Stanley Cavell Quotes
Stanley Cavell was an American philosopher and one of the most distinctive voices in late twentieth-century Anglo-American thought. After early studies at Berkeley and Harvard, where he taught for the rest of his career, he wove together the legacies of ordinary-language philosophy, Wittgenstein, Heidegger, Emerson, and Thoreau in a body of work whose reach extended into literature, opera, film, and Hollywood comedy. The quotes below are attributed to Stanley Cavell, organized by topic.
Browse Stanley Cavell by topic
Stanley Cavell on God
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“The crucified human body is our best picture of the unacknowledged human soul.”
The Claim of Reason: Wittgenstein, Skepticism, Morality, and Tragedy (Oxford: 1979), p. 430
Stanley Cavell on Happiness
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“The achievement of happiness requires not the ... satisfaction of our needs ... but the examination and transformation of those needs.”
Pursuits of Happiness (1984) -
“Pursuits of Happiness (1984)”
The achievement of happiness requires not the ... satisfaction of our needs ... but the examination and transformation of those needs.
Stanley Cavell on Knowledge
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Attributed to Stanley Cavell:
“Philosophy is the education of grownups.”
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Attributed to Stanley Cavell:
“Skepticism is not refuted but acknowledged.”
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Attributed to Stanley Cavell:
“Tragedy is what happens when we cannot know.”
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“I know how to give the meaning of a word but not how to give the intention of a word.”
The Division of Talent (1985) -
“The Division of Talent (1985)”
I know how to give the meaning of a word but not how to give the intention of a word.
Stanley Cavell on Life
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Attributed to Stanley Cavell:
“There is a moment in our lives when we must choose between despair and the ordinary.”
Stanley Cavell on Mind
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Attributed to Stanley Cavell:
“The voice of conscience is the voice of intelligibility.”
Stanley Cavell on Truth
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Attributed to Stanley Cavell:
“What we ordinarily say must be heard with care.”