra.

Moins la t théorie cherche à passer pour définitive, englobante, moins aussi elle s'objectivisise (vergegenständlichen) face à celui qui pense. La disparition de la contrainte du système permet au pensant de se fier avec moins de prévention à sa propre conscience et expérience que ne le tolérait la conception pathétique d'une subjectivité qui doit payer son triomphe abstrait du renoncement à son contenu spécifique.

Relativism is an illusion that arises as soon as something is handled according to foreign, transcendental criteria.

Facts are much more malleable than prejudices.

Obscenity is not a quality inherent in a book or picture, but is solely and exclusively a contribution of the reading mind, and hence cannot be defined in terms of the qualities of a book or picture.

To ignore what cannot be measured in precise numbers is like counting the stems in a bouquet of flowers while ignoring the indescribable perfume and beauty of each bud.

In theory we understand people, but in practice we can't put up with them, I thought, deal with them for the most part reluctantly and always treat them from our point of view. We should observe and treat people not from our point of view but from all angles, I thought, associate with them in such a way that we can say we associate with them so to speak in a completely unbiased way, which however isn't possible, since we actually are always biased against everybody.

I've yet to read a memoir by anyone I've known at all well that came anywhere near to the truth.

It's not a secret - I'm literally one of the best dancers in the world! I mean, not everyone would necessarily agree with that.

I don't think Neil Young has a beautiful voice, but it's something that grabs you, and the songs are so good.

Films are neither true nor false. That includes my films, as well as others. They may make claims that are true or false, but films are too complex. They have too many ingredients.

An adjective, such as 'flimsy,' describes someone's access to a thing, such as 'argument.' But that's just that someone's access. It may be accurate. But it's theirs nevertheless.

Old-school hip hop, i.e., whatever was popular when you were nineteen, is great. Everything since then is intolerable.

I don't really like Nirvana that much.

You know, as you compose music, you're just off in your own world. You have no idea where reality is, so to have an idea of what people think is pretty hard.

You know, I am just a musician and I have no idea these days what good and bad is in terms of labels.

Lyrics are no more important than the music. There's no point in forcing them on people.

Cuando comprendes que toda opinión es una visión cargada de historia personal, empiezas a comprender que todo juicio es una confesión.

I say one thing, you write another, and those who read you understand still something else! I say: cross, death, kingdom of heaven, God...and what do you understand? Each of you attaches his own suffering, interests and desires to each of these sacred words, and my words disappear, my soul is lost. I can't stand it any longer!

What I hear as noise is perceived as music by my teenage grandchildren, at a fairly primitive level of perceptual experience. And

One must be both subjectively involved in and objectively detached from life, and that true happiness rests neither in the one sphere nor in the other exclusively, but rather in achieving a harmonios balance - however fragile - between the two.

Why do we say, "That's true for you but not for me," when we're talking about morality or religion, but we never even think of such nonsense when we're talking to a stock broker about our money or a doctor about our health?

Who Am I? Or (Perhaps More Accurately) Who Else Could Be Me?

History is defined by people who don't really understand what they are defining