Thomas Hobbes Quote

[Ya know]

''All generous minds have a horror of what are commonly called 'Facts'. They are the brute beasts of the intellectual domain.''

What is your interpretation of this idea?

For me, I think it bemoans people who use ''facts'' (Something they believe to be true) in intellectual discussions as full stops. Something that cannot be expanded upon and used as an impediment for further research. 

This is pernicious in a number of ways, but primarily because people can become comfortable in the limited scope of what they ''know'' (which may or may not be true) and rest on their laurels, and are resistant to new information. It also provides a smug sense of superiority as people can cite majority rules on information, without being directly knowledgeable on whatever it is they are opining on. 

Finally it encourages close mindedness, adhering to what is ''common knowledge'' without probing further, or feeling the need to.

A quote I came up with regarding this idea is:

''A fact is a reason, but you can't reason with a fact''

What do you think?

Edited December 8, 2019 by Ya know
Formatting and aesthetics

[Thought Art]

What confuses me is the "Generous minds"

I like your interpretation. "brute beasts of the intellectual domain" Yes, sure this is a fact. A paradigm, something to be tamed through open awareness and openness to information and new maps of reality. 

[Ya know]

5 hours ago, Thought Art said:

What confuses me is the "Generous minds"

 

I think it means generous in the sense of "giving time" or "willingness to receive new information". Essentially openess.