George Santayana, “Philosophical opinion in America,” The Genteel Tradition in American Philosophy (1967), p. 108
“
To deny consciousness ... is a relief to an overtaxed and self-impeded generation; it seems a blessed simplification. It gets rid of the undemocratic notion that by being very reflective, circumspect and subtle you might discover something that most people do not see.
— George Santayana on Eliminative materialism
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "To deny consciousness ... is a relief to an overtaxed and self-impeded generation; it seems a blessed simplification. It gets rid of the undemocratic notion that by being very reflective, circumspect and subtle you might discover something that most people do not see." in the context of "George Santayana, “Philosophical opinion in America,” The Genteel Tradition in American Philosophy (1967), p. 108" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Eliminative materialism" (Quotes)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Tags
About George Santayana
Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás, known in English as George Santayana (16 December 1863 in Madrid, Spain – 26 September 1952 in Rome, Italy) was a Spanish-American philosopher, essayist, poet and novelist.
About George Santayana
Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás, known in English as George Santayana (16 December 1863 in Madrid, Spain – 26 September 1952 in Rome, Italy) was a Spanish-American philosopher, essayist, poet and novelist.
View all quotes →