--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...for thousands of years human history…" description: "\"...for thousands of years human history has been a magnificently futile conflict, a wonderfully staged panorama of triumphs and tragedies based on the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/920/alan-watts-587_admitting_for-thousands-of-years-human-history-has_729143.jpg" --- # ...for thousands of years human history has been a… ![“...for thousands of years human history has been a magnificently futile conflict, a wonderfully staged panorama of triumphs and tragedies based on the resolute taboo against admitting that black goes with white.” quote by Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/920/alan-watts-587_admitting_for-thousands-of-years-human-history-has_729143.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/920/alan-watts-587_admitting_for-thousands-of-years-human-history-has_729143.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/920/alan-watts-587_admitting_for-thousands-of-years-human-history-has_729143.jpg) > “...for thousands of years human history has been a magnificently futile conflict, a wonderfully staged panorama of triumphs and tragedies based on the resolute taboo against admitting that black goes with white.” [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human history repeats futile conflicts driven by an irrational aversion to mixing opposites. **In simple terms:** History repeats futile conflicts over arbitrary opposites. Key Takeaway Challenge binary thinking to reduce conflict. Themes philosophy history psychology conflict duality Mood contemplative inquisitive calm Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - conflict resolution training - educational curricula - public discourse Key Concepts binary thinking cultural narratives psychological resistance Questions to Reflect On - How can we embrace complexity in daily life? - What benefits arise from breaking binary views? A Different Perspective Binary opposition is a simplification; nuance matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conflict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conflict/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Human history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-history/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Resolute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resolute/) [Taboo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taboo/) [Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) [Triumph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triumph/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [A vital film that needed to be made at this point in history and has been made magnificently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cromwell/a-vital-film-that-needed-to-be-made-at-this-point-in-history-and-has/) [James Cromwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cromwell/) > [When you recognize this, you also realize that you are now free to give up this futile conflict, this inner state of war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/when-you-recognize-this-you-also-realize-that-you-are-now-free-to/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [But coming home that day, walking downhill with a panorama of valley and hills before me, I turned my gaze inward, and what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-roberts/but-coming-home-that-day-walking-downhill-with-a-panorama-of-valley/) [Bernadette Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-roberts/) > [We can't just have mainstream behavior on television in a free society, we have to make sure we see the whole panorama of human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-springer/we-can-t-just-have-mainstream-behavior-on-television-in-a-free/) [Jerry Springer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-springer/) > [Meditative state is the highest state of existence. So long as there is desire, no real happiness can come. It is only the contemplative,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/meditative-state-is-the-highest-state-of-existence-so-long-as-there/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [The panorama-city is a 'theoretical' (that is, visual) simulacrum, in short a picture, whose condition of possibility is an oblivion and a misunderstanding of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-certeau/the-panorama-city-is-a-theoretical-that-is-visual-simulacrum-in-short/) [Michel de Certeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-certeau/) > [Part of the magic of the experience lay in the sheer beauty of the setting: the breathtaking sight of the high mountains, the sweep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-jaworski/part-of-the-magic-of-the-experience-lay-in-the-sheer-beauty-of-the/) [Joseph Jaworski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-jaworski/) > [“Guardi me o il panorama?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alessia-esse/guardi-me-o-il-panorama/) [Alessia Esse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alessia-esse/) > [This dim coolness of my room was to the broad daylight of the street what the shadow is to the sunbeam, that is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/this-dim-coolness-of-my-room-was-to-the-broad-daylight-of-the-street/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [The mind should turn into a serene and stormless lake, where is reflected the complete panorama of the starry sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samael-aun-weor/the-mind-should-turn-into-a-serene-and-stormless-lake-where-is/) [Samael Aun Weor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samael-aun-weor/) > [Speciation does not necessarily promote evolutionary change; rather, speciation 'gathers in' and guards evolutionary change by locking and stabilization for sufficient geological time within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/speciation-does-not-necessarily-promote-evolutionary-change-rather/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [To the person who desires nothing and does not get entangled in desires, the manifold changes of nature are one panorama of beauty and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/to-the-person-who-desires-nothing-and-does-not-get-entangled-in/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [As the skies appear to a man, so is his mind. Some see only clouds there; some, prodigies and portents; some rarely look up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/as-the-skies-appear-to-a-man-so-is-his-mind-some-see-only-clouds/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [It is the first vision that counts. The artist has only to remain true to his dream and it will possess his work in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-pinkham-ryder/it-is-the-first-vision-that-counts-the-artist-has-only-to-remain-true/) [Albert Pinkham Ryder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-pinkham-ryder/) > [But whatever you do, take neither yourselves nor your fellow-creatures too seriously. There is tragedy enough in our daily routine, but there is room…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-osler/but-whatever-you-do-take-neither-yourselves-nor-your-fellow-creatures/) [William Osler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-osler/) ## More by Alan Watts > [“The self-conscious feedback mechanism of the cortex allows us the hallucination that we are two souls in one body -a rational soul and an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-self-conscious-feedback-mechanism-of-the-cortex-allows-us-the/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [The more we try to catch hold of the present moment the more elusive it becomes. It is like trying to clutch water in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-more-we-try-to-catch-hold-of-the-present-moment-the-more-elusive/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [The Universe is the game of the self, which plays hide and seek forever and ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-universe-is-the-game-of-the-self-which-plays-hide-and-seek/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [If my happiness at this moment consists largely in reviewing happy memories and expectations, I am but dimly aware of this present. I shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/if-my-happiness-at-this-moment-consists-largely-in-reviewing-happy/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [...mysticism and empiricism go together in opposition to scholasticism...they base themselves on the non-linear world of experience rather than the linear world of letters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/mysticism-and-empiricism-go-together-in-opposition-to-scholasticism/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [The hallucination of being a separate ego will not stand up to biological tests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-hallucination-of-being-a-separate-ego-will-not-stand-up-to/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [Although profoundly "inconsequential," the Zen experience has consequences in the sense that it may be applied in any direction, to any conceivable human activity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/although-profoundly-inconsequential-the-zen-experience-has/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [Everything is perpetually becoming new.