---
title: "1 Acknowledging Humanity Quotes By William Deresiewicz"
description: "1 Acknowledging Humanity quotes by William Deresiewicz. Plus more from William Deresiewicz and more Acknowledging Humanity sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/william-deresiewicz-15471_austen_jane-austen-was-not-a-novelist-for-nothi_62623.jpg"
---

> [ “\[Jane\] Austen was not a novelist for nothing: she knew that our stories are what make us human, and that listening to someone else's stories -- entering into their feelings, validating their experiences -- is the highest way of acknowledging… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/jane-austen-was-not-a-novelist-for-nothing-she-knew-that-our-stories/)

[William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/william-deresiewicz-15471_austen_jane-austen-was-not-a-novelist-for-nothi_62623.jpg)

## More by William Deresiewicz

> [Life, if you live it right, keeps surprising you, and the thing that keeps surprising you the most…is yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/life-if-you-live-it-right-keeps-surprising-you-and-the-thing-that/)

[William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/)

> [ “\[Jane\] Austen was not a novelist for nothing: she knew that our stories are what make us human, and that listening to someone else's… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/jane-austen-was-not-a-novelist-for-nothing-she-knew-that-our-stories/)

[William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/)

> [“No real excellence, personal or social, artistic, philosophical, scientific, or moral, can arise without solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/no-real-excellence-personal-or-social-artistic-philosophical/)

[William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/)

> [If you're oblivious to other people, chances are pretty good that you're going to hurt them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/if-you-re-oblivious-to-other-people-chances-are-pretty-good-that-you/)

[William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/)

> [Don't play it safe. Resist the seductions of the cowardly values our society has come to prize so highly: comfort, convenience, security, predictability, control.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/don-t-play-it-safe-resist-the-seductions-of-the-cowardly-values-our/)

[William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/)

> [“there’s a bigger social reward for being able to talk about books than for actually reading them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/there-s-a-bigger-social-reward-for-being-able-to-talk-about-books/)

[William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/)

> [We proceed by doubt, by trial and error, by resisting the impulse to lunge after certainty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/we-proceed-by-doubt-by-trial-and-error-by-resisting-the-impulse-to/)

[William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/)

> [“...Novels--which, after all, are training grounds for responding to the world, imaginative sanctuaries in which to hone and test our ethical judgments and choices.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/novels-which-after-all-are-training-grounds-for-responding-to-the/)

[William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/)

> [People’s stories are the most personal thing they have, and paying attention to those stories is just about the most important thing you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/people-s-stories-are-the-most-personal-thing-they-have-and-paying/)

[William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/)

> [“Life is more than a job; jobs are more than a paycheck; and a country is more than its wealth. Education is more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/life-is-more-than-a-job-jobs-are-more-than-a-paycheck-and-a-country/)

[William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/)

> [“By the time they finish high school—after years of learning how to please their teachers and coaches, not to mention schmoozing with their parents’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/by-the-time-they-finish-high-school-after-years-of-learning-how-to/)

[William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/)

> [“Getting A’s no longer means that everything’s okay, assuming that it ever did. “We have students, who, no matter what else is going on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/getting-a-s-no-longer-means-that-everything-s-okay-assuming-that-it/)

[William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/)

> [“Both kinds of parenting, finally, are forms of overidentification. The helicopter parent turns the child into an instrument of her will. The overindulgent parent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/both-kinds-of-parenting-finally-are-forms-of-overidentification-the/)

[William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/)

> [“A friend who teaches at a top university once asked her class to memorize thirty lines of the eighteenth-century poet Alexander Pope. Every single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/a-friend-who-teaches-at-a-top-university-once-asked-her-class-to/)

[William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/)

> [“We have a crisis of leadership in America because our overwhelming power and wealth, earned under earlier generations of leaders, made us complacent, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/we-have-a-crisis-of-leadership-in-america-because-our-overwhelming/)

[William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/)

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