Fluther: Meaning of this quote? "The fish trap exists because of the ...

Meaning of this quote? "The fish trap exists because of the fish; once you’ve gotten the fish, you can forget the trap"?

Asked by phoebusg (5251

) September 30th, 2018
4 responses
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The fish trap exists because of the fish; once you’ve gotten the fish, you can forget the trap

What do you think is the meaning and can you briefly give a rationale for your answer?

Woah been a while since I posted on fluther, but this sounds like a good time :)

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Topics: poetry, philosophy, riddle

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Answers

What is done is done. Move on.

mazingerz88 (28797

)“Great Answer” (1

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It seems like a quote from Chuang Tzu which goes on to say “words exist because of meaning, once you’ve gotten the meaning, you can forget the words.”
It is an analogy. As the fishtraps sole purpose is to catch fish so the only purpose of words is to communicate meaning. Once you fully absorb the meaning the words are superfluous.

flutherother (34519

)“Great Answer” (4

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Thanks @flutherother was making sure I didn’t miss anything. Nice quote.

phoebusg (5251

)“Great Answer” (1

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