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/everything-is-perpetually-becoming-new/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [The psychotherapist ... tries to help the individual to be himself and to go it alone without giving unnecessary offense to his community, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-psychotherapist-tries-to-help-the-individual-to-be-himself-and-to/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [“As you make more and more powerful microscopic instruments, the universe has to get smaller and smaller in order to escape the investigation. Just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/as-you-make-more-and-more-powerful-microscopic-instruments-the/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [We are at the moment looking at space as something to be entered by the tremendous thrust of a rocket because that is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/we-are-at-the-moment-looking-at-space-as-something-to-be-entered-by/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [A philosopher is a sort of intellectual yokel who gawks at things that sensible people take for granted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/a-philosopher-is-a-sort-of-intellectual-yokel-who-gawks-at-things/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [The best way to convince someone is by making him realize that what you speak came from his own mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-best-way-to-convince-someone-is-by-making-him-realize-that-what/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [The myths underlying our culture and underlying our common sense have not taught us to feel identical with the universe, but only parts of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-myths-underlying-our-culture-and-underlying-our-common-sense-have/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [To feel that life is meaningless unless “I” can be permanent is like having fallen desperately in love with an inch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/to-feel-that-life-is-meaningless-unless-i-can-be-permanent-is-like/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) [Explore all 460 Alan Watts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) ## More Admitting quotes > [I think there's a lot of power in admitting that you don't know everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kit-williamson/i-think-there-s-a-lot-of-power-in-admitting-that-you-don-t-know/) [Kit Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kit-williamson/) > [“The truth is I do love you. Admitting that means opening myself up to all that pain when you leave. After you realize this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-moran/the-truth-is-i-do-love-you-admitting-that-means-opening-myself-up-to/) [Kelly Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-moran/) > [“Admitting we're not heroic is when we're the most heroic of all”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dorian-scrubs/admitting-we-re-not-heroic-is-when-we-re-the-most-heroic-of-all/) [John Dorian- scrubs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dorian-scrubs/) > [“Maybe that is what growing up was all about. It was about changing your mind. Opening it right up. Admitting to yourself that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/maybe-that-is-what-growing-up-was-all-about-it-was-about-changing/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [Admitting weakness seems to be such a severe psychic threat for Bush that when he makes a mistake it's safer just to reinforce it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-brown/admitting-weakness-seems-to-be-such-a-severe-psychic-threat-for-bush/) [Tina Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-brown/) > [Another person is, at the heart of it, unknowable. And if you cannot know a person enough to always guess what they’re capable of,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deb-caletti/another-person-is-at-the-heart-of-it-unknowable-and-if-you-cannot/) [Deb Caletti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deb-caletti/) > [The first step is always admitting you have a problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-first-step-is-always-admitting-you-have-a-problem/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only tough thing is admitting to my wife how much a certain article of clothing costs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taye-diggs/the-only-tough-thing-is-admitting-to-my-wife-how-much-a-certain/) [Taye Diggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taye-diggs/) > [There is a difference between admitting and confessing. Admitting involves softening, making excuses for things that cannot be excused; confessing just names the crimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/there-is-a-difference-between-admitting-and-confessing-admitting/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [Nobody likes me!" "I wish I could like you, Charlie Brown, but I can't... If I were to like you, it would be admitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-m-schulz/nobody-likes-me-i-wish-i-could-like-you-charlie-brown-but-i-can-t-if/) [Charles M. Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-m-schulz/) > [how can he love me then not? He went,he ran. And I cannot bring him back. Yet I left the door metaphorically wide open,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-north/how-can-he-love-me-then-not-he-went-he-ran-and-i-cannot-bring-him/) [Freya North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-north/) > [First and foremost, be faithful to your superiors, keep all promises, refuse the friendship of all who are not like you; and if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/first-and-foremost-be-faithful-to-your-superiors-keep-all-promises/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Oust me if you want, but if I stepped down, I would be admitting guilt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-temer/oust-me-if-you-want-but-if-i-stepped-down-i-would-be-admitting-guilt/) [Michel Temer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-temer/) > [I think that lawyers are terrible at admitting that they're wrong. And not just admitting it; also realizing it. Most lawyers are very successful,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/i-think-that-lawyers-are-terrible-at-admitting-that-they-re-wrong-and/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [Courageous? Courageous would have been admitting weakness and leaving Dauntless, no matter what shame accompanied it. Pride is what killed Al, and it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/courageous-courageous-would-have-been-admitting-weakness-and-leaving/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) Browse all 302 Admitting quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "...for thousands of years human history has been a magnificently futile conflict, a wonderfully staged panorama of triumphs and tragedies based on the resolute taboo against admitting that black goes with white.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Watts" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/for-thousands-of-years-human-history-has-been-a-magnificently-futile/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Admitting" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/for-thousands-of-years-human-history-has-been-a-magnificently-futile/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/920/alan-watts-587_admitting_for-thousands-of-years-human-history-has_729143.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/920/alan-watts-587_admitting_for-thousands-of-years-human-history-has_729143.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/920/alan-watts-587_admitting_for-thousands-of-years-human-history-has_729143.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...for thousands of years human history has been a magnificently futile conflict, a wonderfully staged…” — Alan Watts", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alan Watts", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "...for thousands of years human history...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/for-thousands-of-years-human-history-has-been-a-magnificently-futile/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/for-thousands-of-years-human-history-has-been-a-magnificently-futile/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```