[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$fOIMS2bi16QMQpSnzsCkAd8yELehTNjttnDk-lCjp96Q":3,"$f_ebkHgcxLpeGyibXq63ZBaWjeNR-hn_mlxwM0DEkO50":12},{"author":4,"tags":11},{"author_id":5,"author_name":6,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"bio":9,"short_bio":9,"slug":10,"image_url":9},18734,"Leon Wieseltier","L",30,null,"leon-wieseltier",[],{"quotes":13,"pagination":114},[14,23,29,41,52,63,75,86,92,103],{"id":15,"quote_text":16,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":19,"source":20,"quote_tag":21,"commentary":22},3221816,"A wall of books is a wall of windows.",6,false,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],"**The Backstory**\n\nLeon Wieseltier's \"A wall of books is a wall of windows\" is likely a phrase from his essayistic work, which often blurred the lines between literary criticism and personal memoir. As a prominent critic and essayist, Wieseltier navigated the complexities of intellectual curiosity amidst the challenges of maintaining a literary career in an ever-changing media landscape.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\n\nWhat lies beneath this seemingly innocuous phrase is a profound observation on the relationship between knowledge acquisition and intellectual openness. The quote suggests that the accumulation of books – symbols of knowledge and erudition – can paradoxically serve as a gateway to new ideas, perspectives, and experiences, rather than an obstacle.\n\n**How to Use This**\n\nTo apply this mindset today, consider cultivating a \"window-like\" approach to learning: one that is both receptive to new information and unafraid to challenge existing assumptions. By doing so, you'll create an environment conducive to intellectual exploration, where each new book or idea serves as a portal to further understanding rather than a fixed, impenetrable barrier.",{"id":24,"quote_text":25,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":26,"source":27,"quote_tag":28,"commentary":9},3221786,"What matters to me is that one identifies one’s genuine obsessions, one’s genuine commitments, one’s genuine appetites, one pursues them seriously and far.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":30,"quote_text":31,"author_id":5,"source_id":32,"has_image":18,"author":33,"source":34,"quote_tag":35,"commentary":9},2740478,"Here is a humanist proposition for the age of Google: The processing of information is not the highest aim to which the human spirit can aspire, and neither is competitiveness in a global economy. The character of our society cannot be determined by engineers.",4,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[36],{"id":37,"tag":38},5716690,{"id":39,"tag_name":40},128,"character",{"id":42,"quote_text":43,"author_id":5,"source_id":32,"has_image":18,"author":44,"source":45,"quote_tag":46,"commentary":9},2740476,"No great deed, private or public, has ever been undertaken in a bliss of certainty.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[47],{"id":48,"tag":49},5716687,{"id":50,"tag_name":51},4937,"deeds",{"id":53,"quote_text":54,"author_id":5,"source_id":32,"has_image":18,"author":55,"source":56,"quote_tag":57,"commentary":9},2740472,"The Internet is like closing time at a blue-collar bar in Boston. Everyone’s drunk and ugly and they’re going to pass out in a few minutes.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[58],{"id":59,"tag":60},5716684,{"id":61,"tag_name":62},755,"blue",{"id":64,"quote_text":65,"author_id":5,"source_id":32,"has_image":18,"author":66,"source":67,"quote_tag":68,"commentary":74},2740465,"A thoughtless citizen of a democracy is a delinquent citizen of a democracy,",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[69],{"id":70,"tag":71},5716677,{"id":72,"tag_name":73},11748,"citizens","**The Backstory**\nLeon Wieseltier's quote \"A thoughtless citizen of a democracy is a delinquent citizen of a democracy\" likely reflects his concerns about civic engagement and intellectual responsibility during his time as a prominent cultural critic and journalist. As a prominent voice in the American intellectual scene, Wieseltier was known for his critiques of complacency and superficiality. This quote may have been written during a period of heightened awareness about the importance of civic participation and the need for critical thinking in the face of rising polarization.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nThe quote reveals a paradox at the heart of democratic citizenship: being a responsible citizen requires a level of intellectual engagement and critical thinking, yet the very nature of democracy demands that citizens are not overly invested or ideological. In other words, a truly thoughtful citizen must balance the need for informed participation with the risk of becoming overly attached to their own opinions.\n\n**How to Use This**\nTo apply this mindset today, consider cultivating a practice of \"critical detachment\" – being deeply informed and engaged in public issues, while also maintaining a willingness to question and revise your own opinions in the face of new information or alternative perspectives. This requires a delicate balance between intellectual curiosity and emotional investment, but can ultimately lead to more nuanced and effective civic engagement.",{"id":76,"quote_text":77,"author_id":5,"source_id":32,"has_image":18,"author":78,"source":79,"quote_tag":80,"commentary":9},2740458,"American Jews, like Americans, have a very consumerist attitude toward their identity: they pick and choose the bits of this and that they like.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[81],{"id":82,"tag":83},5716672,{"id":84,"tag_name":85},126,"attitude",{"id":87,"quote_text":88,"author_id":5,"source_id":32,"has_image":18,"author":89,"source":90,"quote_tag":91,"commentary":9},2740452,"The velocity and volume on the Web are so great that nothing is forgotten and nothing is remembered,",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":93,"quote_text":94,"author_id":5,"source_id":32,"has_image":18,"author":95,"source":96,"quote_tag":97,"commentary":9},2740447,"The world invited me many places.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[98],{"id":99,"tag":100},5716659,{"id":101,"tag_name":102},401,"world",{"id":104,"quote_text":105,"author_id":5,"source_id":32,"has_image":18,"author":106,"source":107,"quote_tag":108,"commentary":9},2740441,"Philip Kitcher has composed the most formidable defense of the secular view of life since Dewey. Unlike almost all of contemporary atheism, Life After Faith is utterly devoid of cartoons and caricatures of religion. It is, instead, a sober and soulful book, an exemplary practice of philosophical reflection. Scrupulous in its argument, elegant in its style, humane in its spirit, it is animated by a stirring aspiration to wisdom. Even as I quarrel with it I admire it.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[109],{"id":110,"tag":111},5716653,{"id":112,"tag_name":113},11,"book",{"currentPage":115,"totalPages":116,"totalItems":8,"itemsPerPage":117},1,3,10]