Men seek for vocabularies that are reflections of reality. To this end, they must develop vocabularies that are selections of reality. And any selection of reality must, in certain circumstances, function as a deflection of reality.

In later life his New Jersey farm was a popular summer retreat for his extended family as reported by his grandson Harry Chapin a contemporary popular song artist. In 1919 he married Lily Mary Batterham with whom he had three daughters: the late feminist Marxist anthropologist Eleanor Leacock (1922–1987); musician (Jeanne) Elspeth Chapin Hart (b. He died of heart failure at his home in Andover New Jersey.

Kenneth Duva Burke (May 5 1897 – November 19 1993) was an American literary theorist and philosopher. He would later return to the university to lecture and teach.