Lewis Mumford Quotes


Adventure is humdrum and routine unless one assimilates it, unless one relates it to a central core which grows within and gives it contour and significance. Raw experience is empty, just as empty as the forecastle of a whaler as in a chamber of a counting house; for it is not what one does, but in a manifold sense, what one realizes that keeps existence from being vain and trivial.


Citations

Mumford, Lewis. Herman Melville: A Study of His Life and Vision. Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1929.

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Lewis Mumford
Lewis Mumford
  • Born: October 19, 1895
  • Died: January 26, 1990
  • Nationality: American
  • Profession: Sociologist

Lewis Mumford was an American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and literary critic. Particularly noted for his study of cities and urban architecture, he had a broad career as a writer. Mumford made signal contributions to social philosophy, American literary and cultural history and the history of technology. Mumford was influenced by the work of Scottish theorist Sir Patrick Geddes and worked closely with his associate the British sociologist Victor Branford.